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Also worth noting that unexploded bombs from the Second World War still turn up in London every now and again, e.g. 21 May in Wembley [0], 14 May in Bromley [1], 23 March in Bermondsey [2], 20 February in New Malden [3].

[0] http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/may/22/bomb-found-20...

[1] http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/pensioner-finds-unexpl...

[2] http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/police-called-in-after...

[3] http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/police-investigate-une...

2 comments

Also interesting is the ship wreck at the mouth of the Thames containing 1,400 tons of explosives. They estimate if it blew it would be felt in London and create a tidal wave 1-5 meters high.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Richard_Montgomery

Lest we forget the true nature of war, it should be noted that British and American bombs are discovered all over the place in Germany too, every year. And still cause casualties, alas.

Yes - from today's news at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-32897388 "Some 20,000 people in the German city of Cologne have been forced to leave their homes as authorities defuse a one-tonne bomb from World War Two".

Wikipedia has numbers: Every year, about 5,500 duds are removed (sometimes, evacuation of several 10,000 people included), the daily average is given as 15. In 2013 an estimated 100,000 were remaining. Wars suck, for everyone and for a long time.

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unexploded_ordnance + the german article)

I've also heard that WWI munitions are routinely found in France still, with farmers still getting killed occasionally.

And some people try to take them through the Channel Tunnel on Eurostar: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-32690320

The topic even has its own wikipedia article:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_harvest

And there are more interesting articles related to it, like https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zone_rouge_%28s%C3%A9quelles_d...

(Try using Google Translate if you don’t understand french – the english article just is far too short)