Author Archives: swanny

“New” Dudley Port canal breach 1899 picture comes to light! There are several pictures of one of Tipton’s most infamous canal legends- the breach of the canal at the site of the Rattlechain Brickworks on September 9th 1899. I believe … Continue reading →

  There was a boy whose name was Tom, Who made a high explosive bomb, By mixing up some iodine With sugar, flour and plasticine Then, just to make it smell more queer He added Daddy’s home-made beer. He took … Continue reading →

  In this blog, we revealed how we had spotted the elusive John’s Lane resident in his unnatural habitat, evading the eye of his landlord, Rhodia Limited. He was extremely irritable and choleric on that occasion on account that the … Continue reading →

The recent major catastrophic explosion in the Chinese port of Tianjin is still being dealt with and will be investigated so we are told. What is clear is that numerous toxic chemicals appear to have been stored in one place … Continue reading →

  We have looked previously how this deceptive element was used in World War one, particularly because of its smokescreen properties. By the start of World War Two its use had been perfected in the form of ballistic projectiles capable … Continue reading →

This is a long post which covers a number of subject areas relevant to this website. Fundamentally it relates to investigating unexplained wildfowl illnesses and deaths which appear correlatively linked to certain sites, so much so that it is almost … Continue reading →

  Where is “The Black country”?  Even those who claim to live within it cannot answer with certainty, because the area itself does not really exist. It was largely invented in the 20th Century by white historians with a tale … Continue reading →

This 1942 booklet is one of many advising the Home Guard of training techniques, which appears to be all that they really ever did. There is no description of who the author Derek Whipp was or how he had come … Continue reading →

  From the aftermath of World War One to more modern times concerning the Trinity Street site. A couple of recent applications have been added to the continuing site development history page on this website. This series of pages are … Continue reading →

  “The only good thing that comes from war is the stimulation of scientific research, primarily with the object of killing human beings but incidentally in finding substitutes for age-old materials and methods.” These are the opening words from chapter … Continue reading →