WHEN the discovery of two massive, unexploded Second World War bombs hit the headlines at least one person had the sense they had read the story before.

WHEN the discovery of two massive, unexploded Second World War bombs hit the headlines at least one person had the sense they had read the story before.

In fact to anyone who has read the 1995 book Stanley Reeve Recalls - From Slate Pencils to Word Processors, the story of the bombs found at Kesgrave High School would have seemed very familiar.

For Stanley Reeve, the school's principal from April 1940 until July 1964, included a section in his book on page 95 under the heading “near misses”.

It reads: “It was fortunate that in spite of being so near to an active airfield the school never suffered any physical damage but it did come very near to it.

“One morning after a night of bombing around about, I went to school as usual to be met by a boy who just managed to pant out “Sir, there's a funny looking hole at the back of the woodwork room.”

“Telling other children to keep away, I hastened round to the back of the school and saw what was obviously the entrance hole of an unexploded bomb. Looking around, I could see other smaller holes beyond the school field and realised at once that we had been lucky in so far that whole stick of bombs obviously aimed for the school had failed to explode.”

Following the find the pupils were treated to a cautionary two-day break from school.

The contents of the book were brought back to life by local historian Pat Brown.

She said: “When I heard about the bombs, I suddenly thought 'I know I have heard about this before, I remember it from reading it somewhere', so I found the book and found the right page.

“I knew Stanley, or Tubby as he was known, quite well. He held a book signing session in the village hall in Kesgrave when he had finished the book and he sold hundreds of them.

“He was about 80 when he wrote it, although he died some years ago now.

“I think there is a copy of it in the record office and maybe even in the main library.”

A TIME Team-style search of Kesgrave High School's playing fields has not found any more bombs.

Suffolk County Council enlisted the help of experts from Suffolk-based company Macc International who used specialised equipment to look for further anomalies in the ground.

The company used a magnetometer which was able to scan to a depth of five metres.

However, John Bennett from Macc today said the search had proved fruitless.

He said: “We completed a non-intrusive search and there were a few anomalies, but none of them are of any danger - they are just pieces of metal.

“We will now complete a report which will be sent to Suffolk County Council.”