Date                Time   Location         Damage

01/08/1943    20.30  Great              A torn and deflated Barrage Balloon with green

Wakering       canister attached was found at Crouchmans Nursery.

01/08/1943    Found  Canvey         A Naval Barrage Balloon complete with Canister

                                      Island           grounded at the rear of Ozini Café Seaview Road.

01/08/1943    Found  Great            A torn and deflated Naval Kite Balloon (Mk

Wakering     VI.S1.A.55471Y) was found grounded on Rushley Island Great Wakering and collected by the Naval Authorities.

02/08/1943                Billericay        A youth Douglas William Jones age 15 1/2 years

of Brooklands London Road Billericay sustained an injury to his left hand in a field behind his residence whilst interfering with a blank .303 cartridge which he had found in the roadway at Hutton.

03/08/1943    01.12  Hadleigh        1 – Ux.H.E. in Hadleigh Marshes 100 yards S of

Hadleigh Signal Box LMS Railway and 600 yards SW of Hadleigh Castle.  No damage or casualties.

03/08/1943                Hutton            Victor Bloomfield aged 8 1/2 years of Floral

Bungalow Hunters Chase was severely burnt about the head and face and removed to St. Andrew’s Hospital as a result of tampering with 20 rounds of .300 cartridges which he and his 3 brothers age 7 – 15 years had found on the Home Guard Rifle Range at Herongate on the previous day and taken home.  The eldest boy extracted the bullets and emptied the cordite into a tin to which he applied a lighted match.

04/08/1943    Found  Raweth        A camouflet, caused by a Ph.I.B. which fell during

the night of 12/13.7.43 was found in a field 250 yards South of Kiora Garage Wickford Road.  No casualties or damage.

05/08/1943                Warley            Private Marjason of the ITC Warley Barracks was

engaged in practice throwing of live Mills Bombs.  One was thrown from the bay next to where Marjason was lying and instead of going forward towards the next target it was accidentally thrown to the left and fell about 1 foot from Marjason.  It exploded and Marjason was seriously injured and subsequently died.

14/08/1943    Found  Brentwood   1 – Ux. A.A. Shell in a field on Hart’s House Estate

Hartswood Road.  No casualties or damage.  Time and date of falling unknown.

16/08/1943    23.55  Canvey          1 – H.E. exploded in Oxford Road causing 24

Island             casualties of whom 1 was killed, and extensive damage to property including the telephone exchange as a result of which the telephone service was temporarily out of action, also damage to gas mains and overhead electric cables Norman and Oxford Roads (both unclassified) blocked.

16/08/1943    23.55  Canvey          1 – H.E. exploded on open grounds in Newlands

Island             Park, 5 yards from sea wall, No casualties.  No damage to property other than sea wall.

16/08/1943    23.55  Mountnessing          1 – A.A. Shell exploded on up track of L.N.E.

Railway near Cock Wood putting signalling apparatus out of action.  Temporary repairs made to track and trains run at caution.

16/08/1943    23.55  Hutton            1 – A.A. Shell exploded in a field at rear of

“Woodlands” Rayleigh Road.  No casualties or damage.

16/08/1943                South Weald 2 members of the 20th Battalion Essex Home

Guard (Romford) Joseph Wernham aged 32 years of Grosvenor Drive Romford and Harold Holmes aged 43 of 34 Normans Road Romford, were killed and 4 others injured whilst carrying out ’68’ grenade firing practice in Weald Park South Weald as a result of a ’68’ grenade exploding in a rifle cup.

17/08/1943    24.00  Ramsden       1 – H.E. exploded in a field 800 yards S.W. of

Hall                 Ramsden Hall.  No casualties.  Slight damage to property.

21/08/1943    12.45  Hutton            A partially deflated Barrage Balloon fell in trees in

Wash Lane.  Slight damage was caused to chimneys by trailing cables.  Electric current temporally cut off in Billericay owing to trailing wires.

21/08/1943    16.00  Hutton            An Auxiliary Petrol tank fell from a Spitfire on

L.N.E.R. track.  Tank markings Serial No. 283923 D.R.G. No 30065/251.  Type No. 12 S.M.W.R.M.G. 63 Capacity 30 gallons.

23/08/1943    01.12  Benfleet         1 – H.E. exploded in the middle of Benfleet Creek

between Hadleigh Castle and Canvey Bridge.  No damage or casualties.

23/08/1943                Wickford        1 – A.A. Shell exploded in garden of Blythacre

                                                            Swan Lane Wickford.  No damage or casualties.

24/08/1943    01.45  Dunton          1 – A.A. Shell exploded in meadow 1/4 mile S.E. of

                                                            Southfield Farm.  No damage or casualties.

31/08/1943    Unknown  Rayleigh 1 – Ux. A.A. Shell in field 200 yards SE of Litchgate

                                                            Arterial Road.  No damage or casualties.