Explosives

Engineering
Professional Affiliate of the Engineering Council UK

The role of energetic

materials in science education
and public engagement
Page 7

The Great Fire takes hold

Page 12

T H E J O U R N A L O F T H E I N S T I T U T E O F E X P LO S I V E S E N G I N E E R S

December 2014

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Contents

Contents
features
explosive inspiration: the role of energetic materials in
science education and public engagement

professor christopher m bishop Freng FrSe miexpe

the great Fire of london takes hold

12

the evolution of the threat from improvised

explosive devices
14
captain michael richardson

18

cheong heng wan mSc bSc ee and

tommy chaw ming heng dip ee

the royal naval cordite Factory at

holton heath: dorsets essential role in
both world wars,
1914-1918 and 1939-1945

22

edward griths

The Institute of Explosives Engineers

Suite 3, 78 mill Street, Stafford St16 2aJ
telephone and fax: 01785 240154
email: secretariat@iexpe.org
www.iexpe.org
Institute of Explosives Engineers
registered office:
141 victoria road, Swindon Sn1 3bu
company no. 07905911
company limited by guarantee

The Institute of
Explosives Engineers
the iexpe logo is a uk registered
trade mark owned by iexpe

book review

25

let tyrants tremble

by John reid

colin gorry

our people, our home: Singapores 2014

national day parade fireworks display

Regulars
institute news

the bennett file

26

Sidney alford column

27

tech spec

28

industry news

30

letter to the editor -

31

concussive deafness
do you suer?

conferences/
exhibition diary

32

in a flash:
we are the bright Sparks

32

Front cover: Filming of the

great Fire of london itv
production, photographs
copyright itv, courtesy
of colin gorry of colin
gorry eects ltd.

Editor
diane hall
telephone: +44 (0)1729 840765
mobile: +44 (0)7778 063373
email: editor@iexpe.org
dianethall@aol.com
Design and Print/Production and
Advertising Manager
gordon hunt
gordon hunt design
telephone: +44 (0)1726 832594
email: design@gordon-hunt.co.uk

Explosives Engineering
distributed quarterly to all members of the institute of explosives engineers.
to non-members or for additional copies to members, including p&p.
Single copies:- uk 8.80, eu 11.20, world 12.40.
annual subscription:- uk 34.50, eu 44.10, world 48.90
to obtain copies, contact explosives engineering Subscriptions at the institute address above.
cheques should be made payable in sterling to the institute of explosives engineers.
papers, articles and letters to the editor are welcome and should be sent to the editor at her email
address, or by post to the institute address.

professional affiliate of ecuk

opinions expressed in the Journal are those of the authors concerned.

they do not necessarily represent the views of the institute
01

Institute News

The
President
speaks
as part of my intention to meet as many of
the membership as possible, i recently visited
the oshore branch in aberdeen and my
thanks to andy pettitt for organising our visit.
i was able to report on progress in delivering
our strategy and answer questions from the
branch members. in engaging this way i
hope to be able to encourage more of our
members to apply for a council position or
represent the institute on the various
committees and working groups where our
contribution is in increasing demand as a
result of our increased professional
recognition and independence.
my visit was combined with a presentation
from martyn Sime of hSe explosive
inspectorate on the new elr 2014
regulations. this was very well received and
gave the branch members clarity over the
changes and an opportunity to pose
questions on specific industry sector points.
consequently, i would like oer that if a
suciently large group of members could
get together and request a similar joint visit
whether or not you are in a formal branch or
otherwise, we would welcome an
opportunity to try and repeat this event.
my visit to the engineering council
highlighted some significant facts that
ultimately will aect all of industry in terms
of demographics and loss of experience. For
instance it appears that over 40 % of existing
registrants are over 60 years old. to address
this and other issues the engineering council

is promoting the benefits from becoming

engineering technician, incorporated
engineer and supports the uptake of
apprenticeships. this is to attract a wider
range of industry professionals whose
current levels of competence would
demonstrate a level of professional
registration. the general benefits of
registration can be seen at http://www.engc.
org.uk/professional-registration/videowhat's-in-it-for-me and i would encourage
all our membership to consider applying for
professional registration through the
institute. For further details please contact
ken cross at registrar@iexpe.org.
with reference to routes to membership, our
workshop in october was very productive in
high lighting areas for improvement. this
resulted in graham brooks volunteering to
produce recommendations of how, through
recognising competence, our routes to
membership meet the requirements of the
national occupational Standards. this work
is influenced by the focus of the engineering
council above but is aimed at providing
recognition of a broader range of industry
professionals.
in respect of the new website and it oce
upgrades, we are on programme for
delivering new oce it capability and a new
website in time for next years agm. this will
involve rebranding the institute and taking
advantage of the advances in technology,

members will like to be aware that we are

making more use of the web site to advertise
jobs, so please keep an eye on it if you are
looking for a new job.
the Sector Skill Strategy group has agreed
the proposed new doeS oce contract and
alan hinton associates are now progressing
the deliverables under that contract.
i went to watch the Southport musical
Fireworks championship 2014 in october
and i oer my congratulations to the winner
Smart pyros. as i watched the crowds reaction
to all of the displays, i was aware of not only
their enjoyment but also how this provided
an opportunity for the companies involved
to demonstrate their professional expertise
in using fireworks.
as we are approaching the Festive season,
may i ask all of you to pause and remember
all those who have significant challenges
and do are best to support them and their
families. i would link this sentiment with our
friend, colleague and council member mike
goodwin and all of us im sure would wish
him to know that we are thinking of him.
i finally wish you all a happy christmas and
safe new year and i hope Santa claus is
kind to you.

John wolstenholme
ceng FiStrute mice miexpe

oshore
branch lay on
blue skies and
sunshine.

IExpE AGM and

Conference 2015
as we approach 2015, the preparations for the next annual agm and
conference begin. the venue for next years event is as follows:
norton park
hotel, norton
park, Sutton
Scotney, near
winchester
So21 3nb

02

social media and accessibility of websites on

dierent media forms. paul harris and dave
welch are leading on this.

the agm and dinner will take place on 23rd april 2015 and the
conference on 24th april 2015 with a proposed outline of timings as
follows:
23rd april 2015 agm: 16:00 18:00
23rd april 2015 dinner: 19:30 23:00
24th april 2015 conference: 09:30 15:45
the theme for the 2015 conference is Strengthening the
Relationship between the Institute of Explosives Engineers and Industry
Partners. Should you wish to be considered to present at the
conference, please contact dave welch or hannah mellish by
calling: 01329 226 156 or emailing events@iexpe.org. in the event
we receive too many presenter applications, we will add all those
not selected for this year to our portfolio of potential presenters for
forthcoming conferences.

Institute News

DOES report
the doeS pm role continues for another
three years! the SSSg agreed to a new
term for the doeS pm role at their 27th
august meeting, held at the QinetiQ site at
boscombe down. iexpe remain the line
manager for this role. there is a new
management plan with the specified
outputs laid down in three priorities:
priority 1: training, education and work
experience (or up skilling)
priority 2: Sharing experience
priority 3: attract and retain talent
in addition, there are a number of
administrative objectives to be achieved
over the three year term such as
developing Sector wide communications,
resource planning to relieve the financial
burden on SSSg members and a continued
push for professionalism across the sector
with iexpe as the recognised professional
body. the SSSg members have agreed that
they will provide additional expert support
to the doeS pm to achieve the aims that
have been set. the doeS pm will take on
more of a coordination role rather than a
delivery role. the doeS team welcome
allan hinton back from his sabbatical in
afghanistan and look forward to him
taking back the reins of this role in January
2015.
the expert working groups continue with
their valuable work. the early careers
Focus group continues to expand and
opportunities are now being developed for
its members to gain experience previously
not available to them. any ecFg member
can now attend any ewg meeting for their
own professional development and
interest. the ewg meetings are available

on the institute website or through the

ecFg chairman. the chairmans contact
details are available through the
Secretariat.
the relationship between the SSSg and
the SSb remains as strong as ever, with ken
cross continuing as SSb chairman. the
latest SSb meeting took place at demS
training regiment, bicester, on 22nd
october.
the SSSg is developing new metrics to
determine skills requirements in future
years, based on known demographics. the
SSb has previously delivered some work
that will now form part of the input to the
new study. the issues being looked at are:
a. Sector Skills shortage
b. attract new people
c. retain current skill sets (how? for how
long?)
d. use the more experienced as mentors
(how?)
the SSSg has asked dr Jenny clucas of
cogent (the Sector Skills council
responsible for the explosives industry) to
chair the review. it is planned that the
review will report in June 2015. all SSSg
companies will be involved in this activity
which will be funded through an SSg
member. the first steering group meeting
took place at QinetiQ Farnborough on 11th
november 2014 and determined a way
ahead.

separate papers were presented, each

related to safety in conjunction with
explosives. the keynote speaker, Squadron
leader andy Fisher raF, gave a fascinating
insight into how explosives design and
reliability saved his life. andy is a Qualified
weapons instructor with a tornado gr4
squadron. he related his experience of
ejecting from a tornado on a runway just
before the moment of takeo when his
pilot recognised that there was a fire in
one of the engines. his explosively
powered ejector seat only had to work
once, and work first time. reliability was
key to his escape from the burning aircraft!
other doeS pm work included attending
the cogent annual Skills Forum on 16th
october 2014. this focused on the
implementation of the Science industry
partnership (Sip); full details of which can
be found at hyperlink
"http://www.scienceindustrypartnership.c
om" www.scienceindustrypartnership.com
.
the SSSg has a forward programme for the
next year with meetings on 18th
February,17th June, 19th august and 18th
november 2015. the ewg dates are
interspersed between the SSSg meetings
and each ewg chair reports on activities
conducted in the past quarter, plus
providing plans for the coming quarter.

Paul harris Qgm Fcmi Finstlm miepe

the ordnance munitions and explosives

Symposium, delivered on behalf of the
SSSg, took place at Shrivenham
30thSeptember and 1st october. over 250
delegates attended four sessions where 18

all iexpe members are entitled to attend the agm and conference at
no cost, other than travel expense and overnight accommodation.
non-members will find the associated event costs on the agm and
conference booking Form enclosed, as iexpe have chosen to stay with
the Q hotel chain, competitive rates have been oered, aligned as far
as possible with previous years event costs. accommodation should
be booked directly through the hotel by calling: 01962 763 000,
quoting institute of explosive engineers as a reference to obtain the
associated discount. all attendees should complete the form and
email to events@iexpe.org, alternatively they can be faxed to 01329
226 155 or sent to chairman for iexpe agm and conference, Shogun
house, Fielder drive, Fareham, po14 1Je at the earliest convenience.
the deadline for receiving these booking forms is 17th april 2014.
admittance to the event relies solely on receipt and acknowledgment
of a completed booking form and associated payment (where
applicable).

as always, partners are welcome and are encouraged to attend the

event and their attendance should be detailed on the booking Form
also. Further details of attractions and activities available within the
surrounding area of the hotel are available from
www.visitwinchester.co.uk. there are leisure facilities available at
the hotel and all hotel details can be found by visiting:
http://www.qhotels.co.uk/our-locations/norton-park/.
conference sponsorship packages are detailed in the Sponsorship
booking Form enclosed and have been modified slightly to allow for
further sponsorship opportunities to encourage increased
participation. Further sponsorship package details can be obtained
through dave welch or hannah mellish by calling: 01329 226 156 or
emailing events@iexpe.org.

03

Institute News

Branch reports
South (Central and west) Branch
the branch meeting on 2nd June was held at the royal armouries
museum at Fort nelson in Fareham. branch members were invited
to bring a guest which oered the chance for non-members to
attend and see what the branch gets up to. there were thirty
attendees at the meeting. the atmosphere was lively and oered
the usual nibbles and networking, as well as the opportunity to
learn about science and engineering of First world war gun systems,
to broaden our horizons by learning about ordnance which we may
not otherwise have encountered, and to oer a degree of hands-on
experience. holli kimble (the branch Secretary), was entrusted with
firing the 18 pounder gun. the gun was fired twice as a
demonstration. this was preceded by a detailed explanation of the
cartridge and breech interface by nick hall who is a branch member
and the keeper of artillery at royal armouries at Fort nelson.
the demo was followed by a thorough Q&a session; the lovely
weather made for a very pleasant evening as we gathered around
the gun to discuss ordnance engineering. after a spot of food and
drink, we were given a presentation on the 18 inch railway howitzer
by phil magrath, curator of artillery at the royal armouries. this is a
remarkable piece of equipment in both size and history.

Oshore Branch
the oshore branch has reported another strong year in 2014 and
continues to meet regularly, with meetings in February, June and
September having supported the group in communicating
eectively in a year of legislative change.
the most recent meeting on September 10th was attended by
guest speakers from the institute and the hSe. the group was
delighted and honoured to host our president, John wolstenholme,
who spoke with passion regarding his vision for the institute and in
particular the need to encourage young people into industry and
ensure that the knowledge of today is passed on to the engineers of
the future. he also spoke of the institute taking more of a lead in
technical excellence, further defining competence both in uk and
europe, and enhancing the (it) communication channels from
within the institute to its members and aliates.
the group was also delighted to welcome martyn Sime, of the hSe
inspectorate, who presented an enlightening overview of the
explosives regulations 2014. he explained how the new regulations
were a consolidation of previous legislation and were suited to
support a very broad church with a range of risks and hazards.

we then headed to artillery hall where we saw the massive gun

system on its railway carriage, along with a number of historical
cannon which had been raised from ship wrecks, and some more
modern artillery and gun systems. our thanks go to the sta of Fort
nelson, particularly nick hall and phil mcgrath for the enthusiastic
presentations and for allowing us to use the fantastic venue for our
meeting.

changes to the branch administrative structure included a change

of chairman and Secretary in 2014. the branch would like to extend
thanks to brian dundas of baker hughes for his dedication and
support of branch activities as retiring chairman and also to paul
lynch of paradigm geokey Services as Secretary. andy pettitt has
taken on the role of branch chairman, whereas Simon mckay has
assumed the role of Secretary, both of Spex oshore.

please get in touch through the institute Secretariat if you wish to

attend any of the meetings or to be added to the email distribution
list. our branch meetings occur quarterly in march, June,
September and december.

the next oshore branch

meeting is scheduled for
wednesday december 3rd,
hosted by baker hughes, all
welcome.

