Its still early spring here in the Uk and summer feels like a long way away! So thoughts of sea, sand and splashing around in the surf are still firmly at the back of our minds. In fact I have taken to wearing jumpers again! So I thought Id try and bring thoughts of sunny days and walking down the beach to the front of my mind (not easy when you live at least 150 miles from the nearest seaside!) but whilst walking round the garden this morning I saw some pebbles that reminded me of holidays in Devon and one particular beach called Slapton Sands located near Dartmouth. The beach has quite a history and was the location for training exercises during World War 2 but suffered tremendously in the early hours of the 28th of April 1944 when eight Landing Ship Tanks (LST’s), full of American servicemen were in Lyme Bay, off the coast of Devon, England. Their purpose to take part in Exercise Tiger, the realistic rehearsals for the D-Day landings in Normandy. The night turned into tragedy as a group of patrolling German e-boats discovered and attacked them. At the end of the series of practice landings 946 American Servicemen lost their lives. A Sherman tank stands as a permanent memorial to the tragic event. My image represents the beach, a place of fun, but also a reminder that many beaches have served as platforms for war…lets hope never to be repeated.
Great story and I like the idea of the beach being a reminder, a platform not just for war but for our thoughts and memories in general. Often the beach can be a real place for reflection and peace during the winter months