How to Pronounce Blaster Bates
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Feb 05, 1923 Crewe, England, United Kingdom Died on 01 Sep 2006 (aged 83)
English explosives and demolition expert
AquariusBlaster Bates - Place of Birth, Date of Birth, Age, Wiki, Facts, Net Worth, Birthday, Biography and Family
Blaster Bates, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Family, Facts, Age, Net Worth, Biography and More in FamedBorn.com
About Blaster Bates
- For the non-alcoholic drink recipe, see Blaster Bates (drink)Blaster Bates was the name used by Derek Macintosh Bates (5 February 1923 – 1 September 2006), an English explosives and demolition expert and raconteur, who was born in Crewe.
- He made a series of sound recordings from the 1960s to 1980s, recounting bizarre and funny experiences from his long career, and tales of his hobbies of motorcycling, hunting and shooting.
- He was much in demand as an after-dinner speaker.
- His tales feature coarse language and their content is equally strong stuff for the period.
- Once, for instance, he was hired to clear out a farm's septic tank using explosives, an episode Bates described as "The Shower of Shit Over Cheshire" On another occasion he surprised a young couple in what he described as 'a compromising position' whilst clearing trees for the Oulton Park racing circuit, an incident which gave the Knickerbrook corner its name.Bates served with the Royal Air Force during the Second World War as a Handley Page Halifax bomber pilot, and then learned his explosives skills as a bomb disposal specialist.
- After the war he returned to his previous employer Rolls Royce, hoping to resume his old job, but was told "We're cutting down, you know".
- Bates then started his own demolition business, drawing on his wartime expertise.
- He later noted that it was a good decision, as "over the years I've managed to do all right while they've Rolls Royce gone steadily bust". He was known for carrying sticks of explosive in his pockets, even producing them while giving testimony in trials, to the horror of the court.
- Most high explosives are harmless unless used with a detonator, but this is not generally understood. In August 2006 Bates was admitted to hospital suffering from congestive heart failure, and on 1 September 2006 he died aged 83 after a long battle with diabetes.
- He was buried at St Mary's church in Sandbach town centre.
