Bomb of a property

[Simon_Fielding]

Thought this might interest - shall we club together and make them an offer? Any former Bomb Disposal pals about??

Simon

Farmer who is sitting on a bomb

By Neil Tweedie

(Filed: 12/01/2004) The Telegraph

Estate agents are used to talking up the good points of a property

while

drawing a veil over its less attractive aspects. But it would take a

particularly resourceful one to gloss over the downside of La Basse

Cour in

Belgium.

The first bit is easy: "Attractive farm consisting of seven buildings

set in

150 acres in the heart of historic Flanders on the Messines Ridge near

Ypres. Ideal getaway for the busy metropolitan family. One hour 30

minutes

from Channel Tunnel."

The problem lies with one of the original features: the bomb. Not any

old

bomb, but the world's biggest unexploded bomb - 50,000lbs to be exact.

Still

there, 80 feet under the farm, waiting for its big day. "Potential for

redevelopment" might cover it.

The bomb - or more accurately mine - was the product of one of the

greatest

and most secret engineering exercises of the First World War. It lay

half-forgotten for 80 years until British researchers were able to

establish

its exact whereabouts using maps of the period.

In January 1916, thousands of British miners began tunnelling out of

the

Ypres Salient towards the German lines on the Messines Ridge.

The plan was to plant 25 enormous mines under the enemy trenches and

then

blow them shortly before a major offensive planned for the summer of

that

year. The operation was postponed until the summer of 1917, but when it

took

place the results were spectacular.

More than 1,000,000lbs of high explosive were packed into underground

chambers along a seven-mile front. On June 7, 19 of the mines detonated

in

the space of 30 seconds in the biggest series of controlled explosions

yet

seen. Buildings within a 30-mile radius rocked on their foundations,

and the

bang was heard in Downing Street. In Switzerland, seismographs

registered a

small earthquake.

As many as 6,000 German troops perished in the inferno and the Messines

Ridge was quickly taken by General Sir Herbert Plumer's Second Army.

The

Battle of Messines was regarded as the most successful local operation

of

the war.

But it left a legacy: six mines were not used. Four on the extreme

southern

flank were not required because the ridge fell so quickly, and another,

a

20,000lb mine codenamed Peckham, was abandoned before the attack due to

a

tunnel collapse.

The sixth, and one of the biggest, was planted under a ruined farm

called La

Petite Douve. It was lost when the Germans mounted a counter-mining

attack,

and never used.

After the war, La Petite Douve was rebuilt by its owners, the Mahieu

family,

and later renamed La Basse Cour. The mine is beneath a barn, next to

the

farmhouse .

Roger Mahieu is proud that he still farms the same land as his father

and

grandfather, and, luckily for the estate agents, he isn't selling.

Indeed, the little matter of 22 tons of high explosive lying 80 feet

below

his property seems to trouble him hardly at all.

"It doesn't stop me sleeping at night," he said. "It's been there all

that

time, why should it decide to blow up now?" The story of the La Petite

Douve

mine - and the Peckham mine, which by unfortunate coincidence also sits

under a farmhouse - is recounted in the Channel Five documentary

Ultimate

Explosions, shown tonight.

M Mahieu, 60, who lives at the farm with his wife and daughter, seems

to

have a relaxed attitude to the subject of ordnance.

Like many farmers in areas of Belgium and northern France scarred by

the

Western Front he is used to digging up old artillery shells and other

potentially lethal devices during his work.

But history suggests he should not be all that relaxed. In 1955 one of

the

four unused mines at the southern end of the ridge detonated after 38

years

in the ground.

The explosion was believed to have been triggered by a lightning

strike.

Ultimate Explosions is on Channel Five at 8pm tonight.

[john w.]

I just read that and my jaw dropped... fancy sitting on that...

thoughts like going out with a bang...

going up in the world...

They have a relaxed attitude... more like sang froide

Bout time I had a job change one that was easier than my current one, bomb disposal and mining a good combination!

John

[Mark Hone]

I saw the programme-I was under the impression it was all about Messines, but then they went on to the Halifax harbour blast and even nuclear weapons. They did come back briefly to Messines at the end and visited that bemused farmer mentioned above. It looked to me like it had originally been a series on different explosions but somewhere along the line they had decided to merge all the material into one programme. As a result it was rather rushed, but the information on explosives was interesting and we did get some footage of the actual locations. I found Tiff Needell's poorly-enunciated commentary a bit irritating. It now seems the trend to have ex-Top Gear presenters as narrators on these types of programme-Jeremy Clarkson has a new series on weaponry coming on soon.

[salientpoints]

As a result it was rather rushed, but the information on explosives was interesting and we did get some footage of the actual locations. I found Tiff Needell's poorly-enunciated commentary a bit irritating. It now seems the trend to have ex-Top Gear presenters as narrators on these types of programme-Jeremy Clarkson has a new series on weaponry coming on soon.

I'd have to agree! I too thought it a bit rushed. I think it did look like something else pulled together - I noticed it was done in conjunction with Discovery Channel so maybe there is something more somewhere in the archives?

Tiff Needell isn't exactly Richard Holmes when it comes to retelling history but given the fact the programme was badged 'ultimate explosions' rather like 'ultimate cars' or 'ultimate buildings' (which I guess probably do exist in a tv nature) the target audience is not military historians and is more mainstream boys own 'more power' kind of thing.

That said, even with all its inaccuracies in the telling of the story it did bring it to mainstream tv and perhaps generated more interest in the Great War for a few folks at home - the result of which can only be good.

Ryan

[Max Poilu]

Yes, Tiffany Needell's "sensational" narration ruined a reasonably interesting programme. Seems some parts were pinched from "One of our mines is missing".

This video tells the story of one of the huge un-exploded mines still under Vimy, with much under ground footage - I can thoroughly recommend it.

Fougasse Films

[burlington]

I think Needell is just a reader from someone else's script.

BUT Clarkson can really get in to his subject.

Needell was not the right person for this programme.

[Mark Hone]

I agree that Clarkson was very passionate during his recent VC programme. Unfortunately he was rather let down by the person who wrote the script-there were some incredible factual howlers, particularly in the account of the progress of the battle of Arnhem.

[Muerrisch]

D Telegraph Monday promised a rather different programme, to include Peckham. A bit disappointed, but aerial crater shots superb. A few scientific errors re. underground explosions .... this being one of my [far too many] Masterming subjects, in which I claim a degree of expertise. Until an expert turns up.