The Great Panjandrum rolls into action

By ojones

MORE than 65 years after it was first tested on Westward Ho! beach a bizarre wartime secret weapon rolled into action this morning.

The rocket-propelled replica of The Great Panjandrum was built to launch the Appledore Book Festival's 2009 brochure.

Organisers of the increasingly popular literary festival hit on the idea to generate publicity.

And the idea seemed to have worked as photographers and camera crews descended on Westward Ho!'s pebble ridge to watch the event.

Many local people also lined the beach to see whether the 2009 version of the Panjandrum would meet the same fate as its 1944 predecessor.

The original Panjandrum was designed to roll up the Normandy beaches on D-Day and explode — blowing a hole in Nazi sea defences.

But the tests on Westward Ho! beach were disastrous, with the machine careering out of control towards a group of assembled VIPs. It was never used in action.

The Panjandrum which was let loose on Westward Ho! beach at 7.45 this morning was created by Bristol-based fireworks company Skyburst. It was half the size of the 1944 original.

The company had been unable to test the device before today's launch, so nobody knew if it would work or, literally, fall flat.

But — after spectators had joined the countdown from 10 to zero and the Union Flag was dropped —the Panjandrum roared into life.

In a shower of sparks and with all rockets firing spectacularly it rolled from its mounting and drove at a steady pace along the sandy shoreline before coming to a gentle halt further up the beach.

● For pictures and a full report see Thursday's North Devon Journal — where there is also a special offer for readers to buy discounted tickets to some Appledore Book Festival events.