Skip to content
The HALO Trust
Contact Us | Recruitment | Media Enquiries
Donate
  • What we do

    • What we do

    • Our work

      • Our work

      • Teaching people to stay safe

      • Managing weapons and ammunition

      • Clearing landmines and explosives

    • Our impact

      • Our impact

      • Protecting lives

      • Making land safe

      • Creating jobs

      • Empowering women

    Our work

    • Teaching people to stay safe
    • Managing weapons and ammunition
    • Clearing landmines and explosives

    Our impact

    • Protecting lives
    • Making land safe
    • Creating jobs
    • Empowering women

    Featured

    Beyond Bombs Podcast

  • Where we work

    • Where we work

    • Africa

      • Africa

      • Angola

      • Cote D’Ivoire

      • Ethiopia

      • Ghana

      • Guinea Bissau

      • Kenya

      • Malawi

      • Mauritania

      • Mozambique

      • Nigeria

      • Somalia and Somaliland

      • Togo

      • Zimbabwe

    • Europe and Caucasus

      • Europe and Caucasus

      • Kosovo

      • Moldova

      • Nagorno Karabakh

      • Ukraine

    • South Asia

      • South Asia

      • Cambodia

      • Laos

      • Myanmar

      • Solomon Islands

      • Sri Lanka

    • Central Asia

      • Central Asia

      • Afghanistan

    • Latin America

      • Latin America

      • Colombia

      • El Salvador

      • Guatemala

      • Honduras

    • Middle East

      • Middle East

      • Iraq

      • Libya

      • Syria

      • West Bank

      • Yemen

    Africa

    • Angola
    • Cote D’Ivoire
    • Ethiopia
    • Ghana
    • Guinea Bissau
    • Kenya
    • Malawi
    • Mauritania
    • Mozambique
    • Nigeria
    • Somalia and Somaliland
    • Togo
    • Zimbabwe

    Europe and Caucasus

    • Kosovo
    • Moldova
    • Nagorno Karabakh
    • Ukraine

    South Asia

    • Cambodia
    • Laos
    • Myanmar
    • Solomon Islands
    • Sri Lanka

    Central Asia

    • Afghanistan

    Latin America

    • Colombia
    • El Salvador
    • Guatemala
    • Honduras

    Middle East

    • Iraq
    • Libya
    • Syria
    • West Bank
    • Yemen

    Featured

    Beyond Bombs Podcast

  • About us

    • About us

    • Who we are

      • Who we are

      • Our history

      • Our people

      • Our partners

      • Stichting HALO Europe

    • Governance

      • Governance

      • Our trustees

      • Medical governance

      • Policies and safeguarding

      • Reports and strategy

    Who we are

    • Our history
    • Our people
    • Our partners
    • Stichting HALO Europe

    Governance

    • Our trustees
    • Medical governance
    • Policies and safeguarding
    • Reports and strategy

    Featured

    Beyond Bombs Podcast

  • Get involved

    • Get involved

    • Give

      • Give

      • Donate now

      • Donate monthly

      • Legacy giving

      • Corporate giving

      • Fundraising promise

    • Raise money

      • Raise money

      • Events and ideas

    • Join us

      • Join us

      • Newsletter sign up

    Give

    • Donate now
    • Donate monthly
    • Legacy giving
    • Corporate giving
    • Fundraising promise

    Raise money

    • Events and ideas

    Join us

    • Newsletter sign up

    Featured

    Beyond Bombs Podcast

  • Latest

    • Latest

    • Special Projects

      • Special Projects

      • Baptism Site

      • 100 Women in Demining in Angola

      • Protecting the Okavango

      • The Border Project

      • Cultivating Peace in the Horn of Africa

      • Women in WAM

    • HALO Updates

      • HALO Updates

      • News

      • Stories

      • Historias de America Latina

      • Beyond Bombs Podcast

      • In the media

    Special Projects

    • Baptism Site
    • 100 Women in Demining in Angola
    • Protecting the Okavango
    • The Border Project
    • Cultivating Peace in the Horn of Africa
    • Women in WAM

    HALO Updates

    • News
    • Stories
    • Historias de America Latina
    • Beyond Bombs Podcast
    • In the media

    Featured

    Beyond Bombs Podcast

  • Contact Us

  • Recruitment

  • Media Enquiries

Donate
Panoramic view of the Bloody Ridge in Guadalcanal, showcasing dense jungle terrain and rugged hills under a cloudy sky

Eight Decades of explosives on the bloody ridge

HALO completes survey of infamous World War Two battle site ahead of 81st anniversary of the Guadalcanal Campaign
7th August 2023

August 7 is marked as the 81st anniversary of the World War Two Battle of Guadalcanal – one of the most crucial contests during the war for the Pacific.

