Peter Rhodes on new reservoirs, billions of shells and preparing for the battle of the nerds

I suggested a few days ago that high-explosive artillery shells might be regarded as a sound investment, having soared in price from £1,700 to almost £7,000 in the course of the war in Ukraine. There certainly seems unlimited demand for them, with Ukraine firing about 2.5 million per year and the main US army shell factory gearing up to produce 100,000 155mm shells every month.

But even these staggering figures are eclipsed by the production in the First World War, estimated at 2.5 billion shells fired by all sides from 1914-18. According to BBC research, London's famous Woolwich Arsenal alone produced 100 million shells for the standard 18-pounder field gun.