EXPLOSION OF SHELL

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20290, 24 December 1927, Page 12

EXPLOSION OF SHELL

BOY’S NARROW ESCAPE. FLYING PIECES OF STEEL. (Special to Daily Times.) AUCKLAND, December 23. A nine-year-old boy, Neville Scott, son of Mr and Mrs J. Scott, of Devonport, had a most miraculous escape from being killed when a six-pound shell, believed to have been extinct, exploded. Pieces of the deadly missile ripped away portion of the veranda of Mrs Scott’s residence and tore through a corrugated iron fence at the side of the house, while the concussion caused by the explosion shook the houses in the vicinity, startling th e residents and shattering glass. The lad, who had been playing with the projectile, was not struck by any of the flying pieces of steel, but his hair and eyelashes wer e badly scorched, and he suf. fered considerably through powder burying itself deep in the skin of his face. It appears that some 12 months ago a 14-year-old member of the Scott family went to Rangitoto Island in a newlyacquired yacht on a weed-collecting excursion, and; while rummaging round amongst the rocks at Tarket Point, discovered the shell. In triumph he carried it home as a memento of his first trip to the island. Believing that the missile was perfectly harmless, Mrs Scott allowed it to repose on the lad’s dressing table, but occasionally it got in the way. When she was cleaning she threw it outside, intending later to drop it into the harbour. During the day members of the Scott family used the shell, which had been lying in the sun, as a plaything, tossing it about as one would a football. Ultimately, they tired of this occupation, and wandered away. Neville appeared on the scene about 4 o’clock, however, and presumably was carrying the shell round the side of the house when he dropped it on th e asphalt. He will never forget that day, as the explosion that rent the air frightened the life out of him to such an extent that he was unable even to cry and hardly spoke for two days. Even now he cannot give any coherent account of what actually happened, but the broken fanlight over the front door of the Scott’s home, the damaged veranda, and the gaping holes in the iron fence tell their own story. Mrs Scott, who was alone in the house at the time, on hearing the explosion, rushed outside to ascertain what had happened, and she was quickly joined by residents, who were as surprised as she was herself. She could find no trace of anyone who was likely to have caused the explosion, and did not for a moment connect a member of her own family with it, as she believed them to be all away. On going inside again she found Neville bur. rowed in under a pile of clothes that she had a little tim e previously taken from the line. Like an ostrich, he had buried his head in his fright. When uncovered he presented a sorry picture, for he was bleeding from the powder burns and was badly scorched. Mrs Scott marvels at the fact that the child came through the ordeal with as few injuries as he did. “ I don’t knew how the boy escaped being killed,” sh e said this morning, in narrating the incident, which she believes should be broadcast as a warning to others who might have unsuspicious but live shells in their homes. “ Neville was covered in blood and powder when I found him, and the doctor e ven now is removing powder from his skin. He had the very wits frightened out of him, and could not speak for two days afterwards. He also had to be kept in a dark room, as his eyesight was affected by the explosion.” Little Neville, who is recovering from his injuries satisfactorily, is reluctant to show himself to visitors, and is rather sensitive about his appearance at present. He cele. brated his ninth birthday last Sunday. Mr Scott is the skipper of the Blu e Launch Company’s tug Simplon.