Man Drops Munitions Off To Museum

Fort William, United Kingdom An 82-year old man dropped off a donation to West Highland Museum, a pair of WWII incendiary bombs wrapped in a plastic grocery bag. The man explained to museum curator that he found the munitions back in 1943 when he was 15-years old. He explained to the woman that he and a schoolmate at found several incendiary bombs in a tree near their home. He explained how the bombs were safe because he and his friend "sawed the ends off to get the explosives out". Over the years, the devices eventually were made their way as bookends which sat on the man's shelf for over 50 years before he decided it was time to donate them to the museum.

Untrained in military munitions, the museum curator wisely called the police after who responded with technical support provided by a Royal Logistics Corps Bomb Disposal Unit. EOD confirmed that the bombs were indeed inert and allowed the museum to keep the items. The elderly man was not surprised by the determination as he stated to the police, "our speciality as schoolboys was in finding unexploded incendiaries which fell in soft ground or hit tree branches and landed sideways. We could tell the non-explosive ones, so we dismantled them with hacksaw and chisel, and emptied them." EOD explained to the man that he and his friends were fortunate to have survived the handling and dismantling of the incendiary bombs. EOD advised the man to call the police if he came across any other war souvenirs in his house.