…the case of an explosive can of shaving cream
At 2.30 am sharp on Thursday 10 April 1969, the explosives expert, and Officer in Charge of the newly formed ‘Emergency Squad’ attached to Brisbane’s CIB, Detective Inspector Les Bardwell, was woken by his bedside telephone. The words ‘homemade bomb’ had him wide awake within seconds.
‘What a fantastic bomb,’ he acclaimed. The six-inch fuse had a fifteen second burning time – one end was attached to a matchhead to facilitate ignition, and the other end terminated in a detonator. The can itself contained half a stick of gelignite. As it came free, to the horror of all, the can was packed with two-inch jolt-head nails – a gross (144) in total, which had been meticulously cut in halves.
This was no ordinary bomb. It was a very powerful device that if exploded, would have devastating effects upon a room full of people. It also became evident to the Detective Inspector that the offender’s demeanour had relaxed, giving him confidence that the bomb was not booby trapped. He swiftly rendered it safe.
Chameleon in court
There was an interesting side issue to this case. When Detective Inspector Bardwell saw the offender standing in the dock, he was surprised by how changed the offender looked in court when he gave evidence for the prosecution against him.
Gone was the unkempt beard and the tangled shock of hair, the filthy clothes, and the grimy footwear. Instead, he was well presented in a navy-blue suit with collar and a tie. He was also clean shaven with a neat and tidy haircut. In fact, the man in the dock was so transformed, that it was not possible for him, as a witness for the prosecution, to state on oath, that he was the bomber from the New Farm flat. Detective Inspector Bardwell had no doubt that this transformation was partially responsible for the Magistrate’s sentence of a nominal period of detention of 3 months.
The police believed that this was an inadequate punishment for the construction and possession of an anti-personnel bomb – with the potential to generate an explosive force at high velocity, driving nearly 300 pieces of highly-lethal metal projectiles about a crowded room.
The consensus was that the bomb had been manufactured with a view to killing or injuring a group of southern criminals who were visiting Brisbane, in a typical gangland revenge.
The Queensland Police Museum acknowledges the unpublished work ‘No Stone Unturned’, a collection of works by former Detective Inspector Les Bardwell, who preferred to be known as a ‘field forensic scientist. He believed that it was important to have first-hand contact with the aftermath of crime and violence. His stories are a source of inspiration in the writing of this blog, and hopefully are authentic in reflecting the legacy of 35 years at the forefront of forensic science with Queensland Police Service. Leslie James Bardwell passed away on 23rd March 1995 aged 78 years.
This story was re-written by Museum Assistant Debra Austin using the information from ‘No Stone Unturned’.
The Police Museum is open 9am to 4pm Monday to Thursday and 10am to 3pm on the last Sunday of the month (Feb-Nov) and is located on the Ground Floor of Police Headquarters at 200 Roma Street, Brisbane.
Contact: E: museum@police.qld.gov.au
“FROM the VAULT – Gangland Revenge – Part 2” by the Queensland Police Service is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (BY) 2.5 Australia Licence. Permissions may be available beyond the scope of this licence. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/au/legalcode