大象传媒

As a wartime child I missed my father like thousands of others. Being a geologist he spent the early war years finding water for the 8th Army in the Western desert. He was then Capt. Fred Shotton, R.E. Then he was made major and brought home on top secret work for the D-Day invasion, although my mother and grandparents had no idea what this was. However, his particular geological expertise was crucial to identifying suitable beaches where heavy vehicles wouldn't become bogged down. He was a specialist in a group of only three scientists working out where the invasion could safely land. Although there were geological maps these didn't give enough fine detail and even after careful planning things had to be changed only a month before D-Day because a storm shifted the surface layers. My dad was flown over the beaches at great risk to try and make out the nature of the ground and take photos but this didn't show enough detail and commandos had to make forays on to the beaches to get samples. They did this where they didn't intend going, as well as where they did, so as not to give away where the intended invasion was to be. A favourite story of my dad's was that a soil auger (hand boring tool) was left behind on one foray so they discussed whether to go and leave augers all over the place to confuse the enemy! The Germans actually helped in all this when they used local farmers' tractors to drag obstacles over the beaches. The tracks gave indications of the nature of the ground. Photos and the original maps are now kept in the Lapworth Museum of the Birmingham University Geological Department and were displayed last year for the 60th anniversary of D-Day. The Amercian were sceptical of all this find detail planning but one photo shows one of their trucks bogged down and dad's writing underneath saying "I told you so!"

Anne Black (nee Shotton) Reading, Berks

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