“WORKMEN Dig Up Hoard of Bombs,” said one of our front page headlines this week in 1981.

It seemed that during the early phase of World War Two, with Nazi invasion seemingly inevitable, a Home Guard Unit buried 245 self-igniting phosphorous bombs on a patch of land near Marlborough Road in Swindon.

Six inches long and made of clear glass, they would have been retrieved and hurled at German troops advancing from the South Coast.

Phosphorous buns very fiercely, and the flames are all but impossible to extinguish.

The invasion, of course, never happened and the bombs lay hidden and forgotten, about 40 yards from Winifred Street, until being unearthed by a builder’s JCB some 40 years later.

Labourer Mick O’Neill told us: “They looked just like lemonade bottles and we weren’t aware of the danger until someone spotted a sign saying ‘bombs’.

“They were right on the surface and we’ve been chasing children off the site since we started work here a week ago.”

The corroded sign, unearthed near the bombs, said: “Store bombs (preferably in cases) in cool place. Underwater if possible.”

An Army disposal team was called in and began gathering the weapons. They had a fire hose on standby, which proved to be a wise decision when one of the bombs spontaneously ignited.

On a cheerier note, Swindon’s most famous artist painted a picture for one of Swindon’s most famous recording stars.

We said: “When Gilbert O’Sullivan wanted a portrait of his family he contacted Swindon artist Ken White.

“Gilbert and Ken have been mates since they went to art college together in the Sixties.

“But while Gilbert made a splash in the pop world, Ken stuck to his brushes. He designed and painted many of Swindon’s colourful wall paintings. He did a portrait of singer-songwriter Gilbert in 1974, has designed posters for him and used him in a mural of famous people from Swindon on the wall of a house in Old Town.

“Gilbert sent a batch of snapshots of his family – his wife Aase, baby daughter Helen and Leo their collie – and asked Ken to paint a picture for their home in Southern Ireland.

“Ken started painting about two weeks ago and has almost finished.”

In a different branch of the arts entirely, Bernie Winters and his St Bernard, Schnorbitz, were due to star in that year’s Wyvern pantomime, Aladdin.

The light entertainer, who has first come to fame as half of a double act with brother Mike, revealed he had a booking 70 miles away on opening night, but didn’t plan to disappoint either audience.

We said: “Bernie’s Friday evening panto is due to finish at around 9.45pm in Swindon. But he is also advertiser to appear in cabaret at Bournemouth’s Royal Show Bar between 7.30pm and midnight.

“So it will mean a 70-mile quicksilver dash for Winters and dog.”

Bernie Winters remained a popular light entertainer until his death from cancer in 1981.

The approach of Panto Season meant Christmas was also approaching, and Swindon had a key role in distributing something mentioned in many a letter to Santa.

“Rubik’s Cube addicts,” we said, “would go completely crazy inside the giant WH Smith warehouses in Swindon.

“For there are thousands and thousands of the little puzzles that have the whole nation frustrated.

“This week in a new sales push, the Swindon distribution centre will be sending out 32,000 cubes to the company’s 360 branches.”

If the cube was an icon of the era, so was the Space Invaders machine and its many imitators. All manner of companies and organisations were trying to turn a profit from the trend sweeping pubs and arcades, and one of them was the maker of Strongbow lager.

It installed something called Strongbow Supershot at Swindon FC, and if the advert we ran is anything to go by, tokens to play were given to people buying pints of the cider.

Information about the promotion is scant to say the least, but perhaps some Rewind readers remember it and can enlighten us.

Miracles of new technology were not just confined to the world of leisure. The week saw us highlight a machine of an entirely different kind.

We said: “Tipsy Swindon drivers could soon be tottering through the police station and into history.

“For the unwise ‘one-over-the-eight’ brigade will be asked to test a revolutionary booze detector.

“And the Swindon division is the only one in the West Country chosen to evaluate the microchip wonder.

“It absorbs the breath of a suspected drunk, discards unwanted interference and offers a precise read-out in triplicate.”

The machine seems to have been a prototype of the ones used at all police stations to confirm or discard readings taken by police officers who stop suspected drunk-drivers.

In 1981 suspects would initially be asked to blow into a plastic bag containing crystals which reacted to alcohol fumes.

If the crystals turned green the suspect would be taken to the police station and given a blood or urine test.