The Day the Sun Disappeared

The Air Ministry kept it secret - they didn't want their failure known. It was the biggest explosion ever on UK soil, not caused by enemy warfare. Bombs were being stored and refurbished in disused alabaster mines, under fields in Staffordshire, for the war effort. The store wasn't properly supervised and the resultant explosion left a crater as big as six football pitches, into which a whole farm disappeared. The explosion erupted in a mushroom cloud, containing earth, trees, cattle, and 20 ton chunks of alabaster, that descended, crashing through buildings for miles around. The explosion was recorded in Geneva and heard in London. Survivors were trapped underground, desperately trying to escape the toxic gas pervading the tunnels. Rescue services were called from all over, attempting to get to them but bring held back by the gas. Bodies were still being recovered years afterwards. This is a history that should never be allowed to be forgotten.