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Camden News - by JO HARMAN and DAN CARRIER
Published: 16 October 2008

David Butler

The writer, the ‘critical incident’ and the visit from the bomb squad

OSCAR-nominated screen writer David Butler liked to fill his Highgate study with mementoes gathered from his successful film career.
But he could not have foreseen causing a major security alert two years after his death when his family went to sort through the miscellaneous objects a life time of hoarding had produced.
When his wife Mary rummaged through his belongings on Monday morning, she discovered a Second World War Mills hand grenade – leading to a call from bomb disposal experts and the closure of Highgate West Hill while the device was checked out.
It was temporarily listed as a “critical incident” by response teams.
Mrs Butler told the New Journal: “My husband was a tremendous collector of trivia and anything that took his fancy. I think it is quite likely it was a replica but the bomb disposal unit took it away and said that we wouldn’t find out whether it was real or not, so the mystery will remain.”
Mr Butler was nominated for an Academy Award in 1978 for his story Voyage of the Damned.
He was also behind the smash hit Second World War TV drama We’ll Meet Again, screened in 1982 and starring Susannah York.
The Mills grenades were used by the British Army from 1915. The work of golf club designer William Mills, the grenades can spread fragments over a 150 metre radius. It was only taken out of service in 1972 – nearly 60 years after it was first used.
Eyewitness Sue Nash said: “Within a minute the place was swarming with police and the fire brigade. They closed the road and were obviously very worried about it going off.”
A police spokeswoman said: “Officers were called to an address in Highgate following a report that an old World War Two hand grenade had been found. The device was secured and removed from the location.”

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