Bomb part
Category
Metalwork
Date
1939 - 1945
Materials
Measurements
200 x 80 mm; 255 mm (Circumference)
Order this imageCollection
Bodiam Castle, East Sussex
NT 68052
Summary
A three inch mortar fin, the tail end of a Second World War mortar with screw fitting.
Full description
Believed to have been found in the grounds of Bodiam Castle. The Castle was not damaged during the Second World War, but a pill-box was built in the grounds. At that time, there was direct line of sight from the pill-box to the bridge. The Home Guard was tasked with protecting the bridge. In 2006 a former member of the Home Guard visited Bodiam Castle and shared his memories. Mr Tom Weeks recalled that although the pill-box was designed to hold an anti-tank gun, it never arrived and instead the men were armed with guns and rifles. A Spigit Mortar gun was stored in the Castle. When visitors were allowed to return after the war, they would have been shown the gun. Mr Weeks remembered that it was armed with a dummy bomb for training, but one day during a demonstration, the gun accidentally went off and blew the doors to the Postern Tower of their hinges.