East Anglia offers a unique opportunity for offshore energy generation, as well as other large scale infrastructure projects, such as the Lower Thames crossing. There has been many a failed dream too, from Maplin Sands, to London Britannia aka ‘Boris Island’, among others. Often, the quest to build for the future onshore and offshore overlooks the consequences of the past. This, in some cases, can be quite explosive. Literally explosive.
East Anglia Bylines covered one such case in the past, the ill-fated SS Richard Montgomery. The story is chilling. The shipwreck is often obscured within the murky depths of the River Thames, with only faint clues about its presence, and its explosive legacy.
The wreck still has enough ammunition on board to warrant an exclusion zone. If it were to detonate, the resulting explosion could be the largest man-made non-nuclear explosion in human history.
Yet this threat to parts of Southend and Sheerness is not the only underwater spectre lurking beneath the waves around our shores.
The dangers for offshore wind farms
The shallow, windy, North Norfolk coastal waters are ideal for offshore wind farms. Following its acquisition of the Norfolk Offshore Wind portfolio from Vattenfall, the German energy firm, RWE, will deliver three offshore windfarms — Boreas, Vanguard East and Vanguard West. The company has applied for two licences to investigate a large area stretching out from Sea Palling and Mundesley into the North Sea.
The exploration is to determine the locations of the wind turbines and the route the power cables will take in order to bring the power onshore. The challenge for RWE is, as East Anglia Bylines recently reported, that over 600 unexploded ordnances (UXOs) have been identified in a survey of the sea bed. Given the half a million likely UXOs that still lie in British coastal waters, it’s likely more could be located as work begins.
An RWE spokesperson said, “Safety is paramount – whether for our teams, marine users, or for the environment. Our experience of over 20 years in offshore wind development shows that the vast majority these objects are very unlikely to be unexploded ordnance.”
In a similar project, RWE only had to detonate two of over 200 underwater objects they encountered.
Nevertheless it is a hazardous job. RWE use state-of-the-art Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) to investigate UXOs. In the case of identifying a live UXO, the company prioritise avoidance, routing cables around the devices, and low-impact clearance methods, such as disabling detonators. Detonation is an absolute last resort to ensure minimal disruption to the marine environment.
Onshore dangers
Importantly, the danger is not just far out at sea. Residents in Southend are often reminded that winter storms can wash unexploded items onto the beaches, and in 2023, a caravan park in Suffolk had to be evacuated when a cliff fall revealed a suspected bomb.
In early 2023 a unexploded bomb – about 1m (3.2ft) long and weighing about 250kg (39st 5lbs) – was discovered in Great Yarmouth during construction work for a new bridge. A contractor working on the third crossing over the River Yare unearthed the device on Southtown Road. In response a protective sand barrier was built around the bomb prior to attempts to make it safe. Nearby residents were also evacuated.
While army bomb disposal personnel were attempting to disarm the bomb, there was an unplanned detonation which was reported to have been heard, and felt, for miles around.
“The device detonated shortly after work had started to disarm the device,” said Norfolk’s Assistant Chief Constable, Nick Davison, “The approach had been the safest option to disarm the device. However, it always carried a risk of unintended detonation. Thankfully, all personnel have been accounted for.”
Yet it is not just populated areas where danger lurks. Last month the new craze of ‘magnet fishing’ resulted in the Broads Authority issuing a plea for people to follow the correct procedure after a 13-year-old managed to pull up an explosive device out of the River Wensum. His actions resulted in a bridge being closed and bomb specialists being called in.
A spokesperson for the Broads Authority said: “If weapons or unexploded ordnance are recovered, phone the police on 999 immediately.”
He also issued a reminder that anyone recovering items from the water will be in breach of local bylaws if their ‘finds’ are left on the river bank, as it constitutes fly tipping, which could result in a fine. All items must be taken home and safely disposed of.
The events on the River Wensum are another reminder of the risks involved.
Also in December, a member of the public found an unexploded ordnance on Mundesley beach. An area of the beach was closed and the hand grenade detonated by Royal Engineer bomb disposal experts. The emergence of this WW2 device is believed to be due to the ongoing coastal sea defence works which required displacing large quantities of sand.
Yet this is only part of the story.
From 1913 Orford Ness was used as a military test site and closely guarded to prevent public access. Top secret experiments were conducted across both World Wars and into the nuclear age. From the 1970s the Ness was home to RAF Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD). Large quantities of munitions were destroyed on the Ness, an often noisy process. Much of its land remains too dangerous to walk over.
Sacred sites
Unexploded weaponry is not the only thing beneath the water. The tragedy is that there are also graves, not just from World War II, but other conflicts and tragedies.
Some of these locations are covered by legislation, such as the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986. This protects the remains of any military aircraft, British or otherwise, that crashed within the United Kingdom Territorial waters, or UK controlled waters, regardless of whether there was loss of life or not.
The Thames estuary is the last resting place of aviator Amy Johnson and the 300 souls who died when the HMS London was lost centuries earlier. In December a WWII RAF bomber was located off the coast of Salthouse in North Norfolk by a diver.
It is easy to forget that the waters around East Anglia are the protected maritime sites of many sailors, air crews, and tourists who have perished, both in conflict or during peacetime.
In our quest to run to the future, we must remember to tread lightly when dealing with the past. There are dangers lurking from past conflicts that we have to navigate. And sacred resting places of many people — some who gave their tomorrow so we could enjoy today.
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