Rob hart ceng aiema

miexpe chairman

Simon McKay ceng miexpe

branch Secretary

martyn Sime of hSe addressing the

oshore branch meeting.
18 inch railway howitzer in
artillery hall, the royal
armouries museum.

Emails are as follows:president@iexpe.org

the branch visits Fort

nelson, Fareham.

04

- John wolstenholme

director@iexpe.com

- alan morley

Secretariat@iexpe.org

- vicki hall

membership@iexpe.org

- andy pettitt

editor@iexpe.org

- diane hall

vp.operations@iexpe.org

- dave welch

vp.projects@iexpe.org

- paul harris

Finance.director@iexpe.org

- ian mckay

registrar@iexpe.org

- ken cross

Site.ed@iexpe.org - web

- dan perkins

Institute News

Professional registration update

Awards 2014-2015

Registrations
professional registration statistics as at:
19th october 2014
ceng
ieng engtech
QualiFied
21
4
3
in progreSS
6
0
0
application forms sent but
not yet received back - 42

time has come around again for the call for

nominations for awards that are presented
by the institute in recognition of services to
the explosives industry. each award comes
with an engraved trophy or memento, a
photo of the winner in the institute Journal
and of course the recognition by ones peers.
all the awards will be presented at the
annual agm and conference to be held at
winchester on the 23rd april 2015.

Assessor training
See occasionally runs a "training day for
assessors of professional review interviews",
supported by the engineering council. the
workshops include a review of engineering
council requirements and delegates are
invited to carry out mock interviews of
potential engc registrants who have kindly
agreed to take part in the exercise.
delegates are likely to be those who can
subsequently be expected to assist with pri
interviews for the Society (See) and, where
appropriate, be part of a "pool" of interviewers
available to other institutions. all delegates
must be registered with engineering council
as ceng or ieng; regretfully our cchem etc
members are not able to attend but are still
most welcome as mentors.See reserves the
right to be selective in accepting delegates
and observers to the workshop in order that
there is a good mix of institutions and
disciplines. as such, these days are a good
opportunity to meet fellow professionals
from other disciplines which helps us all to
understand the role of the professional
engineer in society.
Marketing
the drive towards professionalisation in the
explosives sector of the mod continues,
particularly in the defence equipment &
Support (de&S) weapons operating centre. i
held a briefing and series of 1:1s on 16th July
which has led to one or two applications for
membership and professional registration
application packs.
i gave a presentation on the institute and
professional registration as a lunchtime
lecture to members of sta at dstl Fort
halstead on 15th July, which was to have
been followed up with a 'get it done'
afternoon in october but which was
postponed due to lack of numbers.
i have been asked to provide institute and
experiential input into a study/initiative
headed by the army's chief ammunition
technical ocer and current head of
defence eod & Search branch into the
(re)professionalisation of the ammunition

technical vocation. i am due to provide

them with a two-page brief on the status
quo and routes to membership and
professional registration by 30th october.
CPD
institute procedures have been amended
to include the institute's requirement for
professional registrants to undertake 30
hours cpd per year. all other members are
strongly recommended to do the same.
engineering council policy on cpd will
require the institute's registrar to sample
all cpd records from 2016. as such i will
encourage all members to sign up for
mycareerpath accounts and to use it in
2015. i strongly recommend that members
of council lead from the front in this
matter by signing up for mycareerpath if
they have not already done so.
MyCareerPath
the mycareerpath development
programme for 2015 will concentrate on
the sampling of cpd records to align with
the engineering council's policy.
the mobile device-friendly version of
mycareerpath has been released, which
enables easy capture of cpd as people are
on the move. i use this version occasionally
and find it very convenient.
Sign up for your mycareerpath account
now - it'S Free oF charge.
http://iexpe.org/professionalregistration/continuous-professional-devel
opment-cpd
all queries on professional registration
should be directed to the registrar in the
first instance: registrar@iexpe.org

please could you take the time to consider

and nominate a colleague who you believe
justly deserves recognition in the form of one
of the awards.
there are full details of all the awards on the
website, however here is a selection.
Nobel Lecture Award
member or non member who is recognised
for having done such exemplary work in the
field of explosives to warrant permanent
recognition by the institute.
harold Swinnerton Award
member or non member who has done the
most to further the interests of the institute
and services to the explosives industry.
Rosenthal Silver Salver Award
awarded to a member for their outstanding
service to the institute by carrying out
sucient recognisable work for the institute.
i am sure there are people in the explosives
field that carry out their work day in day out,
without getting the recognition they truly
deserve. now is the opportunity to say a big
thank you.
please email the secretariat with your
nominations at secretariat@iexpe.org and
vicki will forward those for consideration.

fiona Smith aiexpe

Ken Cross mbe ceng mSc bSc(hons) Fiexpe

Rebrand and new website for IExpE

as agreed at the last agm, the council is working to deliver a new identity for the
institute, complete with revised logo, and freshen our outlook with a new web presence.
the project team have engaged peloton design and Satsuma media to provide the new
website. the council is working to an aggressive timeline to which all involved are
committed. update milestones are linked to council meetings so that council can
influence the development. the first milestone is 3rd december 2014 when the project
team will brief council on progress to date. by the following council meeting on 4th
February 2015 it is intended to demonstrate a skeleton website. the team is working
towards an ocial launch of the site on the iexpe Stand at ct expo (2st1-22nd april 15)
in advance of the 2015 agm and conference 23rd and 24th april 2015.

Paul harris Qgm Fcmi Finstlm miexpe

05

Institute News

Incident Reporting
Monitoring our reporting performance, from SAfEX Newsletter, No.50, 3rd Qtr,2014.
Every incident that is reported may prevent another from occurring. You can save a life by reporting an incident including a near-event.
SaFex learns from its members experiences through the incident reports we receive. by applying these lessons we can
prevent similar incidents recurring. that is why we track our incident reporting performance as follows:

All the incidents reported.

this chart compares the sum of non-member and member
incidents reported to SaFex every month this year
compared to the previous year. we have only reported half
the incidents this year than in in the same period last year
and the gap is widening. are we having fewer incidents or
are we not reporting the incidents we are having? every
incident not reported is a lost learning opportunity.
remember, its never too late to report an incident.

Member incidents reported.

because they give us the best learning opportunities, we
track member incidents (mis) separately in the chart on
the left. par is an estimate of how many mis are occurring
based on the severity of the mis that have been reported
this year. the gap between the number of mis reported
and par is our reporting gap. the reporting gap suggests
that only 70% of our mis are being reported.

Contributors of member incidents.

this chart identifies those members who reported
incidents. it shows the number of incidents each of these
members reported relative to the total number of mis
received.
the chart distinguishes between groups and companies
merely to indicate the performance of the two
membership categories. there are about twice as many
operating units in the groups than single companies. So
far this year group members have reported about twice
the number of incidents company members reported.

Reprinted with kind permission of the publishers,

SAFEX International.
06

Feature

Explosive inspiration!
The role of energetic materials in science
education and public engagement
by Professor Christopher M. Bishop
Freng FrSe miexpe

Science in the classroom is becoming

sterile and uninspiring.
Judith hackitt, chairman of the health and Safety
executive, July 2011
audience appreciating the demonstration.

The art of the science

demonstration
in december of 1827, the young michael
Faraday stood at the front of the famous
lecture theatre at the royal institution and
delivered his first christmas lecture for
young people. over 180 years later, the
royal institution christmas lectures
continue to inspire young and old alike, but
now reach audiences of millions around the
world thanks to the power of television and
the internet. the hallmark of these lectures
is the extensive use of live demonstrations
both to captivate the audience and to
illustrate and explain scientific concepts.
many popular science demonstrations
involve rapid exothermic chemical reactions
producing a variety of eects including
light, smoke, heat, and sound, and there is
little doubt that many people find a visceral
fascination in witnessing an explosive
release of energy (klapotke & Steinhauser,
2010). the bangs and flashes of chemistry
demonstrations have long been a source of
excitement for young and old alike, and are
often cited by professional scientists as the
reason why they became interested in
science in their youth. explosives therefore
play a key role in many of the most exciting
and engaging science demonstrations.
an additional benefit of including explosive
demonstrations in science lectures is to
provide the opportunity to present a more
balanced view of the world of explosives to
the general public. often given negative
connotations, explosives in reality play many
important roles in our society, whether
providing entertainment at a fireworks
display, extracting raw materials from the
ground to power our industries, or saving
lives through car air bags.

the focus of this article will be on the use of

explosives for science demonstrations that
form part of public lectures, since this
reflects the authors particular interests.
many of the same considerations will,
however, be equally applicable to classroom
demonstrations delivered in the context of
formal education.

Elements of a demonstration
lecture
a successful science lecture involves a lot
more than simply setting o a few
spectacular explosions. it is well established
that story telling is one of the most eective
ways to convey information, and the lecture
must therefore have a clear narrative arc,
leading the audience from a captivating
opening to a memorable finale. a
demonstration lecture is also a piece of
theatre, and many of the principles of a
good stage production are equally
applicable here.
one powerful technique for increasing
audience engagement, particularly with
family audiences, is to invite volunteers to
come down to the front of the lecture
theatre and assist with a demonstration. For
example, the initiation of a mixture of silver
nitrate and powdered magnesium can be
demonstrated by having a volunteer direct a
jet of water from a pressurised water pistol
at a distance of several meters (this, and
other, chemistry demonstrations can be
seen at www.richannel.org/chemicalcuriosities).

Safety considerations
any demonstration lecture requires careful
attention to safety (bodner, 1985). central to

good safety practice is a thorough

assessment of the risks involved in the
various demonstrations, and in the lecture
as a whole. this involves the enumeration of
the various potential hazards together with
an assessment of their severity. For each
such hazard the probability of that hazard
arising must also be estimated. the risk is
then determined by the combination of
hazard and probability. if the risk is
unacceptably high then steps must be taken
to reduce the severity of the hazard, or to
reduce the likelihood of it occurring, or both.
it is important to consider not only the
individual demonstrations, but also the
possibility for inadvertent interaction
between dierent demonstrations during
the lecture. For instance, sparks from one
demonstration might lead to accidental
ignition of other flammable substances.
Similarly, inviting a volunteer out to the
front of the lecture theatre might put them
into close proximity to other demonstrations
or to hazardous materials. it is therefore
important to consider the choreography of
the lecture as a whole. while a full dress
rehearsal is ideal, this is not always possible.
however, a walk through rehearsal can be
hugely beneficial, and can also serve to brief
any sta involved with the lecture,
particularly those assisting with
demonstrations. if the lecture is being
filmed, then the camera crew also needs to
be properly briefed. often the producer will
require close-up shots of the
demonstrations, and these can usually be
filmed without the audience, for example
during rehearsals.

07

Feature
in addition to the potential hazards
associated with demonstration lectures in
general, particular issues arise when
explosives are being used. one important
safety consideration is the noise level arising
from explosions. bangs need to be loud
enough to impress the audience, yet must at
all times remain well below levels at which
temporary or permanent damage to hearing
can occur (both for the lecturer, their
assistants, and the audience members).
pragmatically, the noise levels are set by
experimentation during the development of
the lecture, and it is important to test the
eect in the actual lecture theatre to be
used, as venues vary considerably in their
acoustic properties. these tests will
generally be done with only a small number
of people in the room, and it must be kept in
mind that the presence of an audience, with
their acoustically absorbent clothing, will
lead to a noticeable reduction in the
perceived sound level. the audience should
also be told in advance, for example on the
website advertising the lecture, that they
should expect loud bangs. it has been
observed that such warnings actually serve
to increase the popularity of the lecture by
enhancing the sense of excitement! during
the lecture itself the audience should be
warned immediately before any loud noise,
and advised to cover their ears when
appropriate.
another specific challenge associated with
the use of explosives is the production of
smoke and gaseous combustion products in
the confined space of a lecture theatre. to
help address this problem the author has
developed a bespoke portable smoke hood,
shown below.
portable smoke hood.

the front, sides, top, and back of the smoke

hood are made from polycarbonate
allowing the hood to function as a safety
shield. the hood can be assembled using
just 8 screws from a flat pack configuration,
and hence transportation and setup are very
straightforward. pipes from the top of the
hood lead smoke and fumes away to a
commercial extraction unit capable of
pumping 300 m3 per hour and which
contains a course pre-filter, followed by a
main hepa (high eciency particulate
absorption) filter, and finally an activated
carbon filter. the smoke problem can be
further alleviated through the use of
demonstrations based, for example, on
nitrocellulose rather than black powder or
similar compositions, and by minimizing the
quantities of materials used.

