THE group shot on the right shows the mayor of Okehampton Dr CD Jones on the day of the Queen's coronation with two of his children.

The people of Okehampton wanted a 21 gun salute to mark the occasion, but the military camp were unable to perform the salute.

As a result, the manager of Meldon Quarry, Mr Lyndon Weaver, asked if it was possible to replicate the sound of the gun salute with explosives.

After consultation, the explosives were set up on a field above the town, where skilled workers from the quarry set a series of four ounce charges.

The charges were timed to go off at the exact same time as the London salute by listening to radio broadcasts.