Major Henry Percival Qualtrough, bomb disposal expert

Jan. 01, 1967 - George Medal for bomb disposal experts.: The Queen has approved the award of the George Medal to two members of the Royal Engineers. They are Major Henry Percival Qualtrough, MBE now retired and living in Castletown, Isle of Man, and SGT. Horache Edward Cooke, BEM, at present in the Far East. Together they undertook a reconnaissance of the notorious Japanese bomb and see mine dump on Penang Island, the Island of Bote in the Gilbert and Ellics Islands, between October 1965 and march 1966. In Penang they cleared about 100 tons of bombs and shells from Japanese tunnels and covered trenches in nine major sites. The dangers included the possibility of the formation of most dangerous unstable piorate crystals in the presence of corroded and unsafe fuses and the likelihood of the very dangerous copper azide formed from the detonators. Well knowing the risks they entered a partly collapsed tunnel where there was imminent danger of further roof falls and removed 60 kh Japanese bukners which has previously been sealed with bulldozers, but was a serious danger ti the inhabitants of this highly populated island. This clearance and the detector search of the whole island including the Cora; Causeway produced about 100 tons of Japanese and American bombs and shells many of which were fused or in a state of critical decomposition. Photo shows Major Qualtrough sitting on a pile of shells in Betio

Restrictions Only for United Kingdom

Approved Betio Bombs Bote Bulldozers Castletown Causeway Clearance Cleared Collapsed Cooke Cora Corroded Critical Crystals Dangers Decomposition Detector Detonators Disposal Dump Entered Experts Formed Further Fused Fuses Highly Imminent Inhabitants Knowing Notorious Partly Penang Percival Pile Populated Possibility Presence Previously Reconnaissance Removed Retired Risks Sealed Shells Sites Tons Tunnels Undertook Unsafe Unstable

Features In These Collections

> Contributors > KEY