THE loss of life in Exercise Tiger was remembered at the Torcross memorial tank where a service took place.

Exercise Tiger was a Second World War training exercise that took place off the cost of Torcross and Slapton that claimed the lives of 639 American servicemen.

The similarity between the Start Bay area and the Normandy coast prompted the use of the area for several full-scale and live ammunition battle exercises. Slapton Sands was thought to be a perfect place for the Exercise Tiger operation to simulate practice landings for Utah Beach, France, as part of Operation Overlord on June 6, 1944.

In the early morning hours of April 28, 1944, eight Landing Ship Tanks or LSTs, full of American servicemen and military equipment were converging in Lyme Bay, off the coast of Devon, England, making their way towards Slapton Sands for the D-Day rehearsal, ‘Exercise Tiger’.

A group of four German E-Boats, alerted by heavy radio traffic in Lyme Bay, intercepted the three-mile long convoy of vessels.

The heavily laden, slow moving LST’s were easy targets for the torpedo boats which first attacked the unprotected rear of the convoy.

A series of tragedies, including the absence of a British Navy destroyer assigned as an escort having been ordered into port for repairs, and an error in radio frequencies, led to three of the LST’s being hit by German torpedoes.

More loss of life was caused by life jackets being incorrectly worn by Army personnel and the extreme cold of the sea resulting in hypothermia. As a result, 639 American soldiers and sailors died in the early morning hours of Exercise Tiger.

The loss of life was greater than that later suffered by the assault troops during the initial attack on Utah Beach.

Laurie Bolton, from America, whose uncle Sgt Louis A Bolton perished in Exercise Tiger has been coming to Torcross for the memorial service to represent the survivors and family members of those who died for the past 22 years.

Laurie was a friend of the late Ken Small who recovered the Sherman Tank that now stands as a Exercise Tiger memorial in the car park at Torcross from the sea in 1984

The ceremony was be led by Prebendary John F Richards of the Royal Tank Regiment Association, Plymouth Branch.

Ken Small’s son, Dean Small, who maintains the Sherman Tank Memorial, joined Laurie, who made a short address to those assembled. Also in attendance will be local government officials and residents, service members of the US and British military, Britannia Royal Naval College, and various other local and regional organisations participated in the memorial service.

The Royal Tank Regiment Association, Plymouth Branch, continued the long-standing annual ceremony which is always held in April on the nearest Sunday to the anniversary date.

Laurie Bolton explains: ‘My uncle, Sgt. Louis A. Bolton, U. S. Army, lost his life on board LST 531. His body was never recovered. He was newly married, but had no children. I was born on his birthday eight years after he died.

‘His name is on the Wall of the Missing at Cambridge American Cemetery in England, along with many others never found. Those whose bodies were recovered are buried there.

‘I am honoured to be here to represent the survivors and family members who could not attend this year. The Tank Memorial gives us a tangible place to come and pay tribute to our loved ones who died, as well as a place of remembrance for their sacrifice.

‘I am grateful to Dean Small for carrying on his father’s legacy and to all the local residents who left their homes and farms for the cause of freedom’

When the news reached the Allied commanders it greatly worried them that so many lives were lost and that the news might make its way into German hands revealing the intentions for the D-Day landings.

Approximately 12 weeks before the military exercises, many of the villages surrounding Slapton Sands had been evacuated. The soldiers and sailors who survived were ordered not to speak about the incident and many did not talk about it until 50 years later.

It remained a secret until Ken Small, then a Torcross hotelier, was told about a Sherman Duplex Drive tank that was resting on the sea bed three-quarters of a mile out from the shore.

After negotiations over several years, he bought it from the US Government for $50, finally recovering it from the sea in May 1984.

Thanks to his efforts over 30 years, the Sherman Tank Memorial Site was officially recognised by the US Congress and acknowledged by the addition of a bronze plaque.

Photos contributed by Graham Jinks.