大象传媒

When I first started gardening as a self-employed gardener, I was employed by a lady in Norfolk Road, Cliftonville, Margate, Kent to undertake 4 hours gardening work.

Having carried in all the tools to the rear garden, she said to me 鈥淗ere鈥檚 2 buckets, young man, one for the spent and one for the live鈥�. I looked at her in astonishment and asked her what she meant. She then showed me in her rear glass porch area, 4 buckets 鈥� 2 full of live 303 rifle rounds and 2 full spent 303 rifle rounds which she said were from the 2nd World War as apparently the house had been used as an ammunition store during that period of time. Being a bit green, I carried out my garden maintenance work of forking over the flower beds and removing the weeds. At the same time, surprise, surprise! Numerous 303 bullets appeared in the disturbed soil. By the end of 4 hours I had achieved what she said I would 鈥� 1 bucket full of live bullets and 1 bucket of spent bullets!

These were then left with the other buckets in her rear glass porch. I wonder if they are still there today as I have not heard to the contrary! I have since heard from other people that houses were used during the 2nd World War as ammunition houses, ordinance having been found in other houses around the Thanet area and it has been confirmed by at least one local person since that this house in Norfolk Road was indeed used as an ammunition house. I have since pondered over this job and feel how lucky possibly I am as the fork prongs could easily have hit the detonator at the end of any of the live bullet cartridge cases causing damage to anybody including myself in the vicinity or damage to property!

In recent years I came across a 303 rifle buried in a lady鈥檚 rear garden in Osborne Road, Broadstairs. I was excavating a garden pond, when I came across 2 metal objects shaped like pipes which were sticking out of the side of the excavated hole. I managed to pull one pipe out easily, but would the other one come 鈥� no! Having dug around this pipe, I was astonished to find that it was a 303 rifle in an advanced state of decay and it was the bolt of the rifle which had prevented me from pulling it out of the side of the hole. Her young granddaughter, unbeknown to me, picked it up and showed to an older boy next door. I immediately told her grandmother that there might be a live bullet still up the breach and, due to its advanced state of decay, could be dangerous. Her reply was that it was her property and she wished to keep it and display it in the house. I did the right thing and rang the Police and they collected it the next day, much to her annoyance! The neighbour said that the previous owner of the house had been a gun collector and that he may well have buried this rifle. Are there any more? One of life鈥檚 mysteries 鈥� was it one of his guns or one of the Forces' rifles from the 2nd World War?

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