In war's dark shadow

A shoot at the site of the biggest wartime bomb explosion in the UK gave a unique opportunity for Ed Wills to enjoy fantastic sport

It’s not often I find myself unsettled while shooting. One time standing on a peg surrounded by curious cattle, another standing on top of a 55ft pigeon tower with a Force 6 gale trying to blow me away.

However, when I travelled to Castle Hayes Shoot in Staffordshire it wasn’t cattle or wind that was bothering me, but bombs. Lots of them. One of the shoot’s owners, Rupert Major, casually informed me that their biggest landmark is the Hanbury Crater. Between 3,500 and 4,000 tons of ordnance exploded in a bunker in 1944 creating a huge crater 300 feet deep and 250 yards across, killing around 70 people.

A nearby reservoir was obliterated in the incident, along with a complete farm, in what was one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history.

Buried explosives

I was told there are still large amounts of explosives buried underneath. It was a tad disconcerting but James Major, Rupert’s father, assured me there was nothing to worry about.

The shoot has been run by James and Rupert for 50 years along with head gamekeeper Ian Lanchester, who has been involved for 20 years.

They are joined by a membership made up of old friends, schoolmates and regular guests. The landscape changed dramatically as a result of the explosion, with the crater scarring the scenery, but the shoot has restored some of its former bucolic beauty.

Fortunately not many landscapes are decimated by explosions on that scale but I have been to some that are blighted by derelict buildings. These can be turned into opportunities, however, given the chance, by restoring them and using them as a lunch hut, for example.

I was given the opportunity to be back gun. It’s a position I relish as not only do you get to observe the whole drive unfolding in front of you but you have the chance to help the pickers-up finish any pricked birds.