Legal considerations
many interesting demonstrations can be
performed using commercial explosives
such as stage pyrotechnics or black powder.
in some cases these will require the lecturer
to carry an appropriate recipient
competent authority transfer document
and a certificate for the acquisition and
keeping of explosives (expreg, 2014).
however, numerous demonstrations will
require the preparation of explosives either
immediately in advance of the lecture or
during the lecture itself. For example, the
mixture of silver nitrate and magnesium
powder discussed earlier cannot legally be
transported as it is not packaged for
transport and does not have a un
classification (nor would it be wise to
transport it from a safety perspective).
preparation of such compositions

constitutes an act of manufacture (expreg,

2014) which in general requires a
manufacturing licence. Such a licence is
specific to the place of manufacture, and
would be infeasible to obtain for
demonstration lectures. Fortunately,
regulation 6(2)(a) of the explosives
regulations 2014 provides for the
manufacture of small quantities of
explosives for specific purposes without a
licence, namely:
a) the manufacture of explosives for the
purpose of laboratory analysis, testing,
demonstration or experimentation (but
not for practical use or supply) where
the total quantity of explosives being
manufactured at any time does not
exceed 100 grams, but nothing in this
sub-paragraph is to be taken as
authorising any acquisition or keeping
of explosives for which an explosives
certificate is required by virtue of
regulation 5, without such a certificate;
this exemption, commonly known as the
100g rule, provides an important
mechanism to facilitate the use of explosives
in educational demonstrations, and was
carried over from the 2005 manufacture and
Storage of explosives regulations (mSer,
2005). note that Schedule 2 of the
explosives regulations 2014 provides an
exemption for the requirement to hold an
explosives certificate for 0.5g of nitrogen
triiodide, or 0.5g of any pyrotechnic
substance, which is manufactured for
demonstration purposes as part of an
educational activity.
the requirement to comply with complex
legislation when using explosives in
demonstrations can be daunting for
teachers and lecturers, and may unduly
discourage them from including such
demonstrations. to help address this, the
royal institution (represented by the
author), the royal Society of chemistry, and
the explosives industry group of the cbi,
have been working in consultation with the
health and Safety executive and other
interested parties to produce a guide for
lecturers and teachers engaged in the use of
explosives for demonstration purposes
(demoguide, 2014).

Dont try this at home!

it has become a time-honoured ritual for
demonstration lecturers to begin their
lecture with an impassioned plea to the
audience not to attempt to replicate
hazardous demonstrations themselves.
indeed, one purpose of the lecture is to
08

Feature

"don't try this at home!"

lecture theatre bench.

allow the public to see demonstrations first

hand which it would be inappropriate for
them to try out themselves. in the case of
lectures involving explosives, some
additional words of warning will be
appropriate, highlighting the potential
illegality of explosives manufacture
(including the dismantling of fireworks) as
well as the extremely unforgiving nature of
explosives in the event of an accident.

curiosity as to how the various eects are

produced. the topic of fireworks also oers a
clear opportunity for numerous spectacular
and engaging demonstrations. (by
definition, this particular lecture uses only
low explosives. For an example of a public
lecture which includes the demonstration of
high explosives see
www.richannel.org/explosive-science.)

care should also be taken with explosive

materials used in the lecture, to ensure that
curious or mischievous audience members
do not abscond with explosives or their
precursors. Similarly, a public lecture should
avoid divulging information of potential
value to anyone engaged in the nefarious
use of energetic materials.
enthusiasm for scientific experimentation
should not, however, be discouraged but
rather redirected. my message for the
younger members of the audience is simple:
work hard at school with the goal of
becoming a professional scientist or
engineer. you will then have access to much
more interesting materials and facilities,
everything can be done in a way that is both
safe and legal, and best of all you will
actually be paid for having fun!

the main lecture theatre in the chemistry

department is ideally suited to
demonstration lectures, having a 10m long
bench allowing most of the demonstrations
to be set up in advance. the theatre holds
500 people, and provides ample spacing
between the lecture bench and the
audience.
as the lecture commences, the lights are
dimmed, and a large ice fountain is ignited,
which immediately engages audience
attention, and provides an opportunity for
some introductory remarks, hinting at some
of the highlights that lie ahead during the
course of the lecture.
the first part of the lecture focuses on black
powder, or gunpowder, which plays a crucial

role in fireworks, and which also has a close

association with guy Fawkes and the
november celebrations. an old chinese
manuscript dating from around 900 ad,
called essentials of the mysterious way of
the true origin, describes an early precursor
to black powder: Some have combined
sulphur and realgar with saltpetre, and
heated them with honey [so that] flames
have burst forth, even to the point of
reducing their houses to cinders. So even a
thousand years ago, people were already
being warned not to try pyrotechnic
experiments at home!
the recipe is then recreated, omitting the
realgar (arsenic sulphide) for obvious
reasons. Sulphur, saltpetre and honey are
mixed in a steel pot, and heated over a
bunsen flame, and after ten seconds or so,
flames do indeed burst forth.
while this is an interesting eect, it falls far
short of the explosive properties we
generally associate with gunpowder. the
next phase of the lecture therefore explores
ways to speed up the reaction. replacing
the water-laden honey with a more ecient
fuel, charcoal, is the first step. this raises the
question of the appropriate proportions and
leads to a discussion of stoichiometry, which
is explored by igniting balloons containing
varying proportions of hydrogen and
oxygen, observing that a 2:1 ratio gives the
loudest bang. a sample of rough black
powder is then mixed by hand using the
classic proportions of 75:15:10. to test this
composition, a rudimentary measurement
of the burn rate is performed by pouring the
composition into a v-shaped track and
igniting one end using a length of visco fuse.
this rough powder takes about 20 seconds
to burn the length of the track (about 80cm).

essentials of the mysterious way of the true origin, manuscript 900ad.

Case study:
The Science of fireworks
Finally, we look at the structure and content
of a specific lecture, to illustrate the use of
explosives in science communication. the
lecture chosen is called the Science of
Fireworks, and was given in the department
of chemistry at cambridge university on
november 5th, 2011. it was professionally
filmed and edited, and can be viewed at
www.richannel.org/the-science-of-fireworks.
Firework displays are very popular, and
appeal to people of all ages (Smith, 2011). a
lecture on the science of fireworks can
leverage this popularity, along with a natural
09

Feature
demonstration of colour chemistry with
minimal smoke production.
the lecture needs to end with a flourish, and
so after appropriate acknowledgements to
the lab technicians for their help in
preparing and delivering the lecture, it is
announced that we will follow the timehonoured tradition of burning an egy of
guy Fawkes. this is a slightly unusual one,
however, in that he is made entirely of
nitrocellulose! Finally, the lights are dimmed,
the fuse is lit, and the lecture reaches its
dramatic conclusion.

demonstrating the eect of stoichiometry.

the burning speed of the rough black

powder is clearly disappointing, and so the
next stage is to try to improve on this. the
eect of the intimate mixing of fuel and
oxidiser is demonstrated by lighting a small
pile of lycopodium powder on a heat-proof
mat, showing that it is reluctant to sustain
combustion. by contrast, when lycopodium
is dispersed through the air in the presence
of a source of ignition, the result is rapid
combustion and a spectacular fire ball.
after describing the commercial manufacture
of black powder, including the incorporating
and corning processes, a sample of commercial
black powder is burned in a v-shaped track,
producing a dramatically faster rate of
combustion compared to the hand-mixed
rough black powder (about 0.5 sec over a
distance of 80cm).
of course, this is still not an explosion, so the
question is how to increase the rate of
energy release still further. Scientific insight
into this problem is obtained from kinetic
theory, which is introduced using a simple
computer simulation showing molecules
colliding and undergoing reaction. this leads
to a prediction that the rate of reaction will
increase both with temperature and with
density. to verify the temperature
dependence we invite volunteers to activate
two identical light sticks, and then place one
in warm water and the other in iced water.
on inspecting the light sticks a few minutes
later, it is apparent that the warmer one is
significantly brighter, indicating a higher rate
of chemical reaction. to illustrate the eect of
density, the bleaching of food colour using
hypochlorite solutions of various
concentrations provides a direct visualisation
of the density dependence of reaction rate.
we can now apply these scientific insights to
the domain of pyrotechnics. a cardboard
tube housing an electrical igniter is used to
10

confine 1g of commercial black powder. a

prediction is made that the confinement will
allow the temperature to rise without a fall
in density, and hence the rate of reaction
should also rise. initiation of the igniter (with
the tube located behind the safety screen)
produces a respectable explosion.
the lecture then moves on to look at the
production of bangs in fireworks using flash
powder, starting with the early days of
photography, and the need to provide a
portable source of light. First some
magnesium ribbon is burned in air
illustrating the intense white light, after
which a fuel-rich photo flash mixture is
demonstrated. a fast burning flash
composition then provides an excellent
opportunity to revisit and demonstrate the
eect of confinement. First 1g of flash
powder is ignited in the open using an
electrical igniter, producing a flash and pu
of smoke, but with no noise. next 1g of
exactly the same composition is placed in a
thin-walled cardboard tube, together with
an igniter, and the top of the tube closed by
resting a standard business card on top. in
this case the result is a loud explosion. it is
clear that this cannot be due to the bursting
of the container, as the confinement
provided by the business card cannot
support a significant static pressure
dierential.
after a discussion of colour production, the
construction of fireworks is discussed, with
an emphasis on shells. various eects such
as strobes, crackle stars, and whistles can
now be demonstrated, along with various
types of fuse. the final topic of the lecture
focuses on nitrocellulose, starting with the
story of its accidental discovery by
Schnbein while conducting experiments
on his kitchen table. a rainbow of coloured
nitrocellulose flares then provides a vivid

Acknowledgements
this article has benefited from feedback
provided by a number of colleagues and
friends; i wish to thank charles adcock, tom
Smith, and peter wothers for their valuable
input.
About the author
Chris Bishop is Vice President of the Royal Institution
of Great Britain, Distinguished Scientist at Microsoft
Research Cambridge, Professor of Computer Science
at the University of Edinburgh, and a Fellow of
Darwin College, Cambridge. In 2008 he gave the
Royal Institution Christmas Lectures, broadcast on
prime-time UK national television. He is a Fellow of
the Royal Academy of Engineering, and a Fellow of
the Royal Society of Edinburgh. In 2009 he was
awarded the Tam Dalyell prize for excellence in
engaging the public with science, and in 2011 he
won the UKs most prestigious public engagement
prize for engineering: the Rooke Medal awarded by
the Royal Academy of Engineering for his persistent
drive in engaging members of the public in the vital
work of engineers and their contribution to society.

Further information:
Christopher.Bishop@microsoft.com
Bibliography
Bodner, G. M. (1985). Lecture Demonstration
Accidents from Which We Can Learn. Journal of
Chemical Education, 62(12).
DemoGuide. (2014). The Use of Explosives in
Educational Demonstrations: A guide to the
Explosives Regulations 2014 and to good practice.
Available from: http://www.eig.org.uk/exp_demo.
ExpReg. (2014). Explosives Regulations 2014. Health
and Safety Executive.
Klapotke, T. M., & Steinhauser, G. (2010). Using the
Chemistry of Fireworks To Engage Students in
Learning Basic Chemical Principles. Journal of
Chemical Education, 87(2).
MSER. (2005). Manufacture and Storage of
Explosives Regulations and Approved Code of
Practice. Health and Safety Executive.
Smith, T. (2011). Firework Displays: Explosive
Entertainment. Chemical Publishing.

Feature

The Great Fire of

London takes hold
A pictorial review of the
special effects used to create
the ITV TV production
the great Fire of london began on the night
of 2nd September 1666 during the Stuart
reign of king charles ll in a small bakery in
pudding lane run by thomas Farynor, baker
to the king.
as houses were mainly half-timbered at that
time with pitch roofs they were dangerously
flammable and the fire spread rapidly
through hay and feed piles in the yards to
warehouses and wharves crammed with
timber, coal, oil, tallow hemp and spirits.
the citizens threw buckets of water
unsuccessfully at the growing inferno and
Samuel pepys, the diarist, described the air
which was alight with firedrops or wisps of
burning straw and wood, as the sky filled
with a most horrid, malicious, bloody flame,
not like the fine flame of an ordinary fire.
gunpowder was traditionally used to
demolish houses in the path of a fire to
create a fire-break and deprive the fire of
fuel. however the rubble proved too much
to be cleared before the fire was at hand and
it raged unchecked for three days before the
paper house was demolished to create a fire
break and the fire burnt itself out. in all
13,000 houses were destroyed.
the 2014 itv television production the
great Fire, which cost 6.35 million in the
making, traced the story with dramatic
impact and recreated for viewers gripping
12

the actors and the

set had to be
protected from
overheating.

episodes depicting the terror of the ordinary

citizens and the wrangling of politics for the
king and his court.
Colin Gorry of Colin Gorry Eects Ltd
produced the majority of the special eects
and tells us of his task:
the brief was to create a dresden feel, but
this was very dicult as it was not on a fire
stage. the budget dictated that the set had
to be constructed with wood, so plaster
covered fire-board was used in the areas
exposed to heat. there was virtually no
protection on the roofs so we couldnt go to
liquid gas, therefore multiple gas bars
needed to be built in on the exteriors and
incorporated into the tiers and walls. the

streets were also narrow so lighting up

needed to be systematic to avoid
overheating. this was equally important for
the safety of the actors and the set. Special
heat rollers were made to drop ash and
burning embers. we used over 300 bottles
of gas and over 2 kilometres of pipe-work.
Falling buildings were simulated using small
black powder stringbound charges lifting
debris, with compressed lpg mortars to
dress with flame. gas was used rather than
fuel as the limited space meant it was critical
that the fire balls burnt out as fast as
possible, thereby not compromising the
foreground action in the streets.
Further information: enquiries@cg-sfx.com

Feature

Filming of the
great Fire
underway.
photographs
copyright itv,
courtesy of colin
gorry eects ltd.

13

Feature

The evolution of
the threat from
improvised
explosive devices

This is the first of four articles from

JIEDAC which detail:
i)the evolving threat from IEDs
ii) how an IED is made
iii) how we have tried to fight this threat
and
iv) how industry can help in this fight.
See ii), iii) and iv) in future issues of
Explosives Engineering.

by Captain Michael Richardson royal engineers,

Joint improvised explosive device analysis centre, (Jiedac).

