Chester soldier Garry Melbourne’s life as a bomb disposal expert

Oct 1 2009 Chester Chronicle

HUNDREDS of explosive relics from the Second World War continue to keep Chester’s Garry Melbourne a busy soldier, as a member of the North West’s bomb disposal troop.

Lance Corporal Melbourne serves in Chester Troop 521 Squadron 11 EOD Regiment RLC – otherwise commonly referred to in the media as the Army bomb disposal team.

The troop, based at Dale Barracks, provides 24-hour ordnance assistance to the police forces of North Wales, Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Cheshire, Merseyside and the Isle of Man.

As experts in explosives, with lots of hi-tech equipment at their disposal, the troop can determine whether a device is harmless or dangerous.

Already this year, Chester Troop has answered 62 call-outs for ‘Conventional Munitions Disposal’, including 11 in Cheshire.

LCpl Melbourne, 26, who is engaged to Zoe and is the father of seven-year-old Aiden, is a former pupil of Upton High School.

He joined the Army in 2000 and trained as a driver in the Royal Logistic Corps. He has done three tours of duty in Iraq.