In recognition of his accomplishments and service, Lt Cmdr Sean “Central” Heaton has been made an MBE (Most Excellent Order of the British Empire), in the New Year Honours list.
World War II had been over for more than 70 years, when in 2018, an unexploded 500-pound Luftwaffe bomb was found on the bottom of London’s King George V Docks – next to London City Airport. The discovery led to the cancellation of all flights to and from the airport, evacuation of more than 100 homes, and closure of the Channel Tunnel and other public services.
The bomb was safely disarmed by a team of Royal Navy experts led by Lt Cmdr Heaton, working side by side with civilian authorities and agencies over a three-day operation.
Under Lt Cmdr Heaton’s leadership, specialist divers from Portsmouth and Plymouth-based bomb disposal units have rendered safe or disposed of nearly 16,000 potentially explosive items.
These included sea mines, torpedoes, hand grenades, mortars and bombs dropped by aircraft, as well as present-day improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
His citation says: “He relentlessly delivered very high-tempo operations, above and beyond that expected of his rank and his peers, with an admirable dedication to his people.
“His devotion, commitment, and professional ability have been extraordinary, and he most strongly deserves official recognition.”
Lt Cmdr Heaton said he is honored to have been singled out.
He added: “This decoration is as much a recognition of the brave, dedicated and immensely professional men and women that were under my command during my time in Southern Diving Group.”
What is not emphasised is the often horrendous conditions that Heaton works under, not only is it dangerous work, it is uncomfortable, restricted, in putrid waters and mud which add enormously to the difficulties and personal risk to life.
A very brave man.
on a lighter note my son had a Tshirt with “Bomb Disposal Expert” on the front and “If you see me running try and keep up” on the back.
lol with Jean-Pierre Declemy
Thanks for posting. Reading this I got a strange sense of time travel as Lt. Cmdr. Heaton and his team seemingly went back in time to a previous war and era to defend his homeland in the future. Thanks to these divers and bomb disposal experts.
What I also love about this article is the British sense of humour in nick names. “Central” Heaton! We had a joiner called “Lightning” because he could never hit the same place twice, a guy called “The Computer” because you had to punch information into him, a guy called “Boomerang” because he answered every question with “I’ll com back to you” and one called “ADK” who was famed for answering questions with “Ah don’t know.”
The armed forces are also famous, we had Royal Navy pilots who were enrolled to the Top Gun Academy at Mirimar Base. They were in awe of the helmets with names such as “Viper”, “Widow Maker”, “Assasin” and “Terminator” so they had to come up with their own names. One was “Dog Breath” and another was “Cholmondeley” which caused a lot of efforts by our American cousins to pronounce properly, I am not sure if it was ever revealed that it was pronounced “Chumly”