This article contains public sector information

licensed under the Open Government Licence
v.2.0. Readers are encouraged to use and reuse the information that is available under this
licence freely and flexibly, with only a few
conditions (see http://www.nationalarchives.
gov.uk/doc/open-governmentlicence/version/2/). Use of copyright and
database right material expressly made
available under this licence (the Information)
indicates your acceptance of the terms and
conditions on the website. The Licensor grants
you a worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual nonexclusive licence to use the information subject
to the conditions on the website. This licence
does not aect your freedom under fair
dealing or fair use or any other copyright or
database right exceptions and limitations.
in recent years, there has been an increase in
the number of new emerging threats to
security around the world. governments
and industry now face challenges such as
cyber attack, organised crime and
international terrorism on a scale not seen
before1. much of the technology which has
enabled these threats to emerge has been
developed for a legitimate use, but has been
adapted and used in an illicit way by those
who pose a threat. the same is true for
improvised explosive devices (ieds) and the
components that can be used to make
them. ieds constructed from components,
which are generally available for legitimate
reasons, have become a key weapon for
terrorist groups around the world.
...in the last year there were over 40,000
casualties caused by IEDs globally, not
including those in Afghanistan and Iraq.

14

the use of ieds against international

Security assistance Force (iSaF) troops in
afghanistan, as well as high profile events
such as the oklahoma bombings in 1993
and the london 7/7 bombings in 2005, have
ensured that dealing with the ied threat has
been a high priority for some governments.
indeed, this is not an isolated problem.
events such as the recent bombings in
nigeria, attributed to groups such as boko
haram; the use of improvised barrel bombs
by regime forces in Syria; and a number of
attacks in china, attributed to uiygur
groups, have shown that the use of ieds
continues to proliferate around the world.
the uS military Joint improvised explosive
device defeat organisation (Jieddo)
reported that in the last year there were over
40,000 casualties caused by ieds globally,
not including those in afghanistan and
iraq2.
under the uk governments counter
terrorism strategy (conteSt) it is committed
to engaging with industry to assist them in
managing their products with possible illicit
uses responsibly. as part of this
engagement, the Joint improvised explosive
device analysis centre (Jiedac), a uk
ministry of defence organisation which
investigates ways to inhibit the licit to illicit
exchange of ied components and precursor
chemicals, has been collaborating with
SaFex in order to ensure that appropriate
measures are taken.
A historical perspective
the use of explosives by terrorists is not
new. every autumn in the uk, large bonfires
are constructed to celebrate the foiling of a
1605 plot to blow up the reigning monarch
and his parliament as part of an ongoing
religious conflict by guy Faulks. in the late

19th century, a range of terrorist groups in

europe and north america, identified that
products being developed in the new field
of commercial explosives could be used in
their campaigns. across the atlantic,
america experienced one of its first major
criminal explosive incidents when, in 1886
during a chicago labour dispute, anarchists
exploded bombs in a public meeting3.
2014 marks the centenary of the outbreak of
the First world war. this conflict, fought
principally between two groups of european
states, has been seen, along with the Second
world war, as the pinnacle of the state vs
state conflict which had evolved over the
previous 400 years. it is tempting to contrast
the simplicity of this conflict with the
complex security situation we are involved
with today. in 1914, a range of countries,
bound together by mutual security
agreements, faced each other on the
battlefields of europe and in their overseas
colonies. the entire national will and the
power of nations (and their colonies) were
mobilised in a fight which led, over a four
year period of attrition, to the collapse of
one group.
the nature of conflict has evolved significantly
over the past century. conflicts are now
often fought between states and non-state
groups, such as those seeking a change of
government or the secession of a region
from a country. nation states are no longer
the only players on the world stage. they are
joined by a range of groups with interests
spanning borders and conflicts4. these
include international organisations, such as
the un and eu; global multi national
corporations; and industry groups. they also
include terrorist groups and crime networks,
who operate across traditional state borders.

Feature

assassination of tsar alexander ii6.

For example, the irish republican

brotherhood (irb), campaigning for the
independence of ireland from great britain,
used low and high explosives to target
british police and military targets from 1867.
they benefitted from being able to operate
across borders, receiving support from
within the uS where a large emigrant
community was able to provide finance, as
well as receiving a measure of expertise
through american civil war veterans.
in order to counter this, an approach that
helps prevent countries becoming safe
havens for people to plan, supply and
mount attacks is required. one way to do
this is by helping those countries of concern
develop controls on activity and access to
the material that could be used as weapons.
in looking at how the global security
situation has changed since the end of the
First world war 1, some parallels do emerge.
although the First world war took place
between two groups of states, it was
sparked by the activity of a small previously
unknown terrorist group with a limited
agenda. gavrilo princip, a Serbian nationalist
shot arch duke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the
austro-hungarian throne, to highlight the
plight of Serbian nationalism, but in doing
so sparked a global conflict. this was not the
first attempt by non state groups to use acts

of terror to implement political change: in

1881 members of the peoples will, a left
wing terrorist group, assassinated tsar
alexander ii, the ruler of russia, with an ied5.
In all cases, access to weaponry for
belligerents has been a key factor in
sustaining the conflict.
Following the end of the cold war, conflicts
in europe, the middle east and africa
continued to cause casualties. this
development of conflict has shown that
small conflicts, often pitting groups within
state groups, have continued alongside
major changes in the world order. to slightly
mis-quote the australian counter insurgency
expert, david kilcullen, people have
continued to fight their small wars, often
motivated by local issues and grievances,
even in the midst of the much larger
struggles7. in all these cases, access to
weaponry for belligerents has been a key
factor in sustaining the conflict. often,
access to weapons, particularly for non state
actors, has been dicult. in these cases the
ability to improvise weaponry, particularly in
the form of ieds, which can have a
disproportionate eect on a better
equipped enemy, has been key. the
simplicity of some of the ieds and the ability
to procure precursors by legitimate means

make it even harder to try and counter

them. whilst recognising the potency of
commercial explosives, the irb
experimented with creating their own home
made explosives (hme). in one example
from the 1880s, a large amount of chemicals
were purchased by members of the irb
using the cover of a paint factory8. this was
discovered by alert suppliers raising
concerns to the police about the amount of
pure glycerine that the shop was purchasing
for no apparent reason.
...the ability to improvise weaponry,
particularly in the form of IEDs,..can have a
disproportionate eect on a better
equipped enemy...
this, amongst other examples, has led to the
cooperation between industry, retailers and
governments that we work towards today,
like initiatives that encourage industry and
retailers to raise concerns around suspicious
chemical purchases, such as know your
customer schemes.
the illicit use of goods available on the open
market remains a key tactic of terrorists,
particularly those operating in areas where
commercial grade explosives may be hard to
acquire. the terrorists who exploded bombs
on public transport in london in 2005
15

Feature
constructed them from chemicals purchased
in low quantities on the open market and
distilled in a kitchen9.
the development of technology, in
particular the internet, has had a significant
eect on terrorist activity. Sharing
information on how to use explosives has
been seen from an early stage. in 1887 a
professor mezzero lectured in new york
on the power of nitro-glycerine and
encouraged those attending to support the
irb by providing them with men10. more
recently, terrorists have been able to use the
internet as a means to quickly share
information on ied technology and
motivation around the world11. the idea of
terrorists using explosives and the way they
share information on them is, therefore, not
a recent phenomenum.
eorts by governments to control
information in this area, such as by banning
the anarchists cookbook and similar
qualifications show how governments can
help prevent the spreading of knowledge12.
industry also bears a responsibility, in line
with the laws in their respective countries to
ensure those with access to information on
explosives and precursors are eectively
vetted.

Terrorism and IEDs

the evolution of the threat from terrorists
and ieds has led to a number of conflicting
definitions for both terms. the uk
governments defined terrorism in its 2000
terrorism act as:
The use or threat of action designed to
influence the government or an
international governmental organisation
or to intimidate the public, or a section of
the public; made for the purposes of
advancing a political, religious, racial or
ideological cause; and it involves or
causes:
serious violence against a person
serious damage to a property
a threat to a person's life
a serious risk to the health and safety of
the public, or
serious interference with or disruption to
an electronic system.
a further clarification could be that terrorism
is generally something carried out by non
state or proxy actors against a state, rather
than state on state violence. this is not to
belittle the role of criminal elements that
may use ieds, but the distinction between
motivations is stark. the uk government

identifies international terrorism as the

principle current national security threat14.
many definitions for an improvised
explosive device exist, originating from
political, military and academic sources.
nato military doctrine defines an ied as:
A device placed or fabricated in an
improvised manner incorporating
destructive, lethal, noxious, pyrotechnic or
incendiary chemicals and designed to
destroy, incapacitate, harass or distract. It
may incorporate military stores, but is
normally devised from non-military
components15.
a more comprehensive definition from
academia, which also includes the
motivation of the perpetrators, describes it
as follows:
An explosive device is considered an IED
when any or all of the following -explosive
ingredient, initiation, triggering or
detonation mechanism, delivery system is modified in any respect from its original
expressed or intended function. An IEDs
components may incorporate any or all of
military grademunitions, commercial
explosives or homemade explosives. The

ambulances at russell Square, london after the 7th July bombings18.

16

Feature
components and device design may vary
in sophistication from simple to complex
and IEDs can be used by a variety of both
state and non-state actors. Non-state
actors can include (but not be limited to)
terrorists, insurgents, drug trackers,
criminals and nuisance pranksters16.
Terrorist objectives
the objectives of those who use explosive
devices are varied. in areas of conflict they
may be used by an adversary as a way to
strike at an opposing force, possibly to
cancel out an overmatch of weaponry. it
may be used to restrict the activities of an
opposing force; protect their own locations
and equipment; prevent the opposing force
engaging with the population; and to inflict
casualties. the use of ieds as a reaction to
western interventions in iraq and
afghanistan is an example of the
deployment of such tactics. in other cases
however, the intended target is not another
armed group but the civilian population.
terrorist campaigns have frequently
targeted civilian populations with the aim of
inflicting casualties, causing fear and
applying pressure to governments. the
madrid train bombings of 2005, taking place
shortly before an election, are believed to
have put pressure on the Spanish
government to withdraw troops form iraq.
civilian aviation has been a frequent target
of terrorist attacks in events such as the
lockerbie bombings17. these attacks not
only caused large amounts of casualties in a
spectacular fashion but also, through
increased security measures, have had a
lasting impact on how we travel by air.
groups may also combine the use of ieds
with other weapons to increase their
potential eect. terrorist spectacular
attacks include the mumbai bombings in
2008 in which around 164 people were
killed and the beslan School Siege in the
Southern caucasus region of russia, in
which 380 people were killed. in both
occasions perpetrators used ieds as well as a
range of other weapons including assault
rifles and machine guns to ensure maximum
casualties.
Summary
the threat posed by ieds is not new and an
enduring problem globally not just within
afghanistan and iraq. the ied due to its
simplicity and relative low cost and potential
to cause vast amounts of damage has made
it the weapon of choice for international
terrorism, claiming both military and civilian
lives worldwide. developments in

technology have had a significant impact on

the way conflicts are fought. through the
internet, ideas can now be shared more
easily, making it easier to operate across
borders.
in combating the threat, governments and
industry can work together in order to use a
range of measures including improved
controls and regulations around the supply
and storage of commercial explosive
material and pre cursor chemicals in order to
prevent the illicit use of such elements by
terrorists. initiatives such as the know your
customer scheme which encourage
retailers to raise concerns around suspicious
chemical purchases have proved successful
and should be utilised more in the future to
help to reduce the threat.
Future articles will expand on how an ied is
made; how we have tried to fight this threat;
and how industry can help in this fight.
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/opengovernment-licence/version/2/" contains public sector
information licensed under the open government
licence v2.0.
1. http://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system
/uploads/ attachment_data/file/61936/national-securitystrategy.pdf. united kingdom (2010) national Security
Strategy: a Strong britain in an age of uncertainty.
london: tSo, 2010 p 27.
2. vasenko d, Speech to SaFex conference 23 may 2013.
3. chicago history (2014) the dramas of haymarket.
[online] available from: http://www.chicagohistory.org
/dramas /overview/main.htm
4.http://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploa
ds /attachment_data/file/61936/national-securitystrategy.pdf" united kingdom (2010) national Security
Strategy: a Strong britain in an age of uncertainty.
london: tSo, 2010 p 17.

12. united kingdom (2000) terrorism act 2000. london:

tSo [online] available from
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/11/pdfs/
ukpga_20000011_en.pdf [accessed 4 Jun 14]
13. terrorism act 2000, tSo quoted at
https://www.mi5.gov.uk/home/ thethreats/terrorism.html (accessed 03 Jun 14)
14.
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploa
ds/ attachment_data/file/61936/national-securitystrategy.pdf national Security Strategy: a Strong britain
in an age of uncertainty, hmSo, 2010 p 27.
15. allied Joint doctrine For countering
improviSed exploSive deviceS, aJp-3.15 (a), march
2011
16. gill p , horgan J & lovelace J, (2011) Improvised
Explosive Device: The Problem of Definition, Studies in
conflict & terrorism, 34:9, 732-748, doi:
10.1080/1057610x.2011.594946
17. united kingdom: mi5 (2014) how the threat has
evolved [online] available from:
https://www.mi5.gov.uk/home/thethreats/terrorism/international-terrorism/how-the-threat
-has-evolved.html [accessed: 4 Jun 14}
18. wikipedia russel Square ambulances [online]
available from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:russell_square_ambula
nces.jpg [accessed 4 Jun 14]. usage details
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:gnu_Free_documentati
on_license
19.wikipedia. (2014) list of terrorist incidents. [online]
available from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/list_of_battles_and_other_
violent_events_by_death_toll#terrorist_attacks
[accessed 4 Jun 14].

