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The Forgotten Dead. By Ken Small.

Eddyjayauk

master brummie
Hi all, I first read this book years ago, my daughter recently bought me another copy, it tells the story of the author uncovering the hidden details of the tragedy which occurred prior to the Normandy landings,and involved mainly American troops. An excellent read.
 
There are quite a few books which include erroneous comments about Operation Tiger.
There is the true, documented, version and there are a few versions remembered by those who remember hearsay - as we often see here and elsewhere - which give a false account of what really happened. With many reports there is the usual 'conspiracy/cover up' theorists who wish to enhance matters. Often, with such serious issues, people often second guess what the questioner wants to hear rather than what they should be told.
This was a serious occurrence, but did have a positive effect on the subsequent D-Day landings.
Anyone interested in Operation Tiger (1944) (as opposed to 1992 and other events of similar name) should make a web search and elicit the truthful versions - rather than one designed for profit. The official versions rather than books do give a truthful account.
https://www.exercisetiger.org.uk/document-archive/
Just to add that I am familiar with the area, it is my neck of the woods.
 
I met Ken Small in the 1970s. He was running a B&B at Torcross , the village at one end of Slapton Sands. He had recently bought from the US Department of Defense a Sherman tank which was at that time still lying on the seabed out in Start Bay. It was not a war grave which is why he was allowed to purchase it. (But it WAS reputedly the home of a large conger eel!) Eventually Ken arranged the lifting and recovery of this armoured vehicle and ever since then it has stood as a Memorial in the village.

The story he wrote is about the taking over of that whole area by the US Army in late 1943 as sheldontony says. The villagers were summoned to a meeting and given just six weeks to move out, household possessions, farm animals, the lot. The Americans then moved in and used the area to practice landings in anticipation of the D-Day landings on Utah Beach. The exercises involved the use of live ammunition and casualties were frequent but the big disaster occurred during a major night landing exercise (Exercise Tiger, as Radiorails says) when German torpedo boats got amongst the landing craft. Casualties of US servicemen ran into the many hundreds (and perhaps more) and far exceeded those of D-Day itself at Utah.

That area of the Devonshire South Hams was always a favourite holiday destination for Brummies and no doubt still is. For this reason I myself have memories of Torcross both before and not long after the tragic events which Ken Small commemorated.

Chris
 
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