An apocalyptic explosion and tsunami which could become reality on the coast of England set the scene for a massive blue light disaster exercise - with Loughborough College on the front line.
The Royal Navy, police, firefighters and ambulance crews were joined by public services and performing arts students from the College at the Devonport Naval Base in Plymouth to train for a combined response to a blast and the devastation expected to follow.
Since SS Richard Montgomery sank in bad weather on a sandbank a couple of miles off the north Kent coast at the height of World War Two’s Battle for France in 1944, it continues to present a hazard to the people of Sheerness described as a ‘timebomb’. Aboard the vessel are 1,400 tonnes of high explosives which experts believe, if triggered, could shatter the windows of every home, send parts of the ship 10,000 feet in the air and cause a tsunami.
A helicopter flew overhead as homes flooded, buildings collapsed, power lines fell and cars crashed in the tragic scenario, with 43 Loughborough College students playing the trapped and distraught citizens as sailors from HMS Kent worked with the emergency services to provide disaster relief and humanitarian aid.
“This was a scenario but knowing this could actually become frighteningly real at any time really brought home the importance of the exercise and made it a very powerful experience for the students,” said Loughborough College public services lead Tim Turner.
“They took on the role of highly distressed, tired, hungry and hypothermic disaster victims right at the centre of where the tidal wave had hit. A helicopter brought supplies and personnel from the ship, which could be seen off shore, firefighters were using jaws of life to cut open cars –it was incredibly intense.
“It was an invaluable experience for our public services students to be on the ground and to see all the blue light services cooperating on an exercise of this scale – and really opened their eyes to jobs many of them hope to, and could be, doing inside a year.”
Loughborough College Performing arts lecturer Vicki Calvert Gooch added: “We were allocated a range of minor injuries such as lacerations, cuts and bruises and possible wrist fracture which we created with make-up and fake blood.
“Before the exercise started the students also helped each other to create back stories to make their characters more believable, using techniques learned during their time with us in college, which they then maintained throughout. This gave them the chance to really develop their improvisation skills as they adapted to the changing and challenging circumstances in which they found themselves.
“We’ve participated in several of these major scenarios and the students once again received excellent feedback, keeping up the outstanding reputation we have built over time.
“In addition to providing vital support to the blue light services and their training, the exercise will also enable the students to enhance their acting CVs and add some dramatic photographs to their portfolios.”
The exercise was part of the extensive Royal Navy personnel and Royal Marines training before a warship deploys around the globe – potentially playing a vital role such as that of HMS Daring in 2013 in response to the Philippines typhoon and HMS Ocean and RFA Mounts Bay in the Caribbean after the 2017 hurricanes.
Exercises using the facilities in Plymouth also offer blue light services and local authorities the opportunity to build skills which help ensure they are better able to cope with major incidents such as Manchester Arena bombing and London Bridge terror attack. In addition, the armed forces offer Military Aid to Civil Agencies when they are overwhelmed by a situation, for example following the Novichok attack in Salisbury last year, bringing specialist manpower, emergency supplies and equipment.
Pictured: Loughborough College students at the centre of devastating scenes at a major Royal Navy and blue light services disaster relief exercise in Plymouth