Second World War shell found on beach at Lihou
LIHOU’S new warden was given an unexpected bit of training this week after discovering a piece of Second World War ordnance on the beach.
A high explosive shell from a 75mm French field gun was discovered in the south of the island by Lihou Charitable Trust warden Steve Sarre and outgoing warden Richard Curtis on Monday afternoon.
Mr Sarre said they were looking at the rock pools when he saw something strange.
‘I moved a couple of stones, because I was not sure what it was,’ he said.
‘Richard identified it as a shell.’
The island was used for target practice by German artillery during the Second World War.
The advancing troops had picked up materials as they invaded new territory, which would explain why the latest shell found was French.
In 2007, the Ministry of Defence cleared Lihou of explosives. However, the constantly moving shingle bank means that new shells are occasionally uncovered. In this case Mr Sarre said it was not easy to spot because the shell was rusted and covered in seaweed.
Fortunately it was on the bank, which is currently cordoned off to ensure nesting birds are not disturbed.
That meant the island did not have to be closed while the shell was dealt with.
Specialists from Guernsey Police travelled to the island yesterday morning and the device was exploded just after noon.
PC Simon Hamon from the Bomb Disposal Team helped deal with the shell, which was about the size of a one-litre bottle.
‘It was probably fired for target practice and probably from the car park,’ he said.
‘Particularly where you have a gun on an internal island battery, how do you range it without damaging the area? So they would take them to an approved range. The island was cleared, but there are still things there.’
He said in this case the shell was in quite good condition and the fuse was intact.
However, it was corroded, so it was decided the best way to handle it was to have a controlled explosion.
Mr Sarre, a former Guernsey Press photographer, took on the role of warden in April and has been learning from Mr Curtis, who was in the job for 14 years.
‘[Finding the shell] is good training for me,’ Mr Sarre said.
‘It’s good to know how to identify it and it’s not something you see every day.’
Guernsey Police say that if islanders find anything suspicious on the beach, they should leave it alone and contact the Joint Emergency Services Control Centre non-emergency number – 725111.
