Braver Men Walk Away, Gurney, Peter
 

Hello All,

Has anyone came across Peter Gurney's 1993 book about bomb disposal teams called Braver Men Walk Away? If so how does this book rate along side Jappy's 2001 book Danger UXB?

Do you know of any other books about bomb disposal that you think have historic merit? If so what are they?

I was in high school when the BBC TV series Danger UXB was first screened in 1979. This led to an interest in the work of bomb disposal teams.

I look forward to receiving your recommendations - for bomb disposal books which have historic merit - not works of fiction.

I also hope that Gurney's book is on someone's good list because I just bought a second-hand copy from overseas!

Kind regards
Lionel

Yes
 

Read this years ago.

SOFTLY TREAD THE BRAVE

See it in op shops for $2

Just had a look online and the prices for this book from book dealers are ridiculous , up to $300 . Why ?

https://www.amazon.com/Softly-tread-.../dp/B0007JHHKA

Hello Mike,

Thank you for the details on the book and for the recommendation. I picked up a copy for $55 including postage. It was very much the less expensive end of the buying options available.

Yes, some of copies of Braver Men Walk Away also had some pretty steep prices attached to them as well.

Kind regards
Lionel

Hi Lionel.
A good book to read on bomb disposal is "Designed to Kill" by Major Arthur Hogben, ex-Royal Engineers and it covers from WW1 to the Falklands. It was published in 1987, ISBN 0-85059-865-6. Very detailed and good number of photos in it.

My interest in this subject came from the occasional repair work on the trepanning machines used by the Royal Engineers for cutting out the fuses. These particular machines were hydraulic and operated remotely. We had some old bomb casings to use for testing.

Not a book that I have read but I seem to recall a British book called Fetch Felix, Felix being the call sign for an ATO during the troubles in Northern Ireland.

The Cold War Collection put its Saracen in Felix markings. No particular known provenance, but a tip of the hat to EOD. That Saracen had been ordered for Libya and not delivered, redirected to Northern Ireland where it received uparmouring. The collection's restorer had to remove most of the plates because of rust buckling and really bad welds. It was operational during the Troubles as evidenced by a few bullet divets near the driver's hatch. The vehicle came to Canada at some point, and was taken on as a project. It is now somewhere in Western Canada with new owners.

Hello Richard,

Thank you for the detailed information about the book. There was a similar episode on the BBC TV show Danger UXB that had a drill and suction set up that would remove all the explosive from the bomb. Once the explosive was removed then the bomb disposal crew would work on the fuse. If the fuse did get tripped it restricted the damage. These fuses may have been designed with anti-tampering devices. The trepanning machines sound like a similar idea.

Kind regards
Lionel

Hello Dan,

Thank you for the lead, The book is called Fetch Felix: The Fight Against the Ulster Bombers, 1976-1977 by Derrick Patrick (1981). ISBN 9780241103715. The era is linked to a really intense webpage that describes a photograph that shows how the bomb disposal person is already walking in the 'kill radius'. In the foreground of the same photograph it shows a quotation written on the corner of a building that says - Prepare to meet your God. Not the most confidence inspiring thing to read as you walk closer and closer to a bomb! Accessed 14th June 2023 from, https://belfastchildis.com/2017/07/0...ry-behind-them

Kind regards
Lionel

Fetch Felix is well worth reading. (I borrowed it from the local library years ago and this has prompted me to get a copy for myself.)

I think I dipped into the Peter Gurney book, once... various anecdotes (the very large naval shell found in a public toilet cesspit in the Middle East was amusing, there was also one about burning out knocked-out tanks to get rid of unexploded ammunition - the one where the gunner's last act had been to close the breech...). So I've ordered that as well.

Other purchases: Softly tread the brave, and Designed to kill.

A WW2 one I remember being interested in (to the point of remembering the content) is "Unexploded Bomb" by Major A.B.Hartley, but I think I've spent enough for this month!

Chris.