Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race goes ahead despite bomb scare

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The shell that threatened the races

AFTER the skipper of a boat on the Thames reported that they had seen what appeared to be an unexploded Second World War bomb embedded in the mud on the Fulham side of Putney Bridge, the running of the annual Oxford and Cambridge boat race was put in jeopardy.

As police and bomb squad operatives had to wait until low tide in order to examine the possible bomb, no decision was made until the morning of Sunday April 2 about whether the races had to be cancelled.

Once the ordnance was examined it thankfully tuned out to be an inert artillery shell and was removed safely so that the various races could then take place.

In the women’s event, Cambridge won by a large margin after the Oxford number 4 caught a crab at the start which meant that her eight never managed to recover.

In the men’s race, Oxford got off to a much quicker start than last year’s winners Cambridge and continued to hold the lead, beating Cambridge by just over a length.

Written by

John Smith

Married to Ophelia in Gibraltar in 1978, John has spent much of his life travelling on security print and minting business and visited every continent except Antarctica. Having retired several years ago, the couple moved to their house in Estepona and John became a regular news writer for the EWN Media Group taking particular interest in Finance, Gibraltar and Costa del Sol Social Scene. Currently he is acting as Editorial Consultant for the paper helping to shape its future development. Share your story with us by emailing newsdesk@euroweeklynews.com, by calling +34 951 38 61 61 or by messaging our Facebook page www.facebook.com/EuroWeeklyNews

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