This article first appeared in the SAFEX

newsletter, No.49, 2nd Qtr, 2014 and is
reprinted here with kind permission of the
publisher.
Further information: JIEDAC@iexpe.org

5. encyclopedia britannica (1910) new york. available

from http://openlibrary.org/books/ol7061595m/the_
encyclopaedia_britannica [accessed 04 Jun 2014]
6. wikipedia (2014). Attentat auf Zar Alexander II 1881 19Jh
available from http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/datei:
attentat_auf_Zar_alexander_ii_1881_19Jh.jpg [online]
accessed 4 Jun 14
7. kilcullen, d (2009) The Accidental Guerrilla, Fighting
Small Wars in the Midst of a Big One
8. meriden daily republican (apr 6 1883) [online]
available at http://news.google.com/newspapers?
id=y59haaaaibaJ&sjid=Zf4maaaaibaJ&pg=4023%2c1
245019 [accessed 4 Jun 14]
9. dryden, S and patel h(2013) london 7/7 terrorist
bombings: from bomb factory to human injury predictora multi agency approach to blast analysis. Explosives
Engineer,: the Journal of the Institute of Explosive Engineers
march 2013 pp15-19
10. hake w (1886)mezeros plans for Future war Daily
Alta [online] 21 november. available from: http://cdnc.
ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d= dac18861121.2.52&e=------en--20--1--txt-txin------[accessed 4 Jun 14]
11. united kingdom: mi5 (2014) terrorist training [online]
available from https://www.mi5.gov.uk/home/thethreats/terrorism/international-terrorism/international-te
rrorism-and-the-uk/terrorist-training.html [accessed 4
Jun 14]

17

Feature

Our People,
Our Home:
Singapores 2014
National Day Parade
fireworks display
On 9th August 2014, Singapore
celebrated her 49 years of
independence at the Floating
Platform in Marina Bay Area. As an
integral part of the celebration
event, Singapore Armed Forces
Ammunition Command (SAFAC),
together with Defence Science and
Technology Agency (DSTA), Local
Storage Sponsorship Partner (LSSP)
and Local Fireworks Contractor
(LFC), were tasked to execute the
fireworks display successfully and in
a safe manner in support of the
National Day Parade (NDP) 2014.

Concept and main highlights

the event was divided into three main
segments; the pre-parade segment, parade
and ceremony segment and Show segment.
it revolved around the theme of our people,
our home. Fireworks were fired at these
three main segments, and during the
national anthem and post-parade party.
Crescent Moon and five Stars
the main highlights of this year ndp
fireworks was the design of the high level
barge (hlb). the hlb design layout bears the
crescent moon and Five Stars where the
majority of the fireworks as well as all the
aerial shells were deployed. the construction
of hlb was made of cubis blocks to form the
main central structure and six protruding
legs (see figure 1a). the Fireworks committee
presented the nation with a birthday cake
made up of 149 red flame projectors to form

by Cheong heng wan mSc bSc ee and

Tommy Chaw Ming heng dip ee

the crescent moon and 49 each for five stars,
symbolising the nations 49th year
celebration. this eect (figure 1b) was fired
at hlb during the national anthem.

fireworks storage
requirements
our lSSp sponsored the storage space for
the fireworks stockpile for the entire
duration from combined rehearsal 1 (cr1)
till the actual ndp day. the fireworks
stockpile was stored at both storehouses
approved for hd1.1, hd1.3 and hd1.4
explosives items. they were stored in the
following manner:
Safety features
containers (figure 2) were designed with a
two-door centre opening for emergency
evacuation and maximum air venting when
opened.
Figure 1a: hlb
design layout.

each container was fitted with two windows

(with louvers and wire mesh protection) for
ventilation at all times during storage. this
was also to prevent the additional heat build
up due to the weather. (figure 3).
each container had a metal column raised
about 0.5 metre from the container ceiling
and was fitted with an additional roof
painted with 10% heat reduction paint
(figure 4). this was to reduce the direct
sunlight heat. the gap between the
container ceiling and the additional roof
allowed the transferred heat to escape
instead of direct heat to the container.
these containers were fitted with lightning
conductors (figure 5) and separated by interwall partitions (to prevent the spreading of
fire). the gap between two containers was 5
metres (with a 2.5m gap between the
container and the partition wall).

Figure 2: Storage
container with
2-doors centre
opening.

Figure 1b: crescent moon

and 5 stars fireworks effects.

Figure 3: Storage container

with 2-windows for
maximum ventilation.

18

Feature

Figure 4: 0.5m ceiling gap.

Figure 5: containers
fitted with lightning
conductors.
Figure 6: containers
fitted with portable
water extinguishers.

Figure 7: intrinsic
safe data logger.

some re-packing of the fireworks based on

display requirements. Standard operating
procedures and risk assessment were made
available for the process. the lFc was
briefed to comply with safety and security
procedures of the process building.

principles were used to ensure the safety of

performers on stage:

fireworks safety template

requirement

high level barge (hLB)

a safety radius of 200m was established for
the fireworks firing at the hlb. as this fixed
distance did not take into consideration the
eect of wind conditions on the fallout
zone1 and down range carry2, dSta adopted
Shellcalc (a software approved by uk
british pyrotechnist association) to evaluate
the resultant fallout zone and down range
carry when subjected to various wind
conditions. with this assessment, a
contingency plan was developed for the
ndp Fireworks chairman to decide to switch
o certain firing sequences in times of
severe wind conditions which could result in
debris and malfunctioning shells landing on
the surrounding audiences around marina
bay area.
Mid Level Barge (MLB)
a safety radius of 30m was established for
the fireworks firing at the mlb. this distance
was determined based on nFpa 1123. the
fireworks fired on mlb were angled 5
degrees backwards away from the Stage.
this was to mitigate against debris from
landing on the stage area.
Towers
Similarly, the fireworks fired on the towers
were angled 5 degrees backwards away
from the Stage as highlighted in figure 8.
this was to mitigate against debris from
landing on the stage area.

enforce a safety distance of at least 3m

for stage pyro (gerbs) away from the
flame tip of the props and stage pyro
(comets) during firing on tier 1 or:
enforce a time de-conflict between the
firing and performance on stage to
ensure that no performers were on stage.

an analysis was conducted for each

individual eect to ensure that there was no
potential conflict with the performers in
terms of time or space during the firing of
eects. in addition, potential types of debris
were identified for each eect and
appropriate mitigating measures addressed.
the analysis concluded that we were able to
implement the safety principle seamlessly.

fireworks hazard classification

analysis
to ensure that the imported fireworks were
properly classified, dSta reviewed the hazard
classification according to the un default
Fireworks classification table based on the
size of firework item and percentage of flash
composition in the firework item. of the 89
fireworks used for ndp 2014, two fireworks
are under-classified. the two items were 7
Shots Fan Salute and 50mm crackling
mines and were assessed to be hd1.1g
instead of hd1.3g
the safety of hd 1.1 items were improved by
the following safety controls:

by maintaining hd 1.1 safety distances

during bulk storage at lSSp.
by avoiding storing hd 1.1 items with
other fireworks at the hlb storage
container, by setting them up at
respective firing sites immediately upon
arrival on hlb.

fireworks system safety analysis

inside each container there were two

portable water extinguishers (figure 6) fitted
on the container ceiling to extinguish a fire
in event of a fire outbreak.
an intrinsic safe data logger (figure 7) with
display was placed in each of these
containers to monitor temperature and
relative humidity (rh).
Preparation of fireworks
the fireworks were transferred to an
approved process building within lSSp
premises whereby the lFc and the SaF
ammo command sta jointly performed

Figure 8: angled 5 degrees (from vertical) away

from the stage towards marina bay Sands.

Stage Pyro (Gerbs and Comets)

Stage pyro (gerbs) and stage pyro (comet)
were fired only from tier 1 to complement
dierent segments of the performances.
these pyrotechnics were suitable for indoor
use as they were specially designed to
produce minimal debris. apart from the
safer products used, the following safety

the ndp Fireworks committee, together with

dSta and lFc, conducted system safety
analysis on ndp 2014 Fireworks display to
identify potential hazards (for all phases, i.e.
Storage, transportation, handling,
preparation, Firing and post-Firing) and
mitigated the risks to as low as reasonably
practicable level. in total, there were a total of
12 hazards (10 residual medium risks and two
residual low risks) which were accepted by
the ndp 2014 exco chairman.
a review on the past year international
fireworks incidents was also conducted. it
was concluded that the lessons learnt from
the incidents were already implemented in
the ndp 2014 Fireworks display.
19

Feature
in addition to the system safety analysis, the
event logs for respective firings from the
combined rehearsal 1 to actual day were
maintained to track any incidents during
firings and to facilitate identification of new
hazards.

Aerial shell contingency plan

requirement
an aerial shell contingency plan was
developed to aid the ndp Fireworks
chairman in deciding to switch o certain
firing sequence in times of severe wind
conditions which could result in debris and
malfunctioning shells landing on the
surrounding audiences around the marina
bay area. based on simulation results from
Shellcalc, the maximum allowed wind
speed to ensure the debris did not fall on
the surrounding spectators was calculated.
particular attention was paid to the 6 inch
shells (the largest calibre and most aected
by wind) as well as the 3 inch, 4 inch, 5 inch
and 6 shells (the firing angles were tilted
away from the vertical).
the maximum allowable wind speed was
calculated taking into consideration
whether the shell debris and blinds landed
beyond the 200m safety distance imposed
on hlb together with the axis of tilt for 3
inch, 4 inch, 5 inch and 6 inch aerial shells.
the angles 22.5 degrees to both sides were
also considered. this methodology was
repeated for the remaining locations of
interest and the most conservative figure
(lower wind speed) was used. See figure 9
for the computed allowable wind speed for
the locations of interest surrounding marina
bay. if the wind speed exceeded that stated
in figure 12 for that particular direction, the
Fireworks chairman would instruct the chief
Firer not to fire the particular eect. the
maximum wind speed experienced by
Singapore historically was 13km/h.

Post-firing and fireworks

disposal requirement
at the end of each fireworks display, a
minimum cooling period of 15 minutes
needed to be observed before any post
firing activities were allowed to commence.
post firing checks were performed to
ascertain if there were any failed fireworks.
these misfire fireworks were water-soaked
into a container as part of the render Safe
procedures (rSp) i.a.w nFpa 1123. all watersoaked misfired items were consolidated to
a designated area of collection prior to
removal to the disposal site. Subsequently,
all water-soaked misfired items were
disposed of by an authorised agency
20

contracted by lFc when all contents were

removed and soaked for another six hours
before disposal in line with Singapore
national environmental agency guidelines.

Other safety precaution

measures
Preventive measures on personnel injury
essential personnel protection equipment
(ppe) i.e safety harnesses, safety helmets and
life-vests were provided once the preparation
of the fireworks committee and contractors
moved into mlb and hlb. all ppes had to be
worn at all times during the firework
preparation on sites. Familiarisation of the
wearing and usage of ppes was conducted
prior to the start of work. personnel working
on the mlb and hlb were to don life-vests at
all times. those who were working on
heights (towers) that were more than 2m
were to wear safety harnesses and helmets
before climbing (secure onto safety lines
and fixed structures while working).
Corrective Measures for Personnel Injury
there was auxiliary medical support (on-site
medics) provided by medical services to the
fireworks committee from d-3 to d-1 of
every firework display. on the actual days of
display, it was supported by three main
medical posts situated within the ndp 2014
area of operations. For less severe injuries
such as burns and falling injuries, they
would be attended by attached medics onsite. Severe injuries would be evacuated to
the nearest hospital.
fire prevention
Smoking was not allowed near or at the
Figure 9: maximum wind speed allowable.

fireworks display sites. respective subcommittees were equipped with fire

extinguishers and stationed at the
appropriate locations for standby in the
event of a fire outbreak.
Lightning protection at various firing sites
installation of lightning protection systems
(lpS) was undertaken by lFc and all
installation of lpS were certified by the
professional engineer.
Proper handling of pyrotechnics by show
participants
to prevent injuries that would result from the
mishandling of fireworks, safety briefings
were conducted for performers prior to their
performance. this reminded the performers
of the safety requirements and the
importance of their proper handling of the
props. in addition, all performers donned
safety goggles and their uniforms were
treated with fire retardant chemicals to
prevent them from catching fire. Fire
retardant standards follow the nFpa 701-1.
Proper water-proofing measures to
prevent hang fire
in view of the nature of our local climate, all
fireworks that were prepared prior to actual
display were water-proofed. all mortar tubes
were covered with aluminium foil after the
shells were lobbed. all mlb fireworks were
covered with plastic covers. a tarpauline was
used as an additional cover on all firing sites
to repel rain water.
Securing the fireworks eects
to mitigate against the movement of the
fireworks at various sites during firing which
might have compromised the established
safety distance, the fireworks were all

Feature

Acknowledgements
Cheong Heng Wan, Fireworks Chairman,
NDP14 Fireworks Committee.
Further information:
Cheong_Heng_Wan@defence.gov.sg

robustly rigged to the structures at the firing

locations. cable ties were used for securing
them onto structures and racks at two
independent points for all fireworks eects.
Proper securing of the hLB
in order to ensure the correct facing of the
hlb which otherwise could compromise the
established safety distances, a lattice
structure was deployed under the water of
marina bay. this was to provide 10 cardinal
points for anchoring the hlb so as to
minimise rotation of the barge. this method
was practised in the previous few years with
no rotation observed.
Overview of fireworks eects and
expected debris
the fireworks eects used in this year's
ndp14 can be classified into five broad
categories namely; a) aerial shells, b) single-

shots and roman candles, c) cakes, d)

daylight eects, and e) stage pyro. during
the firing of these fireworks, debris was
expected. this debris is commonly made up
of cardboard, paper, aluminium foil and
plastic cartridges.

Conclusion
the success of the ndp 2014 Fireworks
display consisted of multiple agencies
collaborating with the military, dSta, the
sponsorship partner and commercial
stakeholders. the weSSab armament
working group (wawg) safety endorsement
process which adopted the mindeF System
Safety Framework has put in place a robust
technical endorsement workflow to ensure a
yearly consistent fireworks display for
Singapore's national day parade celebration
event.

Tommy Chaw Ming Heng, Chief Safety Ocer,

NDP14 Fireworks Committee.
Further information:
Chaw_Ming_Heng@defence.gov.sg
David Siew, Fireworks Secretary,
NDP 14 Fireworks Committee.
Further information:
Siew_Chun_Khuen@defence.gov.sg
Sim Gim Young, System Manager,
Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA).
Further information: SGIMYOUN@dsta.gov.sg
Mr Budheswaran, Senior Manager,
Advance Material Engineering (AME).
Further information:
budheswaran@stengg.com
Samson Phua, Show Producer,
Intermay Consultech Pte Ltd.
Further information:
samsonphua@intermay.com
1. Fallout range determined the maximum distance that
debris was expected to fall.
2. downrange carry determined the maximum distance
that the shell would travel if it did not burst at the
intended height during a malfunction.

