Unidentified officers and ratings of the Enemy Mines Section of HMS Vernon preparing to retrieve ...

Unidentified officers and ratings of the Enemy Mines Section of HMS Vernon preparing to retrieve an unexploded German mine. Working in the mud of a tidal estuary, they appear to have reached the buried mine by digging a hole (centre), attaching floatation bags and attempting to pump out the seawater. One man is resting his foot on a large diameter pump hose (far left), four others are continuing to dig around the edges, and a protective barrier of interlocking blocks has been built to seawards. Air hoses lead from the floatation bags and unused blocks are stacked in the right rear. The activities epitomise the delicate yet urgent nature of mine recovery work in estuaries where access might be limited too a meagre few minutes at low tide.