  |
|||
|
|
|
||
|
Posted by Christopher Eger Jun 23, 2008 |
War leaves reminders all over the place. It is hard to walk down a street in any town that had been around for more than a few generations and not tread over the ghosts of past warriors. London has seen conquerors and warriors come and go. From the Romans to the Saxons and the wars of the Roses to the Germans they have all come and left their mark. Sometimes these marks are not found until generations later.
Case in point, a construction crew working on venues for the 2012 Olympic Games came across a remnant of one of these erstwhile want to be conquerors. The remnant in question was a 2200 pound (1000kg) bomb. Royal Army Engineers were called to the scene and identified the weapon belonging to the WWII German Luftwaffe. It was pulled from the River Thames near Three Mills Island in East London near by a dredge. The device, more than five feet long and heavily corroded, was safely disarmed after a day long scare and evacuation of the surrounding area. The relic, a gift from Mr. Hitler sometime during the Blitz, true to German craftsmanship, even started ticking again while being disarmed. No doubt this is because it realized that British soldiers were nearby. London police frequently find Un-exploded Ordinance left over from both world wars, however no bomb of this size has been found in London in more than 30-years according to statements.