Three people arrested after history enthusiasts were burned by Mustard Gas shells found in forest

www.dailymail.co.uk...

I don't really understand who the three people who were arrested. I'm guessing these are the historians for handling noxious substances when they should have informed the authorities. They were actually searching for old glass bottles.

The mystery is how those shells ended up being buried in the forest.

a reply to: stormcell

Lincolnshire Police said it was 'believed the canisters have been in situ since when the site was an operational RAF base'.

a reply to: stormcell

The mystery is how those shells ended up being buried in the forest.

Ever hear of WW I ???

Yes, I did hear of World War I.

But I'm wondering how they could just forget about something like that. Were they bombed, the shells collected for disposal and buried, with the expectation that they would be blown up and disposed of. But then no records were made, and they forget where they were buried?

a reply to: stormcell

Yes

Andrew Wortley, from MGR Guns in Woodhall Spa, said: 'It's not the first time we've had things like this found in Woodhall Spa - I think the bomb squad were out last year.

More
www.lincolnshirelive.co.uk...
www.horncastlenews.co.uk...

That's nothing as compared to what they might have dug up around the old Norton Disney Station.

The RAF was not formed until 1918 and had no operational bases in Lincolnshire until long after WW1 was ended.
a reply to: samkent

originally posted by: stormcell
I don't really understand who the three people who were arrested. I'm guessing these are the historians for handling noxious substances when they should have informed the authorities. ..
The mystery is how those shells ended up being buried in the forest.

We are told that "police descended on a house", and people were arrested for possession of the substance.
So, as I read the story, some of the party took the stuff home with them, and the fact came out when two of them went to hospital and got questioned.

a reply to: CulturalResilience
The RAF didn't but it's predecessor The Royal Flying Corp had numerous bases in and around Lincolnshire from 1916 till 1918.

As for any of the forces forgetting live ordnance buried, Especially after WW1, there are regular finds of land mines (that's a couple of tons of explosives put in tunnels under the then enemy trenches) in Northern France and Belgium.
No body saw fit at the time to register just where these mines were located and if they did the information is lost. So there may be quite a few about.

Quite so. Can you produce any evidence of the RFC deploying mustard gas? I haven't been able to find any so far.
a reply to: crayzeed

a reply to: CulturalResilience
Though the British had access to mustard gas weapons (from captured German forces) in 1917 they didn't develop their own ordinance till 1918. Ground forces used this first in 1918.
I don't think you will find any evidence of the RFC using it as it was considered very ungentlemanly, not only that but it was seriously frowned upon regarding Britain had agreed to the Hague Convention not to use chemical weapons. But as I said the army used it in 1918.

originally posted by: DISRAELI

originally posted by: stormcell
I don't really understand who the three people who were arrested. I'm guessing these are the historians for handling noxious substances when they should have informed the authorities. ..
The mystery is how those shells ended up being buried in the forest.

We are told that "police descended on a house", and people were arrested for possession of the substance.
So, as I read the story, some of the party took the stuff home with them, and the fact came out when two of them went to hospital and got questioned.

It sounds more like two people(the "historians") accidentally uncovered the cache and were injured in the process.

For some reason, the buried containers were then connected to three other people who have now been arrested.

Perhaps there was evidence that the arrested people had found the cache and then tried to hide it again - maybe they hoped to sell them instead of reporting them? In other words, they might have been somehow trying to exercise control over them (hence the possession charge) but without moving them from the burial spot.

All very intriguing. Look forward to hearing more about the story.

That was the impression I was under and that was why I made the reply I did to the commenter that made the reference to World War One.
a reply to: crayzeed

a reply to: EvillerBob
Naaah! More like they were metal detectorists looking for "treasure" on land they did not have permission to be on and they "found" the stash but couldn't report it because they were not supposed to be there. Then one of them said the wrong thing to the wrong person and hey presto police involvement.