Nina Wadia reads during the UK Holocaust Memorial Day commemoration ceremony at Methodist Central Hall in London in 2020
Rob Burrow of Leeds Rhinos with his children after Jamie Jones-Buchanan testifying between Leeds Rhinos and Bradford Bulls at Emerald Headingley Stadium in 2020
The Royal Navy expert who oversaw the safe disposal of a 500lb Luftwaffe bomb found on the King George V docks in London has been named MBE in New Year’s Honors list
The discovery of the bomb in 2018 resulted in the cancellation of all flights to and from London City Airport, the evacuation of more than 100 homes, and the closure of the Channel Tunnel and ‘other public services
But the disruption would have been far greater without the actions of Lieutenant-Commander Sean “Central” Heaton and his team, working side-by-side with numerous authorities and civilian agencies during a three-day operation
Under the direction of Lt Cmdr Heaton, specialist divers from the Portsmouth and Plymouth Bomb Disposal Units secured or destroyed nearly 16,000 potentially explosive objects
These included sea mines, torpedoes, hand grenades, mortars and bombs dropped from planes, as well as current improvised explosive devices (IEDs)
His quote reads: “He tirelessly executed operations at a very rapid pace, beyond what was expected of his rank and his peers, with admirable dedication to his people.
“His dedication, commitment and professional ability have been extraordinary, and he very much deserves official recognition”
He added: “This decoration is just as much a recognition of the courageous, dedicated and immensely professional men and women who were under my command during my time at the Southern Diving Group”
His expertise was also put to use when the Thai government asked the UK for help, after a cluster of seven World War II 1000 lb bombs was discovered in the Mae Klong River in the Ratchaburi province after almost 80 years
Royal Navy, bomb disposal, New Year’s honors, Order of the British Empire
Ebene News – GB – The naval mine clearance expert who helped to clean the bomb from the Luftwaffe did MBE
Source: https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/new-year-honours-list-royal-navy-bomb-mbe-b572354.html