I was reading the marvellous Forgotten Voices of D-Day last night and came across this nice little piece. I wonder if anyone knows if there is any substance to the story? Major Patrick Barass 2nd Battalion, Essex Regiment "There was a lovely story going around; I don't know how true it is. They sent people ashore in darkness to bring back samples of the beaches, so that they could assess whether they were firm enough to take tanks and so forth, and the story goes that somebody left a trowel behind and this was found out and then a bomber was loaded with trowels and sent down the coast dropping them all down the coast so that the position wasn't given away. I can believe it, actually, when I come to think of all the preperations that were done before D-Day to be absolutely sure that nothing leaked anywhere."
Hi Jonathan, That's an interesting story. I'd be worried that if the first trowel had already been found and who ever found it had made the possible connection to D-day,then the subsequent drop might confirm their idea that there was some significance to the one they had found already. Dave (If it was an American shovel though, it would probably be stenciled "Type M1 D-Day Beach Sample Excavator", so that would be a problem)
Quote below "To take the samples they would turn an auger screw into the beach and put sand into pots, and then head back to England." BBC News - D-Day's 'forgotten' sand samplers
The 'sand samplers' story is well known, never heard about a lost trowel though! I thought they were looking for deeper deposits of clay etc that would make it difficult for tracked vehicles. Whilst surface sand might be helpful I am under the impression it was deeper beach structure the planners were worried about.