21

Feature

The Royal Naval Cordite

Factory at Holton Heath:
Dorsets essential role in both World
Wars, 1914-1918 and 1939-1945

by Edward Griths

the amazing rncF site model with the acetone cooker house and tanks bottom left.

even as thomas hardy was still working on

wessex tales and the vanishing life of
shepherds, farmers and dairymaids, several
thousand dorset men and women were
already involved in better paid but
decidedly more dangerous modern work at
the royal naval cordite Factory at holton
heath. they were making nitroglycerine,
nitric acid and other hazardous materials for
producing cordite, the latest shell propellant
for the navys biggest guns. edward griths
talked with John england mrSc, research
chemist at rncF and its successor admiralty
materials laboratory between 1952 and
1967, and to dr bob dukes, principal
Scientific ocer for 29 years at aml.

what is Cordite?
cordite is actually classed as a propellant,
not an explosive. Smokeless powders,
including cordite and alfred nobels version
called ballistite, were developed from the
production of nitrated organic materials
such as nitroglycerine and nitrocellulose,
also known as gun-cotton, in the mid-19th
century. these two powerful explosives were
too violent as propellants for shells, both
being extremely unstable, and several earlier
factories had been destroyed by explosions.
the finished mixture is extruded like dough
through dies to produce lengths of rope-like
material, hence the name cordite. varying
lengths of cordite, of diameters between
22

acetone cooker house and distillation tanks.

3/16 and 1 inch, were made into bundles

according to the amount of propellant
needed for each application.
with the outbreak of the First world war in
1914, more shell propellant was needed and
winston churchill, then First lord of the
admiralty, decided that the royal navy
needed its own propellant factory. the 500
acre site at holton heath was chosen
because it was on the edge of poole
harbour, it already had the london and
South western main-line railway passing
through, there were good road links, and it

was level, except for an existing hill, ideal for

building a reservoir and the nitroglycerine
nitrators which could use gravity to transfer
materials to other processes.
building started in 1915 and the factory,
consisting of two nitroglycerine plants, ab
and abc, were up and running in just nine
months. the first batch from plant abc was
produced on 12th october 1916 and the last
on 18th September 1945. plant abs last
batch was on 23rd June 1931 but,
significantly, in 1936, this plant was replaced
by a continuous production unit installed by

Feature
the anti-aircraft gun and
predictor twin-towers on
Sandford heath.

the 12ft iron fence surrounded the entire site.

plan shows work gate entrance 1, gasometer 17,

acetone cooker house 16 with six distillation tanks.

german engineers. manufacture of

guncotton at rncF used the 1905 nathanthomson displacement method, and the
first batch of guncotton was produced on 6
august 1916.
cordite manufacture at that time needed
lots of acetone, an organic solvent, to help
incorporation of nitroglycerine with
guncotton and the other minor additives.
but due to a world shortage of acetone an
alternative method of production was
urgently needed. a research biochemist dr
chaim weizmann of manchester university
created an entirely new process of producing
butyl alcohol and acetone which he oered
to the government. his unique biochemical
plant, installed in 1917, used vast quantities
of maize, supported by conkers and acorns
collected by hordes of dorset
schoolchildren, when american maize
became scarce in october of that first year.
the acetone cooker house and concrete
fermentation tanks still exist but the maize
granary building has been demolished.

Operations at RNCf
the rncF was eectively self-sucient, with
its own gas works and gas-holders,
electricity and steam generation plant, a
water-supply from corfe mullen pumping
station eight miles away, and an internal rail
system with about five miles of standard
gauge track and 15 miles of narrow gauge,
together with its own rolling stock. during
the First world war and until about 1938,
cordite was moved to a jetty in poole
harbour by rail where it was loaded onto
sailing barges for transport to priddy's hard
in gosport.

Top secret
the nucleus of the operating sta was
provided by the royal gunpowder works at
waltham abbey and dorset personnel were
sent there for training. during the First world
war, about 2,500 people worked at rncF,
rising to a peak of 4,500 people working four
shifts in the Second world war. most came
by train from poole, wareham, upton and
wimborne whilst others lived locally.
the rncF had its own well-equipped
hospital under the supervision of matron
ball where minor day-to-day injuries were
treated. it is here at rncF that microbiologist
dr thaysen is credited with inventing the
first ever water-bed which has found worldwide applications in relieving pressure on
sensitive areas for burns victims.

being a naval establishment the factorys

Superintendent was always a naval captain
and the rncF personnel were bound by the
ocial Secrets act; even their families didnt
know what they were doing, or the dangers
involved. at the works entrance, security
guards ensured that all cigarette lighters
and matches were left in pigeon-holes.
anyone caught in possession of these items
on site would have been instantly dismissed.
cigarettes were allowed but only for
smoking in designated safety-zoned mess
rooms where gas jets were used to light
them.
a 12ft high steel fence surrounded the
whole site and warning systems were in
place in case of Zeppelin airships being
sighted or heard. being built on cleared
23

Feature
heathland, the site was easily visible from
land, sea and air, so 27,000 trees were
planted for camouflage and blast protection
but, as they were relatively small plants, only
time would increase their eectiveness.
Defence against German bombing raids
world war two brought more security
problems but the buildings were
camouflaged, the trees were now nearly 25

years old, and home guards patrolled to

ensure no lights were showing at night.
as well as anti-aircraft gun emplacements
and fire teams, many ingenious defensive
measures were taken including establishing
Strategic night decoy sites nearby and on
the arne peninsula to thwart enemy
bombers. at the decoy sites, waste cordite
and fuel oil was set alight to produce flames

and explosions so enemy bombers would

think that these were caused by the
bombing wave before them and would drop
their bombs in the same place.
luftwae photographs of august 1940
showed that the germans were well aware
of the work being carried out at holton
heath, undoubtedly confirmed by the
german engineers who had installed the
nitro-glycerine plant in 1936. clearly, the
arne night decoy worked well as rncF was
only ever hit by ten bombs, mostly
incendiary, but arne received up to 150
bombs.
high on Sandford heath, not far from the
rncF site, a pair of reinforced concrete
towers, now grade 1 listed, supported an
anti-aircraft gun and a predictor which
operators used to provide accurate target
information. there is no record of this gun
being fired, and most guns had been
removed by 1944.

The Museum at RNCf

the fascinating museum in britannia house
at the rncF tells the whole story from 1915
to its closure in 1957. the centrepiece is the
1942 scale model of the entire site.
measuring 21ft by 18ft (40ft to one inch
scale), it shows the factory and surrounding
area in the Second world war with
camouflaged buildings, railways, roads, and
pier.

royal naval cordite Factory

courtyard at holton heath.

the rncF hospital under matron ball

acetone distillation tanks.

the 1942 scale model has been named as a

document of national significance as it
captures the importance of this top secret
site which played such a vital role during
two world wars.
First published in DORSET magazine, August
2014 Archant Life South West and reprinted
here in an extended version with kind
permission of the publisher,
www.dorset.greatbritishlife.co.uk.
Further information: www.rncf.co.uk
Additional information: A DVD entitled
Cordite! The story of the RNCF can be found
on website www.greenacre.info/page7.html or
for purchase by post for 13.00 including UK
postage, call 07831 116995.
Edward Griths is a freelance writer for the
DORSET magazine.
Further information:
eandj-griths@bhdorset.fsnet.co.uk

britannia house, the old admin building, where the rncF museum is housed.

24

Feature

Book review:

Let Tyrants
Tremble
The War diary of 199
(Bomber Support) Squadron,
November 1942 to July 1945
By John Reid
Stenlake Publishing, 2014,
ISBN9781840336047
www.stenlake.co.uk 30 hardback
this book takes its title from the motto of 199
(bomber Support) Squadron.
there is a wide range of publications which tell the stories of the
men, many of whom were scarcely old enough not to be more
accurately called boys, who were in the limelight. this book is an
overdue and welcome addition to that range: it tells the story of
some of the others, generally unsung, who worked somewhat
outside the twin spotlights of fame and glory, and who would not
otherwise have their fundamentally important role recorded for the
benefit of future readers.
it is clear that the work put into the book by the author is a labour of
love. his interest in 199 Squadron and airfields around norwich in
particular, stems from his time when he worked in the norfolk area.
he was himself an investigator of aircraft accidents and has visited a
number of airfields in east anglia. John has painstakingly traced the
Squadron from its beginnings near gainsborough - right out in the
sticks to their initial disbandment in July 1945: the squadron was
subsequently reformed in 1951 and finally ceased to exist in 1958.

the author must have expended an untold number of hours

researching the activities of the Squadron he has assembled
a fascinating collection of photographs of their personnel and
their operations. his book gives in vivid detail an insight into
what life must have been like for the raF at the time and
includes a number of contemporaneous quotes from
ocers and men. one of the more revealing and thoughtprovoking of these quotes is one relating to an incident
over germany where a wellington bomber of the
Squadron was under attack by a Junkers 88 fighter. the
wellington pilot was obviously, and understandably, not
completely happy at being shot at, and, turning head-on
towards his assailant, proceeded to give as good as he
got, recording later in the diary, i dont think he realised that
a wimpey makes a bloody big Spitfire when the pilot is very cross!
there are included in the book an enormous number of facts and
figures, statistics and data which, considered carefully, paint a
revealing picture of the ups and downs of squadron life. p/o (pilot
ocer) charters made a comfortable descent, but landed in a
tree. in a few words an image is created in the readers mind
which even a photograph would be hard put to improve.
in short, this is a book well worth careful study as it draws a picture
in the readers mind of a time which is fully recorded in parts yet
woefully neglected in others. it is a time fast disappearing from
living memory as the remaining protagonists leave the stage one by
one. this reinforces the powerful impact of the book not only as the
accurate and detailed historical record which it undoubtedly is, but
also and without apology, an extremely entertaining read.
let tyrants tremble, the war diary of 199 (bomber Support)
Squadron

Ian McKay ceng mphil bSc diph&S Fimm Fiexpe

25

The Bennett file

The Bennett file

Our columnist John Bennetts thoughts on
prices and codes on early fireworks
i have recently embarked upon a database
index of my firework photographs so that,
when an item is referred to in an article in
Fireworks, i can immediately access a source
for an illustration. it has become clear that
the most information (and a description is
not often enough) supplied the better a
firework can be identified. So i have started
to add price information and that has
raised interesting (i desperately hope?)
questions about why fireworks were priced
as they were or why a code represented a
price, or why no price was added at all.
my records of fireworks of the fifties and
sixties usually show a price from 1d
upwards until the era of the penny banger.
when used to paying 1d for bangers or
even 2d or 3d the attraction of the penny
banger was obvious. it is often thought to
be the brain child of tony rose the
managing director of wizard Fireworks
although rainbow Fireworks have also
claimed that credit for their introduction. in
the days when fireworks could be sold to
anyone over thirteen and lets face it age
restrictions were rarely adhered to and
certainly not monitored in the way they are
now, boys would stock up on their favourite
type of firework. and the price reduction to
a penny was a major incentive to buy.
wizard in particular made the penny banger
a major part of their marketing so that shops
which sold other brands of fireworks would
stock wizard bangers to complement their
more expensive fireworks.
they were the equivalent of the present
supermarket value ranges they didnt look
special and were invariably very thin plainlabelled tubes; they made no pretensions to
quality but they worked and they were
cheap. the only one which provided any
talking point was bang on which
displayed a target with an arrow pointing to
its centre, perhaps indicating wrongly as
fired examples prove that this was where
the tube would break open. in fact penny
bangers rarely packed enough punch for the
tube to burst as happened with their more
expensive cousins.
marked prices, however, presented a
problem. in a modern supermarket, prices
on products are rare so that the price can be
changed often from day to day. Fireworks

26

were not always sold one year and, when

eventually they reached the shelves again,
inflation although more modest in those
days might well have suggested to the
manufacturer that he should be charging
more. the result was that fireworks began to
exhibit codes. this had the advantage that a
simple list of prices associated with codes
could be supplied to retailers each year.
wells Fireworks were one of the first
companies to add codes to their fireworks
and, on 15 February 1971, when
decimalisation began, the manufacturers
who had embraced this method found the
transition easier. however, for collectors, the
appearance of decimal and pre-decimal
prices on fireworks are as for lion
Fireworks a very good tool to date the
fireworks in their collection.
but other changes were to aect the prices
or codes to appear on fireworks. this was
the restriction on the sale of smaller
fireworks, which disappeared into boxed
collections. For these items there was no
longer any need to print any price on the
label at all. consequently a lack of price
means a relatively modern firework. larger
items continued to show a code either a
number or a letter and these too can often
date a firework quite accurately. Strangely,
these codes did change presumably as the
value of types of powder in them changed
in relation to other fireworks in the range.
examples, see right, were astras wonderful
large twinkling Fountains, although the
labels were identical in all other respects.
Some fireworks could not, of course, display
a price an example being jumping crackers
whose construction makes this impossible.
For other items such as the wizard magic
wand it was uneconomic, the case for
these items resembling a drinking straw. it
was not until i met tony rose that i
discovered that this was precisely what it
was!
prices on fireworks have now all but
disappeared items made in china can be
distributed all round the world where
currencies dier and, even where a
firework range is made for a specific
importer, prices can be allocated at a later
stage.

above: twinkling Fountains

left: magic wand,
below: bang on,
bottom: Jumping cracker.

of course dating fireworks is still dicult.

