Mills grenade

Born in Hull in 1924, Thompson attended the local grammar school, but as the Second World War raged, he joined the Green Howards - an infantry regiment of the British Army, where he taught soldiers the firepower of the Bren gun and the right way to hurl a Mills grenade.

Jamison stared down at the little man whose collar he held firmly, with a Mills grenade dangling down at the base of his neck.

I was lucky to have no accident with the Mills grenade, and no fatal ones even with the rifle-grenade.

The first thing was to give a lecture to the men, explaining the nature of the Mills grenade and the proper way to hold it and throw it.

My own task was to train as many men as possible in the use of the Mills grenade.