Lloyds Environmental Unearths Historic Find
December 2005

World War II guns and ammunition have been unearthed during a cleansing operation carried out by Lloyds Environmental at an 11th century moat in Reigate.

The team were given the task of removing substantial amounts of silt, which had built up, blocking rainfall drainage. They started the work after it was revealed that the moat, originally built to surround and protect Reigate Castle hadnÃt been cleansed since 1893.

The whole operation lasted over 10 weeks and also uncovered a Luftwaffe Pilot's Luger Pistol with rounds of ammunition, which has since been taken to a local museum along with a metal coin, believed to be pre-Henry III whose reign dated 1216-1272.

As the experienced team carefully carried out their work, every movement was overseen by English Heritage.

Lloyds Environmental was praised by Reigate and Banstead Borough Council. Spokesman Peter Russell said: "Lloyds Environmental carried out an extremely difficult job on a very sensitive site. They removed a large volume of silt at a good speed while having to constantly monitor for ancient artefacts and munitions. I was impressed."

Alan Scrafton from Lloyds Environmental said: "This job was a fairly large undertaking, mainly because of the historic site we were working on and the fact that it had been over 100 years since it had last been cleansed. Naturally any job we carry out is always done with care but we had to be extra careful with every movement on site for this delicate job."