Flashback has been inundated with calls after we published a photo of a young boy with the unexploded Leyland Motors bomb.

We were able to solve the mystery of who the youngster is but it also sparked memories for a former employee.

Mark Gilfoyle, 53, worked as an engineer at the Leyland factory under the shadow of the famous 1,000lb bomb, for 15 years between 1971 and 1986.

But it was a chance meeting while he was away from work on a caravan holiday that led to his own remarkable story about the World War Two 'Herman' weapon.

In recent weeks, the Leyland Guardian has been inundated with memories about the bomb, which dropped through the roof of the toolroom in October 1940.

It was recently established that the casing and Motors plaque has been relocated to the Museum of Lancashire in Preston as part of a display.

Father-of-two Mr Gilfoyle, from Ulnes Walton, was on a short break in the Lake District in 1985 when he was invited for a 'brew and a biscuit' with some fellow campers.

He said: "They were all retired and sat round talking about engineering. One of them said 'I bet you don't know about engineering' and as soon as I mentioned my line of work and Leyland Motors, one of them was taken aback."

It turned out that Mr Gilfoyle had stumbled across a 67-year-od Yorkshireman called Jack Tyas, who just happened to be the very man who defused the bomb on that cold night in 1940.

As part of a seven-man Royal Engineers bomb disposal team, Mr Tyas, then a 22-year-old sapper, had meticulously 'steamed' the bomb dead and removed the insides as an entire town held its breath.

Mr Gilfoyle said: "It was an unbelievable coincidence. He had also worked on the Ward Street bombing in Lostock Hall.

"He told me all about it and it was his opinion that the bombers weren't aiming for the factory because at the time it wasn't on any maps.

"He said it was unusual for the bomb not to have detonated as 'Hermans' usually went off causing absolute devastation.

"He was a cool guy, but said he was very scared working on the bomb as they were prone to being very unstable."

When Mark returned to work a few days later in the summer of 1985, he told his bosses about his encounter and Mr Tyas and his wife Florence were given an all access VIP tour, with Mr Gilfoyle as his guide.

Their picture and the amazing story of their chance meeting was recounted in the company's internal magazine, the Leyland Bus Bulletin.

Mr Gilfoyle added: "I thoroughly enjoyed working there and the apprentices were always shown the bomb and the bent girder which remained.

"I was sad to think the bomb had disappeared and was pleased to learn it had been saved."

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