GoKawiilBritish Army defuses WWII-era bomb dredged up at Exmouth Marina
A dredging crew at Exmouth Marina uncovered a large unexploded German bomb on 14 January 2026, 81 years after the end of the second world war, prompting marina manager Steve Hockings-Thompson to alert police. The army's 11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Search Regiment, based at Vauxhall Barracks in Didcot, was called in to handle the device, led by Maj Andrew Boyce, who initially received conflicting information about the bomb's size.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
The discovery illustrates how wartime ordnance can remain hidden in busy, repeatedly dredged commercial waterways for decades without detection, posing ongoing risks to modern infrastructure. The presence of 20,000 litres of diesel fuel on the dredging vessel at the time suggests how a routine maintenance operation could have escalated into a serious safety incident if not handled carefully.
- A WWII-era German bomb was found at Exmouth Marina on 14 January 2026, long after the marina was repeatedly dredged.
- The army's 11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Search Regiment, headquartered in Didcot, was called to manage the device.
- The dredging vessel carrying the bomb held 20,000 litres of diesel fuel, raising the stakes of the discovery.
Source: theguardian.com — Samira Shackle, 2026-10-07
Published there as: “The art of defusing a second world war bomb”
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