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Bomb disposal expert Ben Remfrey is expecting action in the new year as he continues to push for a deeper investigation into the possibility of explosive devices lying buried in fields at Route Isabelle.
Mr Remfrey blew the lid on the possibility of World War 2 ordnance remaining an active risk to homeowners in the area around Le Foulon and the Rohais earlier this year.
Four bombs were dropped on the island by the Royal Air Force in March 1941 as part of efforts to take down the German Naval Headquarters on St Jacques.
Each of the bombs missed their intended target and landed along Route Isabelle instead. One is known to have detonated on landing, while a witness of the day said the other three landed on softer ground and penetrated the earth without detonating.
In his expert opinion, Mr Remfrey has publicly stated that the bombs are likely to be 'British GP 500lb' or '1000lb'. He has previously said that the explosive charge weight of a bomb of this size would be around 33% of its weight.
Mr Remfrey's expertise is based on his work over many years clearing mines and bombs overseas. He has won plaudits for this work, including a recent award from the Ukrainian military for his services there since the Russian invasion.
Pictured: The three bombs are believed to be buried in this field on Route Isabelle - between the Rohais, and the Foulon Cemetery.
When Mr Remfrey went public with his insight into the bombs' location in October, he wanted to raise awareness of the issue to force the States into commissioning an "intrusive deep search survey" of the area.
He maintains that is the only way to know where the bombs are and what risk they pose.
A previous "shallow non-intrusive survey", carried out in 2019, "was never going to find deeper buried bombs," he said.
Mr Remfrey has continued to push the States to look into this issue more deeply since then, and now says he has made some progress since going public with his concerns in October.
He says a meeting held between himself, States officials and civil servants, on 28 October has been followed up with discussions with the UK Ministry of Defence representatives.
Information held by the States of Guernsey, which included Mr Remfrey’s dossier, has been forwarded to the specialist department within the Ministry of Defence Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team for their consideration and expert advice. The MoD are understood to be considering the information provided.
"I understand they have also requested further research of records by a separate technical team in the UK," said Mr Remfrey.
“An update is awaited," he added, acknowledging that this is likely to be in the new year as Christmas fast approaches.
“I am hopeful that the time elapsed between October and December, has been well used by the UK MOD specialists in reviewing the case and the fact that a ‘separate technical team’ is a positive step forward," he said.
"This matter has not gone away, it cannot be swept under the carpet again, action needs to be taken early in 2025 for the safety of the public.”
Mr Remfrey reiterated his commitment to finding out the truth about these bombs, telling Express: "I am confident (there will be action in the new year), and I wont be brushed off on this."
"An intrusive deep search survey needs to happen"
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