Diss litter picker discovers World War Two Blacker bombard

The accidental discovery of a relic from the Second World War will see it incorporated into a town’s celebrations to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day.

George Waterman stumbled on the base plate for a Blacker bombard – a stop-gap, close-range, anti-tank weapon approved by Winston Churchill in 1941 for use by the Home Guard – while carrying out a litter pick close to Denmark Lane in Diss.

Invented by Lieutenant-Colonel Stewart Blacker, the weapon involved a steel rod attached to a base plate and was commissioned for wider use at a time when Britain was particularly short of anti-tank guns, with many left stranded in France.

Mr Waterman said: “I was picking litter in a small triangle of woodland and almost fell over the metal piece protruding from the ground.

“At first, I thought it was maybe a water main or part of a larger piece of dumped concrete or metal.

“It was only a couple of months later, when telling my grandfather about the incident and showing him the photo, that he explained that the piece of metal was actually part of a Blacker bombard.”

Approximately 22,000 bombards were produced as part of the war effort, with large numbers of fixed concrete pedestals installed at key junctions, in the event of a German invasion.

They were not without issues, however, with members of the Home Guard reporting that they had temperamental fuses, which meant that they would often pass through an unarmoured target without detonating, or, when they did explode, fragments could be thrown back at the crew.

Mr Waterman said: “My grandfather had been involved in excavating one back when he lived in Brentwood in Essex, hence how he knew what it was.

“I made a Land Registry enquiry to identify the owner of the land, and contacted them to ask for permission to uncover more of the bombard.”

Mr Waterman was given permission to do so back in January and, through tireless work, the mount can now be clearly seen – the same as it would have been around 80 years ago.

With the help of Diss Museum manager Basil Abbot, the relic will be showcased at a special event before the town’s VE Day celebrations on May 8.

A new sign for Bombard Way – part of a new housing development in the town – will also be unveiled, with re-enactors and wartime songs giving people a taste of life in war-time Britain.

“Relics such as this are fascinating to me,” added Mr Waterman. “This one has inspired a lot of conversations between myself and other people in Diss, who remember it being in place close to Old High Road.

“I hope it inspires others to find out more about our local history.”

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