Between August 1942 and February 1943 US and Japanese forces fought three land battles and seven naval engagements in their fight for control of Guadalcanal and the Solomon Islands. In one major assault, in September 1942 Japanese forces tried to take the island's main airfield by crossing a narrow, grassy 1,100 yard (1,000 meter) long coral ridge consisting of three hills, known as Lunga Ridge.

The area was bombed from the air and shelled by Japanese warships before the battle began, then artillery, mortars and grenades were used extensively by both Japanese attackers and US Marines defending the ridge. Intense hand-to-hand fighting and repeated Japanese assaults led to the hills being known as Bloody Ridge and renamed Edson's Ridge - for the commander of the US forces during the battle.

Black and white archival photo of World War II soldiers positioned on the Bloody Ridge, with rifles and military gear, during the Guadalcanal campaign

The Bloody Ridge in 1943

The gruelling six-month Guadalcanal campaign left large swathes of the island heavily contaminated with unexploded ordnance (UXO) fired from air, land and sea. While US and allied forces disposed of ordnance following the war, much remains on and beneath the surface.

As the island’s population expanded following the war, people claimed and settled on land on and around Bloody Ridge, where 1,800 people live today. Around 70 per cent of residents are informal settlers on government-owned land and most originate from other islands, having moved to Guadalcanal in search of improved economic opportunities. Anecdotal evidence suggests that migrating populations with less financial security are more likely to be driven to unsafe behaviour such as explosive harvesting.

A satellite map image highlighting areas of explosive contamination remaining eight decades after the conflict

Survey areas colour-coded by priority

With funding from the US Government, HALO began operations on Solomon Islands in June 2023 by conducting a survey of the Bloody Ridge, part of a nationwide assessment of UXO contamination.

In total, HALO identified 22 hazardous areas totalling 1,097,901m2 of UXO-contaminated land (equivalent to 154 football/soccer pitches), which are categorised by clearance priority and community land use type.

Areas close to or on residential and agricultural land are designated highest priority tasks, while polygons further away from populated areas and for other types of community use are classified as lower priority for clearance.

HALO Trust deminer in protective gear, carefully inspecting the ground with a detector amidst thick jungle vegetation

HALO staff conducting survey

Local people are using the land primarily for farming and to build homes - both of which involve ground excavation which is potentially hazardous. Commercial clearance of contaminated areas near to Bloody Ridge in the past has uncovered tens of thousands of UXO beneath the surface, while the Royal Solomon Island Police Force (RSIPF) has conducted 57 explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) call-outs to dispose of UXO encountered by HALO staff and local people since 2011. Many community residents demonstrate unsafe UXO practices, for example, by burning items to get rid of them.

The Solomon Islands Ministry of Tourism plans to develop Bloody Ridge into a sustainable tourist attraction, conserving the landscape and relics associated with the battle, while also using the site as a place to commemorate peace, unity and friendship. The Ministry plans include construction of a restaurant, a guardhouse, an information centre and road improvements including a car park. Additionally, it has plans to reforest parts of the national park and plant flower beds.

HALO's work in Solomon Islands is funded by

The United States Government
The United States Government
Share this article

Useful Info

  • Policies and safeguarding
  • FAQs
  • Tenders

Get Involved

  • Donate now
  • Raise money

Get In Touch

  • Contact us
  • Press office
Sitemap | Terms of use | Privacy policy | Cookies Policy
The HALO Trust | Copyright © 2025
Sign up for our newsletter
Visit our HALO USA website

CARRONFOOT, THORNHILL, DUMFRIES, DG3 5BF

The HALO Trust is a company limited by guarantee. Registered in England No. 2228587. Registered Charity No. 1001813 and (in Scotland) SC037870. Registered Office: One Bartholomew Close, Barts Square, London EC1A 7BL

The HALO Trust (USA), Inc. is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization US Federal Tax ID Number 52-2158152
Office: 1730 Rhode Island Ave NW, Suite 206, Washington, DC 20036 

By registering for our updates, or making a donation to us, you expressly agree to your information being used by The HALO Trust and The HALO Trust (USA), Inc. in accordance with our privacy protection policy. You can unsubscribe at any time.

We now have a dedicated website for visitors in the USA and Canada.

Visit dedicated site