OPERATION
TIGER
They
came across the sea to fight,
Against
the evil Reich.
On
crowded ships, they head for shore
In
practice for the strike.
Like
statues in the night, the ships
Lay
silhouetted clear.
The
crews aboard, new not the cost,
A
cost which would prove dear.
An
escort lacking from the fleet,
Had
left an open gap,
The
German wolves came into view,
And
crushed them in the trap.
Alarm
bells rang, sirens wailed,
At
action stations call.
The
landing craft, were big and slow
Their
foes were swift and small.
Torpedoes
loosed, targets hit.
They
made their dash for home.
Behind
them, burning smoking wrecks
Lay
sinking in the foam.
Upon
the wrecks, the brave stood tall,
As
tongues of fire seared,
The
icy waters down below,
Held
death the sailors feared.
As
ships sank neath the blood flecked foam,
The
men that had swum free,
A
host of wounded freezing souls ,
That
daylight would not see.
The
rescue crews did all they could,
But
few were left to save,
For
those that lived, a secret sworn,
The
dead a secret grave.
As
war clouds cleared from Europe's shores,
Time
sped on a pace.
But
those brave souls, whose lives were lost,
No
stone their names would grace.
Their
secret safely locked away,
In
shrouds of mystery,
The
man in black, pulled back the shrouds,
To
set the secret free.
A
monument now stands in steel,
Upon
that lonely shore
A
focal point for those that grieve,
Their
loved ones lost in war..........
IAN WOOLGER.......................
ABOVE.
(Left) The Sherman tank, found of the coast of the South Hams.
(Centre) Slapton Ley, behind the main beach at Slapton sands, the villiage of Torcross in the rear. All the area was taken over by the Americans to practice for the D Day landings during World War II.
(Right) Mr Ken Small: his book, "The Forgotten Dead", tells the story of the disaster that led to the deaths of many young American soldiers and sailors involved in "Operation Tiger", of the coast of Devon. He organised the lifting and placement of the Sherman tank, as a memorial to those brave men whose sacrifice had been shrouded in secrecy for many years. I have read the book over and over, wearing out three copies and no book has inspired me more. I wrote the poem above whilst sat upon the beach at Slapton and dedicate it in memory of all those who fell in combat, to ensure the freedoms that we all take for granted.........