Loud Reports in the Wallet

PeterWright

PeterWright

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Reading the thread on Orford Quay started by Brent Goose led me to another "political" article on the EADT site:

http://www.eadt.co.uk/news/politics...losions_on_essex_coastline_1_3590239#cxrecs_s

This left me wondering how us residents of Burnham-on-Crouch and Great Wakering cope, as both lie under 5 miles from the source of the bangs, while even Jaywick is 12 miles from the MOD site and Frinton 6 miles further.

My personal tolerance is probably attributable to too many hours of my youth spent in noisy turbine halls, but my neighbours must find it hard. Those of you coming to the CYC to be fitted up tomorrow better bring your ear defenders as you will pass within a couple of miles of the MOD site, but you may not need them as they don't very often work weekends.

Hope the Fitting Up Supper goes well and sorry we can't join you - maybe next year!
 
The bangs and shakes have been a feature of life over here on the Kent coast since I was a kid, 60-odd years ago. I live 15 miles from Havengore Bridge, we don't just get the noise, we often get a shockwave through the ground too. I clearly remember the windows at home in Herne Bay rattling every day back in the 1950s. Local people have claimed structural damage in the past but I don't know if they got any compensation.
 
Cantata said:
The bangs and shakes have been a feature of life over here on the Kent coast since I was a kid, 60-odd years ago. I live 15 miles from Havengore Bridge, we don't just get the noise, we often get a shockwave through the ground too. I clearly remember the windows at home in Herne Bay rattling every day back in the 1950s. Local people have claimed structural damage in the past but I don't know if they got any compensation.
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Fully agree; as a youngster living the other side on Sheppey, it was a fairly common occurrence, we used to get the low 'thumps' and vibration.
 
In Burnham, the windows still rattle with the louder bangs, even with modern double glazing. But perhaps we get used to it - still seems less intrusive than the Easyjet planes in and especially out of Southend. I suppose there has to be some downside to cheap and easy trips to Amsterdam or Jersey when you're away cruising!
 
Surely there has been a firing range at Shoeburyness for many years, nothing new about the bangs. We felt we were personally fired on for the best part of an hour when heading down to the Thames last year, some of the smoke puffs seemed very close. :eek:

It is not the Wallet of course but the Swin and further SW off the Maplin sands, but I expect that was the OPs poetic licence. :D

There are other bangs to be heard further North in the Walton Backwaters where old explosives are blown up at Great Oakley.
 
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Leighb said:
Surely there has been a firing range at Shoeburyness for many years...

It is not the Wallet of course but the Swin and further SW off the Maplin sands, but I expect that was the OPs poetic licence. :D
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Yes, about 157 years I understand, so most of the locals have never known any difference. As to the post title I used, this was not poetic licence (although I reserve the right to use that from time to time), but a reference to the report in the EADT article I cited of loud bangs upsetting residents of Clacton and Frinton (also a pun on the word report, but that clearly misfired).
 
We don't get the bangs in Wivenhoe, though we get small arms fire noise from Colchester. I tend to take the view that the folks pooping off are going to have to face much worse when they go off in my defence, so it doesn't worry me much. I have heard the heavy stuff regularly when I've been in Brittlesea.
 
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There used to be a small demolitions range at Yantlet on Grain, mainly used by the Royal School of Military Engineering. I was range officer there one day doing confidence charges with a young troop of sappers. We were blowing up all sorts of targets bits of tanks, cars etc and using PE, barmine and Mk 7 mines. There was a range maximum level of charge that could be detonated in any one go and I had to phone the control tower at Southend Airport before each firing.

At the end of the day we had to get rid of all that was left, it was quite a lot and we couldn't return it. I phoned the airport to say we were just firing one more small charge. The bang was huge, they were back on the phone immediately, "how much was that? the windows are still rattling over here" "Oh only a couple of mines and some remaining PE not much" I lied. The range maximum was lowered soon after that, don't know why.
 
Apart from the sometimes constant small arms fire we hear and feel the occasional thump in Wivenhoe, sometimes enough to rattle the house a bit. It doesn't worry us at all, and as has been said before it's been going on for many years.
 
Living in Burnham since the 1990s we just thought it was part of local life. objections seem to me to be like people who move to the country and complain about roosters or near to a church and then complain about the bells. if people in clacton and frinton fear structural damage their builders must have been 'Three Pigs Ltd' and they probably chose the 'Rustic Straw' design............
 
Regarding the Yantlet demolition range, back in the early 80's i was helping paint the old lifeboat house on Southend pier. This was just before the ship went through the pier & wrote the lifeboat house off. When they were playing on Yantlet we could see the flash from the explosions, the shockwave would hit the pier then the sound arrived some long seconds later.
It was quite disconcerting to have the scafolding shaking & rattling under you & also to see great scabs of rust & scale dropping of into the water.
To be honest looking at the state of the underlying steelwork on the pier i dont fancy riding in that pier train!
I also wondered if the shockwaves might one day set the montgomery off?
 
My Mum in Swalecliffe and me in Canewdon could feel the bangs very distinctly. I am personally grateful that we still have a research facility, in fact I once didn't get a job there.

Truth be told, I would love to reopen the George and Dragon on the island, if I could afford it as a hobby!
 
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