Some could be held over to another year
in the case of the last war many years and
changes in design were rare in the fifties and
sixties although that became more common
in the seventies and later as the few
remaining british companies vied with each
other for a declining market. astras new
look presented a complete range with very
little variation but that, as they say, is
another story.
John Bennett is editor of Fireworks, a
magazine for enthusiasts and the trade. It is
obtainable, by credit card on the website
www.fireworks-mag.org or, by post, from
Fireworks, PO Box 40, Bexhill TN40 1GX
(Telephone: 01424 733050;
email: editor@fireworks-mag.org).
10 annual subscription payable to Fireworks
Magazine. Fireworks is also available
electronically (See website).

Sidney Alford Column

The views expressed

are those of the author:
Our columnist Sidney Alford MSc PhD
proposes flashing on the beach

the bbc was recently considering the

making of a film showing interesting
features of a part of the countryside around
hastings in the south east of england. one
subject which tickled their fancy was the use
of bombs in early 1913 by the Suragettes1
and, in particular, an attack on a house on
19th February which was being built for the
chancellor of the exchequer, lloyd george
(who, incidentally, did not know my father),
at walton-on-the-hill, near leatherhead in
the dorking division.
this was considered to be close enough to
qualify for inclusion in the programme and i
was invited to contribute some comments,
with possible demonstrations. relevant
documents of the period included several
letters sent by investigating policemen to
their superiors in some of which they
reported details of the incidents and
recovered materials. henry coleman, the
chief constable of Surrey related that two
bombs had been planted in separate rooms
of the house in question. one of these had
exploded but, in so doing, had extinguished
the flame of the fuse of the other of which
the construction could accordingly be
ascertained in detail.
the components had been placed on a
roasting tray and a time delay consisted of a
candle in a low stand which, i ascertained,
would have burnt at a rate of about one inch
an hour. around the bottom of the candle
were spread wood shavings saturated with
paran. a strip of paran-soaked rag ran
from the base of the candle into a hole in a
cord-bound, seven pound, tin of black
powder. the powder was mixed with
upholstery tacks (French nails), presumably
with the intention of increasing its
damaging power. even more interesting was
the incorporation in the wood shavings of
an unspecified number of small percussion
caps with no speculation upon their
intended function. Since these would
explode as the flame progressed with an
alarming series of sharp cracks, my own
conjecture was that they were intended so
to alarm anybody who chanced by the
bomb that they would beat a hasty retreat
and not be injured. this might indicate that
the intention of the Suragists was to

damage the property of selected people but

not otherwise to harm them.
among the recorded items of forensic
evidence was lycopodium, and i was asked
by a member of the production team
whatever that was. i told them that it was
the powder consisting of spores of various
club mosses which were so exceedingly fine
and repellent of water that they could be
poured like a liquid (rather like glass
microspheres) but, if thrown into the air, fell
slowly as a cloud. although a pile of
lycopodium resists ignition by, for example,
a lighted match, a cloud of the material is
very readily ignited and burns with a bright,
and sometimes audible, flash. indeed, it was
used before the advent of suitable
photographic flash bulbs as a means of
momentarily dazzling the audiences of
victorian melodramas which, upon a
demoniacal wave of a magic wand, would
not notice that the devil had actually risen
via a trapdoor in the stage floor rather than
materialized straight from hell.
that was delightful news to the producers
since one of the Suragettes involved in the
bombings was an actress, so she might well
have been acquainted with the substance.
mrs emmeline pankhurst was very soon
arrested as Superintendent coleman
reported. he also reported that his prisoner
was being detained in inspector tudgays
sitting room and begged to add that Sir
Frederick Wodehurst, Assistant Commissioner
of Police at Scotland yard, had informed him
that it was the expressed wish of the Director
of Public Prosecutions that Mrs Pankhurst,
when in custody, should be treated with due
consideration as to her comfort, and for that
reason I got Inspector Tudgay to let her stay in
his sitting room and to let her sleep in a bed in
one of his bedrooms2.
considering the matter of what, if anything, i
would demonstrate rather anomalously
on the beach at hastings, i suggested that
seven pounds of gunpowder demolishing a
single brick wall would be photogenic and
have the additional advantage of clearing
away a few disfiguring beach huts and
returning the aspect closer to that which
greeted the French normans when they
paid their cultural visit in 1066 and
improved our cuisine so much. it turned out
that the producers wanted no gunpowder
and no paran to be involved. i had
therefore reconstituted the original bomb
but with an empty tin. but what had tickled
their immutable fancy was lycopodium
powder and the flash which it produced. the

only context in which the substance had

been mentioned with respect to the
Suragists was in a police report of 8th april
concerning another incident in which a
bomb exploded in the gentlemans lavatory
of oxted railway Station. in that case a
single action dedles german .410 pistol
was recovered. this fired a cartridge with a
propelling charge of a few grains of black
powder which discharged a mixture of
lycopodium and pepper. the pistol was
intended for non-lethal self protection, the
lycopodium generating a temporarily
blinding flash and the pepper causing
excruciating pain in an attackers eyes3.
but what did the bbcs health & Safety
experts have to say about the
demonstration?
-

That the only pyrotechnic demonstration

shall be of the barely inflammable, nontoxic powder, lycopodium and no more
than about gram of that.

A burns first aid kit shall be deliverable

within two minutes.

The nearest hospital is less than 30

minutes away.

A fire extinguisher and a fire blanket shall

be at hand lest anything go wrong

A bucket of water shall be on hand to put

out flames.

The beach is next to the sea which

constitutes a large body of water.

Suerers from hay fever will be advised to

administer a standard dose of
antihistamine if they feel at risk.

may god protect us from safety experts!

1 background reading for such a programme as this is
sometimes of educational value: i learned that the word
Suragette was coined with malicious intent as a
derogatory, belittling, derivative of the original Suragist
by the daily mail.
2 as a school girl, in 1873 emmeline had been sent to
the cole normale Suprieure, a finishing school in paris
where the pupils enlightened education included
chemistry as well as embroidery. at nineteen she
returned home to manchester a young lady wearing her
hair and clothes like a Parisian, and endowed with a
beautiful figure, face and comportment and speaking
with a melodic voice. though i, too, studied chemistry in
paris, i have never been the subject of such privilege on
the rare occasions of my own arrest. perhaps i should
have stuck with the embroidery.
3 the german name for this pistol was Scheintodt
meaning seemingly dead (i.e. terribly incapacitated but
not expired) and the name dedles presumably an
attempt by a non-linguist at a translation for the english
market.

27

Tech Spec

Tech Spec
Bruce Cochrane mphil miexpe

Astrolite liquid explosives

in the 1960s, a range of liquid explosives,
sold under the name of astrolite, appeared
on the american market. the makers
claimed that they were the most powerful
non nuclear explosives available. this was
quite a claim and a number of potential
users put the products to the test with
varying results.
the detonable qualities of what became
astrolite were discovered by accident. the
rocket research corporation of Seattle was
conducting trials with a new liquid
monopropellant when an explosion
occurred on the test stand. this caused so
much damage that the corporation
undertook an investigation into the
detonative properties of the propellant
which produced promising results. keen to
exploit this, the rocket research
corporation (rrc) established a subsidiary
company which they named the explosives
corporation of america (excoa) which was
tasked with developing and marketing the
new explosive. the name was deliberately
chosen to convey an image of a large and
well established business. by the late 1960s,
excoa employed about twenty personnel.
rrc invested heavily in excoa, although
some observers commented that much of
this was spent on publicity rather than
developing explosives.
at the time of their introduction, excoa was
very reluctant to disclose the makeup of the
astrolites, nor did they permit visits to their
two manufacturing facilities. however, in the
intervening years, the details have been
made public. they were essentially a
mixture of ammonium nitrate (an), acting
as an oxidiser, and anhydrous hydrazine,
acting as the fuel.
hydrazine (h2nnh2) is an inorganic
compound that has many applications in
industry. these include being used as a
28

foaming agent in the preparation of

polymer foams and as a precursor to
polymerization catalysts. it also finds uses in
the pharmaceutical industry and as a means
of reducing corrosion in steam systems used
in power stations. and, as already
mentioned, it can be used as a propellant in
rockets. it is a colourless but has an odour
somewhat akin to ammonia. it is, of course,
highly flammable and it is also highly toxic
when in high concentrations.
initially excoa lacked expertise in the
manufacture of high explosives. it began by
attempting to produce a large number of
broadly similar formulations in order to give
itself the best chance of breaking into as
many markets as possible. this proved
counterproductive and in the late 1960s
they rationalised their product range and
targeted the military market, hoping to
benefit from the demand created by the
ongoing war in vietnam.
the main astrolite product was astrolite g.
this was a simple 2:1 (by weight) mixture of
an and hydrazine. it was a clear viscous
liquid with a similar consistency to engine
oil. it was detonator sensitive, requiring no
booster to initiate it, and had a velocity of
detonation (vod) of 8600 metres per second
(m/s).

astrolite
type

vod (m/s)

g
g-1

excoas research revealed that the addition

of gelling agents could change the
consistency of the explosive from a liquid to
a soft putty. by varying the ratio of an to
hydrazine, they produced materials with
diering properties. these were listed as
astrolite g-1 to g-5. astrolites g-2 and g-3
were sold as field mixes. the components
were supplied as non explosive items in
separate bottles and were mixed to produce
an explosive on site.
a further variation of astrolite g, modified by
the addition of aluminium to improve blast
performance, was sold as astrolite a. this
was also available as a field mix. a peculiar
characteristic observed with astrolite a was
that it could detonate at two distinct
velocities of detonation. depending on the
strength of the detonator used, it could
detonate at either 7800 or 8000 m/s.
astrolite k was a cheaper and less powerful
version of astrolite a. it was sold as a
competitor to the 60% dynamites then
common in the american commercial
explosives market. astrolite p was an early
name for a gelled version of astrolite g.
the properties of the main members of the
astrolite family are tabulated below.

8600
8200

heat of
detonation
(kcal/gm)
1.14
1.04

gas
density
evolved (m/cc)
(litres/gm)
1.03
1.41
1.13
1.35

g-2
g-3
g-4

8200
8000
8000

1.17
1.15
1.28

1.02
1.02
0.96

1.35
1.32
1.35

g-5

8200

1.15

1.05

1.35

7800/8000 1.93

0.902

1.6

impact
remarks
Sensitivity
(kg-cm)
85
basic factory mix.
75
Factory mix containing water
proofing agent.
85
Field mix similar to g
65
Field mix similar to g-1
13
more sensitive mix for
specialist applications
40
more sensitive mix for
specialist applications
nk
aluminised. exhibited 2 vods,
depending on strength of initiator.

Tech Spec

the performance can be compared against

more conventional explosives available at
the time:
explosive vod
type
(m/s)
ng
tnt
rdx
hmx
torpex

9000
6940
8340
8400
7150

heat of
detonation
(kcal/gm)
1.47
1.01
1.32
1.32
1.56

gas evolved density

(litres/gm) (m/cc)
0.71
0.72
0.87
0.87
0.72

1.6
1.58
1.63
1.71
1.75

excoa claimed that astrolite was mildly

toxic, but that it was safe to handle and use
when in the open or in ventilated buildings.
indeed, they stated that its sta had used the
product for many years without any form of
personal protective equipment and with no
ill eects. however, they did say that when
used in a confined area, breathing apparatus
and gloves may be desirable. users of
astrolite, including excoas own trials sta,
reported that extended exposure to the
liquid or its vapour produced a skin rash
which disappeared a short time after contact
with the material ended.
excoa proclaimed that astrolite had a
myriad of uses, some more practical than
others. one potential use was tunnel
destruction. enemy occupied tunnels
presented a particular tactical challenge in
vietnam and it was thought that they could
be destroyed with a liquid explosive such as
astrolite that could be pumped in through
hoses.
it was also suggested that a film of astrolite
sprayed over a mine field could, on
detonation, clear it, or a path through it. it is
unclear if any trials were ever carried out to
prove the concept. other military and
commercial applications were explored, such
as cratering, tree felling, explosive welding
and even filling munitions.
of these, cratering oered the greatest

practical potential. this application of liquid

explosives, (not just astrolite) was of
considerable interest to the uS army during
the cold war period, when any european
general war might have been expected to be
characterised by large scale armoured
manoeuvre, in which nato forces would
have been heavily outnumbered by those of
the warsaw pact. in this situation, rapid and
ecient cratering of routes may have oered
a tactical advantage to the defenders.
however, although several liquid explosive
cratering concepts were trialled successfully,
the uS army preferred nitromethane based
explosives over any of the astrolites.
a related idea was that of a rapid digging aid
for the individual soldier. excoa advertised
astrolite g-2 as astro-pak, calling it an
instant foxhole digger. this was evaluated
by picatinny. arsenal. it was found that its
blast performance was impressive, as long as
it reached a high order detonation. on
occasion low velocity detonations were
experienced. there were a number of other
problems. Firstly, it could not be mixed at
low temperatures. the uS army operating in
korea needed explosives that could be used
at -40F. they also found that it was sensitive
to bullet impact. Finally, despite excoas
claims, picatinnys testers believed it to be
toxic.
one of the more interesting ideas concerning
astrolite was the concept of the liquid
landmine or puddle mine. astrolite had a
low volatility and was able to detonate when
poured out into thin films or when absorbed
by porous materials. this allowed the user to
pour a quantity into a hollow in the ground
to form a puddle, or to pour some onto earth
or porous rock and simply attach a fuze,
thereby making a simple, and dicult to
detect, land mine. excoa claimed that one
part of astrolite poured into seven parts of
sandstone rock would still detonate. they
also claimed that the liquid would remain

detonable for four days, after which it would

break down and render itself safe.
the uS armys magazine the Stars and
Stripes described the idea in 1968:
latest development is a "liquid land mine"
using astrolite, the most powerful known
explosive...poured directly onto a dirt road,
the stu soaks into the first few inches of
earth, giving tremendous upheaval power.
although the land mine was fired remotely
in the test, a pressure-sensitive fuse can be
used that will react to the weight of a
passing vehicle...liquid land mine can be
simply poured from canteen like containers
says its maker, explosives corporation of
america, or sprayed from trucks or
helicopters.
as mentioned, another idea was that
astrolite could be sprayed over an area from
a release tank mounted on aircraft, followed
by another aircraft that would scatter fuzes.
the idea was to create an area minefield
quickly, but it seems that the practicalities of
this were not thought through to any
degree.
in summary, although liquid explosives
certainly have their applications and can
oer distinct advantages in some areas, the
story of astrolite seems to be a classic case
of a product in search of a market. there is
no doubt that it had uses and oered
benefits, but no more than those oered by
other, less toxic and more developed,
explosives. an observation made as early as
1968 was that excoa may have had greater
success if they spent the same amount of
money on product development as they did
on marketing and publicity.
Technical queries
if you have a technical query you should
email your request to technical@iexpe.org
or call the Secretariat, on 01785 240154.

