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Explosion - May 30th 1944

On May 30th 1944, a 2000 pound naval bomb being prepared at Rotherwas was seen smoking.. 3 workers, JW Little, FJ Tyler and A Morris started dousing the bomb with water. Six members of the factory fire brigade cooled the bomb down and 800 fellow workers were evacuated from the southern section of the factory. The bomb split open and exploded and Mr Morris was killed. Assistant Fire Officer FA Lewis and Leading Fireman WJ Davies were thrown 30 foot out of the building. A second explosion was more powerful and the building collapsed on the firefighters, killing firefighter Vincent Carey. A third worker, trained in first aid, was helping colleagues and was also killed. The Hereford fire brigade and British, Canadian and American servicemen from the Herefordshire bases helped to bring the fire under control. In total, 31 bombs and mines exploded.

The explosions damaged homes and businesses across the city. 900 tons of live ammunition lay under the rubble and it took a month for a specialist team to make the site safe. WL Fitzmaurice defused 1500 pounds of explosives on his own to protect his colleagues whilst being continuously soaked by hosepipe.

King George V awarded 5 George Medals, 9 British Empire Medals, an OBE and an MBE to the workers for their bravery.

https://herefordshirehistory.org.uk/archive/herefordshire-in-the-great-war/first-world-war-newspapers/hereford-times/hereford-times-1945/hereford-times-january-1945/hereford-times-13th-january-1945/503849?q=hereford%20times%20january%201945

Miss Mona Cawthorne was in the Mechanised Transport Core at ROF Rotherwas. She was presented with a letter of commendation from the Director General CS Robinson for her bravery in transporting the injured to hospital despite being injured herself.

In 2003, volunteers from the Hereford Waterworks Museum found a Blackstone 5-cylinder diesel engine, multi belt drive system and a Mather & Platt two stage centrifugal pump.at Rotherwas. The fire engine has been fully restored and is part of a special exhibition in the Rotherwas Building at the Waterworks Museum.

https://www.waterworksmuseum.org.uk/discover/world-war-ii-exhibition/