Nigel Jones
Cool Courage
Danger UXB: The Heroic Story of WWII Bomb Disposal Teams
By James Owen
Little, Brown 305pp £20 order from our bookshop
The sort of bravery displayed by the UXB (shorthand for ‘Unexploded Bomb’) squads is of a different order from the sudden and often brief bursts of gallantry on the battlefield that win fighting soldiers medals for heroism. It is required for far longer, often for hours or even days; it needs iron nerves and steady hands. It is a rare quality, and these books rightly celebrate it.
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