29

Industry News

Industry
News

Two trucks carrying

explosive chemicals in
Queensland have crashed
within two months of
each other
a truck carrying explosive chemicals has
rolled in central Queensland, less than two
months after a similar crash that was
described as the most powerful explosion
in australian transport history. the latest
accident occurred on october 31st when
the vehicle rolled on the carnavon
highway, 40km west of rolleston, closing
the highway for hours while the emergency
crews recovered the trailer which was
carrying volatile ammonium nitrate. the
trucks driver escaped serious injury, unlike
the incident on 5th September on the
mitchell highway near charleville,
southwest Queensland, where eight people

Centre for Blast

Injury Studies
the royal british legion centre for blast
injury Studies (cbiS), was established in
november 2011, following three years of
prior work by imperial blast, and the centre
is a collaboration between military
clinicians, scientists and engineers utilising
the breath of expertise across imperial
college london. the focus is quite simple to improve clinical treatment and
rehabilitation, and influence strategies such
as equipment design. as such, the centres
research now fits around four key research
themes:
blast biomechanics led by dr Spyros
masouros, lecturer in trauma
biomechanics.
blast biology & therapeutics led by
professor Sara rankin, leukocyte &
Stem cell biology.
blast Force protection led by dr bill
proud, reader in Shock physics.
blast injury rehabilitation led by
professor alison mcgregor,
musculoskeletal biodynamics.
in order to enable this research, the
facilities that the team at the South
kensington campus have at their disposal
are incredibly impressive. they include a
shock tube capable of producing pressure
pulses equivalent to 25kg of tnt at 0.3m; a
gas gun to produce shock waves in

30

biological materials; an anti-vehicle

underbelly injury Simulator (anubiS) that
replicates a vehicle floor pan that has been
hit with an explosive blast; and a Split
hopkinson pressure bar that delivers two
step loading pulses. also, because of the
good, but not exclusive, relationship with
the ministry of defence, they have
embedded within the centre two military
clinicians: col. Jon clasper (trauma and
orthopaedics) and col. peter mahoney
(anaesthesia and critical care) and several
full time clinical sta (general Surgeons and
orthopaedic Surgeons at registrar level) to
conduct research that is relevant, current
and appropriately targeted. the presence of
these clinical leads gives them a unique
insight into the perspective of one of the
key stakeholders and the data on blast
injuries that they hold.
in the long term, the centre aims to deliver
societal impact for the benefit of victims of
blast injury. they say societal because one
of the misconceptions they often face is
that they are solely a military orientated
organisation; this is not the case. injuries
that were rarely seen beyond the battlefield
are slowly starting to appear in the civilian
arena and because of this, the scope of
their focus is much wider than many people
realise. the aim is to build upon their
current research strategy, develop their
substantive partnerships with such
organisations as the uk charity Find a
better way and to lead on new studies

were injured, including four firefighters and a

police ocer, after the truck, carrying 50
tonnes of ammonium nitrate, had driven o a
bridge and subsequently exploded.
a massive flame shot in a thin, vertical
column hundreds of metres into the sky and
the cars of rescue police teams were pelted by
massive chunks of concrete from the bridge
hurled into the sky. the truck driver was
found lying wrapped in a tattered blanked, at
first presumed dead, but startled rescue
teams by blinking and saying i have got a
f...ing headache.
an investigation is being carried out into the
cause of that crash, which was described by
ryan brogden, principal inspector in the
natural resources department, as the most
powerful in australian transporting history.
The Courier-Mail, 31st October 2014
www.couriermail.com.au

such as advance (a study looking into the

long term outcomes of seriously injured
service personnel from recent conflicts) and
reSolve (the development and testing of
technologies needed to regenerate
biological tissue).
in short, the royal british legion centre for
blast injury Studies (cbiS) at imperial college
london has established itself as the uks
leading researcher of both civilian and
military blast injuries, and as such is always
looking for new partners in this area.
they are pleased to announce the
appointment of dr emma e burke as their
new centre manager. emma has been a
member of the institute of explosives
engineers for over six years. as cbiS has
recently celebrated its third birthday and
continues to experience growth in terms of
personnel and facilities, they felt that it was
critical to appoint someone with both a
technical and management background in
academia and industry to help the centres
director, professor anthony bull, take them
forward.
Further information:
e.burke@imperial.ac.uk

Industry News

Staord fireworks blaze

dramatic bursts of fireworks and thick smoke could be
seen as a fire burned at Sp Fireworks unit on the baswich
industrial estate in Staord on 30th october 2014. the
company is part of Staord plastics group which supplies
roofing and other building materials. an eyewitness said
there were fireworks going o in all directions, bangs,
great plumes of smoke and three massive explosions.
two men were killed in the explosion and two were
injured. Staordshire police warned that although a
fingertip search was under way, it would take a long time
for the cause of the fire to be established because of the
instability of the building.
Further information:www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk/-englandstoke-staordshire

Letter to the Editor

dear editor
Concussive deafness - do you suer?
i am in the middle of taking mod to task regarding concussive
deafness caused by super-sonic blast waves travelling in the
hme/tbx/tnt/rdx/hmx regions i.e. from 3k/sec upwards. a head
rocking punch and ear defenders, helmets etc oer only some
mitigation, as you know. the eect on the inner ear is shock damage
and nothing to do with age.
the result is deafness in certain audio ranges. in my case this is
insucient to be taken into account by the current law (law not yet
seen!) which reportedly sees only a loss in the range of 1-5% of the
total spectra and is unworthy of acknowledgement. the 1-5%
happens to be 100% of the area we use most!
Some of the current medical statistics are crude, the law is unknown
and the experts on panels are not from, or experienced in, our area
and appear not to understand the issues, such as the dierence
between burning and detonation.
typically anyone who has been subject to large (let us say over 1kg,
but not exclusive) detonations in close proximity, will be suering
...i.e. anyone from recent (1970 to date) operations, research
development, etc.
best regards

Mike Groves miexpe

ex co 11 ord eod bn.
email: mike.groves@cytanet.com.cy
r ecr u itm ent

31

Conference / Exhibition Diary

Conferences
Exhibition Diary
TRANSPORT SECURITY EXPO
Olympia, London, 2nd and 3rd December 2014

oers five world class conferences

including aviation Security, major events
transport Security, Secure transportation,
rail Security, and maritime Security.
Further information: www.transec.com
A SAfER fUTURE: INNOVATION IN MINE
ACTION INTERNATIONAL CONfERENCE
The Royal Geographical Society, 20th and 21st
January, 2015

Further information: all party parliamentary

group on explosive weapons of conflict &
landmines. Further information:
nigel@appglandmines.co.uk
ISEE 41st ANNUAL CONfERENCE ON
EXPLOSIVES AND BLASTING TEQhNIQUES
New Orleans, La., USA, 1st to 4th february 2015

Further information: www.isee.org

ThE INSTITUTE Of EXPLOSIVES ENGINEERS
Norton Park hotel, Sutton Scotney,
winchester, England, 23rd and 24th April
2015
the theme is "Strengthening the
relationship between the institute of
explosives engineers and industry partners".
agm, annual dinner and conference
Further information: events@iexpe.org
www.iexpe.org
EfEE 8Th wORLD CONfERENCE ON
EXPLOSIVES AND BLASTING
Lyon Convention Centre, Lyon, france, 26th to
28th April 2015

Further information: www.efee2015.com

IMEMTS INSENSITIVE MUNITIONS &
ENERGETIC MATERIALS TEChNOLOGY
SYMPOSIUM
Sheraton Roma hotel and Conference Centre,
Rome, Italy, 18th to 21st May 2015

Further information: www.imemts2015.com

CRITICAL INfRASTRUCTURE
PROTECTION AND RESILIENCE, ASIA
Bangkok, Thailand, 24th and 25th June, 2015

Securing critical infrastructure across

aSean including critical information and
infrastructure protection.
Further information: www.cip-asia.com
fRAGBLAST 11. 11Th INTERNATIONAL
SYMPOSIUM ON ROCK
fRAGMENTATION BY BLASTING
Sheraton on the Park hotel, Sydney, Australia,
24th to 26th August, 2015

Further information: www.ausimm.com.au

32

over the past 40 additions of Explosives Engineering, we have been treated to some
enlightening facts and trivia about some of the more prominent members of our institute
who have responded to the standard in a Flash questionnaire. i was lucky enough to be
given complete and unconstrained access to this data, enabling me to analyse and
compare the responses (sad isnt it).
the following is my assessment of the
40 replies and, it has to be said, any
We are the Bright
similarity to persons living or dead is
Sparks : analysis of
purely co-incidental.
our average IExpE

In a flash:
member

by Shaun Dooley ieng miexpe

Your age:
you will be 54 years and 7 months (at the
time of the article) but you wont like
admitting to it. [the passage of time has
been kind to you although you are thin on
top]
Current Position:
unsurprisingly, you will work in consultancy
(62% probability) in a field involving
explosives. you are ex-military (38%) but
now refer to yourself as an engineer who is
either chartered or working towards it. you
will probably wear a big watch.
Responsibilities:
aside from consultancy, you will more than
likely be involved in explosive safety or
legislation (32%) and generally, you will be
making sure that someone does something
correctly.
why are you involved in IExpE?:
occasionally you will want to learn from
others (26%) but mostly you feel you can
bring something to the party (normally a
bottle) and you will want to share your
knowledge and experience.
what are the benefits for you of IExpE?:
overwhelmingly (48%) its all about meeting
like-minded individuals, networking and
sharing ideas. in a small community such as
the explosive sector, it seems we all need to
stick together.
what are your main goals in the next 10
years?:
you will often steer away from the domestic
reply and focus on the job in hand. mostly
(60%) you will want to promote best
practice and competency within the uk
explosives sector.
what alternative career might you have
followed?:
occasionally (12%) you will be singleminded enough to be happy in what you do
and wouldnt want to do anything else but
you also have a strong interest in scuba
diving or something similar (16%), so you
may have had a career involved in the
sea/water.

who do you most admire on the current

world stage?:
that single-minded headstrong aspect
shines through a bit here, in that youre
happy to not list anyone (8%) but generally
you will have a soft spot for hm the Queen
(10%), closely followed by obama and
mandela (when he was still with us) lets
invite them to the next agm. it seems you
have a strong regard for world leaders who
make an impact.
who would you most like to meet from
any century and why?:
you are split and cant quite decide between
isambard k brunel and alfred nobel. both
showed great drive, determination and
vision and were totally immersed in their
career.
what are your favourite
activities/hobbies?:
you will enjoy a technical challenge such as
scuba diving (16%) but walking and golf are
also high on your list. in most cases, you like
to be reflective whilst being out alone.
what is your ideal holiday?:
you like to relax (dont we all), probably
somewhere sunny but not too touristy, with
good food and drink (probably wine) which
doesnt go well with scuba diving, so beware.
what is your favourite food and drink?:
you like asian food, curry is an important
part of your diet but you prefer english food
(20%) to anything else. normally meat
based but each to his/her own. it should
come with wine (no colour specifically) and
you like cheese in preference to chocolate
(although you wont rule the chocs out).
in summary, this paints a bit of a stereotype,
thats because it is, but its completely
genuine
if you see yourself within this description
then im really sorry. the other side of the
story is; who are our atypical members and
should we strive to recruit more of them?
thats for another day.
email: Shaun.dooley@awe.co.uk

A JOHNSTONE

Explosives Engineers
Educational and
Research Trust
the trust was formed in 1982 to
advance the theoretical and practical
education and training of persons
engaged in the explosives engineering
industry by the provision of training
courses and the publication of technical,
educational and informative material
together with the financing of research
and the provision of scholarships to
assist with courses of study in the field
of explosives engineering.

Tel: 01461 500 567

Email:
johnstone3611@btinternet.com

Rock Drilling and

Blasting Contractor
Quarries, Opencast Mines,
Controlled Blasting, Presplitting,
Civil Engineering Projects

R J Blasting
(Scotland) Ltd
Tel 01290 552121
Fax 01290 552930
E-mail:enquiries@rjblasting.co.uk
Drilling and Blasting for
Quarrying, Open Cast and
Civil Engineering projects

Rock Fall Co. Ltd

Tel 01563 851302
Fax 01563 851063
E-mail:info@rock-fall.com
Drilling and Blasting Contractor
specialising in executing harbour
and channel deepening,
foreshore trenching and
marine drilling and blasting
works throughout the world

For more information and how to apply

for a grant visit:
info@explosivesengineerstrust.com

To advertise your company's products and

services in the Journal please
contact Gordon hunt
Telephone: +44 (0)1726 832594
Email: design@gordon-hunt.co.uk

IExpE Journal calls for papers

deadline for march 2015 issue is January 31st 2015.
1500 - 3000 word articles and papers will be
considered for publication and should be
accompanied by digital illustrations eg. photographs,
drawings and tables.

IExpE Editorial
Programme 2015

E mail the Editor: editor@iexpe.org

Industry news

Stop Press
chief inspector explosives mod bob mcnauht has been
appointed as chief inspector explosives mod to replace
Jon henderson who is stepping down on retirement.

march

blasting and mining

Journal awards competition results

June

eod clearance
case Study from uk on a wwii bomb

September mapping methods for mine detection

the use of rpvs in eod
december Fireworks and special eects
demolition