Fauld Explorer Trail

At this junction you can divert to the south and explore the rim of the Faulds Crater, the site of the largest man-made explosion in the history of the British Isles.

At 11.00 a.m. on 27 November 1944, around 4,000 tonnes of ordnance exploded, destroying around one third of RAF Fauld. Almost unbelievably, many who worked there survived: the thickness of the tunnel walls prevented the whole site from going up - which had about ten times as much stored. Many bodies were never recovered and these are remembered at Runnymede Memorial in Surrey.

The event was so shocking that people at the time had no idea how to handle it: 

Burton's chief of police, Superintendent HG "Snowball" Heath, admitting in a written report to superiors after the explosion, that despite the noise and a mushroom-like cloud seen for miles around, he went outdoors to investigate, only to go inside again, not realising what had happened.

Uttoxeter police made for the scene by car. However, in their rush to reach RAF Fauld they drove past Ford's plaster works, which had suffered a mudslide from a burst reservoir above, and which saw the largest single loss of life on the day.

A mine rescuer from Ashby, Jim Beard, died underground because of a mishap with his oxygen tank as his party searched in vain for trapped men.

Do not divert from the paths: take these warning signs seriously.