deano Posted 2 September , 2007 Share Posted 2 September , 2007 Hi This from Burngreave cemetery in Sheffield. Inscription read's; In loving memory of John edwin, The dearly loved son of Edwin Jame's and Edith Scanlan who was accidently shot by sourvenir of the Great War. Dec 12th 1919 aged 16 "Even at an hour where ye know not our Heavenly Father call's his children home" i also know of two young brother's buried in Birtin cemetery in Sheffield who were killed by an incendary that their father had put in the garden shed for safe keeping while he went to the pub! (ww2) i was just wondering if any of you have come across other such instance's during your research? regard's Dean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coldstreamer Posted 2 September , 2007 Share Posted 2 September , 2007 how sad - I would expect that many accidents happended with souvenirs brought back Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centurion Posted 2 September , 2007 Share Posted 2 September , 2007 Not the same but similar In WW2 one UXB squad was called by the ARP to inform them that in clearing a damaged building a number of German bombs "of an entirely new type" had been discovered. This was bad news as an entirely new pattern bomb would mean a new type of fuse , possibly 'booby trapped' for which no disarming processes had been established and some poor soul would have to be the guinea pig in neutralising it. On arrival the bombs were indeed found to be of an unkown pattern but on closer examination they turned out to be Zeppelin UXBs from WW1. Apparently the WW1 occupants of thre building had found holes in the roof and floors and quietly repaired them without alerting anyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hillgorilla Posted 2 September , 2007 Share Posted 2 September , 2007 Just been trying to find out where one of my relarives is buried in Lancaster, and in the process found a story of an unexploded bomb which had to be recovered and defused from a grave in Lancaster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PBI Posted 2 September , 2007 Share Posted 2 September , 2007 I have researched the Fate of 5 men from the RFA who were all killed in an Accident at Ploegsteert Wood in 1914,one of the Men had aquired a "Dud" German Shell and had attempted to remove the Nose Cap for a Souvenir..with devestating results,5 needless Deaths. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gothic69 Posted 2 September , 2007 Share Posted 2 September , 2007 My story is not so fatal but my grandfather when only a child blew 2 of his fingers off whilst messing around with an artillery primer my great grandfather brought home from WW1. Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deano Posted 2 September , 2007 Author Share Posted 2 September , 2007 Hi Ian that's the sort of thing i was thinking of. the stuff that was brought/smuggled back home, that then killed or maimed somebody. regard's Dean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Williams Posted 5 September , 2007 Share Posted 5 September , 2007 Hi, Sunderland Echo 28/10/1924 German stick bomb found by dustman and used as a copper for washing explodes, no one hurt. Incidentally, his wife had just left the kitchen when it exploded. Barry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Jones Posted 5 September , 2007 Share Posted 5 September , 2007 Major Edward Wellesley RE, a grandson of the Duke of Wellington, who commanded 178th Tunnelling Company at the Tambour, killed himself on leave at his home in Ireland in October 1916 with a fuse that he had taken home as a souvenir. S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david murdoch Posted 6 September , 2007 Share Posted 6 September , 2007 My grandfather shot and killed a burglar in his house in 1931 with a pistol he kept from the war. My great uncle also had a German pistol from the war, but handed it in during one of the post war weapons amnesties to round up such things. Apparently in Glasgow in the 1920's - 1930's, bayonets were popular weapons. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph J. Whitehead Posted 7 September , 2007 Share Posted 7 September , 2007 I know of one family who lost a daughter on Pan Am 103 over Lockerbee and the following year lost a son who found a WWII fragmentation grenade in the basement and pulled the pin thinking it was a practice bomb. Ralph Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali Hollington Posted 7 September , 2007 Share Posted 7 September , 2007 Within the last year a French collector was killed in an explosion in his shed. I'm pretty sure there are posts covering it. Regards Ali Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PBI Posted 7 September , 2007 Share Posted 7 September , 2007 I should think that During and Long After WW1,there would have been the occassional Incidents of Deaths and Maimings due to People Messing with seemingly Harmless Souvenirs brought Home by Family Members.I am sure there must be lots of Accounts of these Incidents hidden in the Archives of Local Newspapers.Maybe an Interesting project for research ? http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,94039,00.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Williams Posted 7 September , 2007 Share Posted 7 September , 2007 Hi, shortly after WW1 the people of Barnard Castle decided they wanted rid of a German field gun which was located in the village square. A blacksmith using oxyacetylene was employed to cut it up for scrap, however from what I can gather, as he cut some part of the recoil system the springs hurled pieces of metal into the onlookers killing at least 1and injuring others. This incident was reported in the Durham Chronicle. Barry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dycer Posted 7 September , 2007 Share Posted 7 September , 2007 From a War Diary 29th November 1918--------------."C" Coy on Range.While firing a rapid "Fire" competition C S M Dickman & L/C Tomkins were wounded through a defective cartridge shattering the bolt head of L/C Tomkins' rifle.--------. George Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deano Posted 7 September , 2007 Author Share Posted 7 September , 2007 Hi thank's for all your post's, i did have a feeling that there would be load's of incident's of Death and Maiming, through stuff brought back home. as PBI say's, there is a very interesting project there for someome to pick up. keep em' coming! Dean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truthergw Posted 7 September , 2007 Share Posted 7 September , 2007 BBC reporting today a primary school in Scotland evacuated when a pupil took in a WW1 grenade for the bring and show. It was safe by the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Williams Posted 7 September , 2007 Share Posted 7 September , 2007 From my newspaper index:- Sunderland Echo 12/02/1922 Pope crowned amidst enthusiastic scenes in Rome. 9 children blown up in an abandoned arms dump near Friedland. Barry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J T Gray Posted 7 September , 2007 Share Posted 7 September , 2007 Last year a number of rifles were discovered in the foundations when a former police station in - I think - Ipswich was demolished. Many of WW1 era, others earlier, believed to have been handed in after the laws covering souvenirs were passed in the 1920s. Our own Chief Chum - AKA Taff Gillingham - was involved - he gets everywhere! Adrian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Williams Posted 9 September , 2007 Share Posted 9 September , 2007 Unwanted Souvenir - Probably the saddest case in my index. Durham County Advertiser 1st Sept. 1933 Inquest on death of Houghton man Thomas Henry Lawton (39) ex RFA, machine gun bullet and operating thread found in stomach, thread had caused a constriction. Barry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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