The Battle of Morecambe Beach Head...

On the 10th of September 2005, a strange thing happened on the beach near to the life boat station in Morecambe. For a few hours, World War II made a brief return to the shores of the United Kingdom, as German troops attempted to take the beach from the massed forces of the United States and Great Britain!!

For those brief few hours, dozens of men, woman and children paraded along Morecambe sea front dressed in their 1940's finery.immaculate outfits and uniforms representing the troops and civvies' of the time. There were American Gi's, German troops of Kompanie 1, British Tommies, and high ranking officers of both the Allies and Axis forces of the second World War. They came in jeeps, wagons and ambulances, reclaimed from scrap yards and brought from collectors from around the world, lovingly restored to full working order.

How did I get dragged along to this event, and how does it fit in with my normal historical\archaeological outings, seeing as I don't usually photograph anything younger than four hundred years old (or there about!)?

Well, my sister in law's partner is an avid 1940's fan.and so I guess by association is she!!! They take Jive dance lessons, go to 1940's events, and, on the odd occasion, take part in battle re-enactment events. Martin has a 1942 Willys Jeep.he'll most likely kill me for not calling it by its correct name.but jeep will do for the purpose of this article!! He drove it home 500 miles on the back of a trailer when he bought it and has lovingly restored it to almost perfect working condition, has dressed it in authentic stencils and kit, and best of allhe regularly takes it off-road..exactly what it was originally intended for!

On this particular day, a fine warm September Saturday afternoon, Martin was meeting up with friends in Morecambe, to watch a beach battle between invading German troops and American and British allied forces.

When we arrived, Martin was already there, parked up in the jeep, in full uniform, along with others taking part in the days activities.

He was parked next to a beast of a wagon, a Leyland Hippo.a huge transporter complete with Bofors anti-aircraft gun. With Martin busy mingling with his fellow aficionados, I settled into the not-so-comfy' driver's seat of the jeep, camera in hand, and waited for the battle to begin. I watched the participants of the afternoon's activities mingling around in their uniforms, saw a few more jeeps and vehicles turn up.all immaculately presented and looking in mint condition. The pyrotechnic technicians busied themselves on the beach, setting up what I was promised would be loud and spectacular explosions, and the Allied troops readied themselves for imminent action.

Martin was only meant to be there as an observer, but as the battle approached he was recruited as an ammunition carrier. He tells me this was the second time he'd be fighting against Kompanie 1!! It didn't take much to convince him that this would be a good move.his face lit up like a light house when he was asked!!! He vanished almost immediately to be briefed on the battle plans.

I knew the battle was about to commence, as the huge transporter wagon next to me began to play a recording of some air-raid sirens from the biggest set of speakers I've ever seen. The noise blasted out across the beach, and the British and American troops began to move into place. A few hundred yards from them, dug in and ready for a fight, were about a dozen German troops, only the odd bobbing helmet visible above the sand bags. Without warning, a huge explosion detonated on the beach, and with the echo of gun fire from the advancing British and American troops below me, the battle was well and truly under way!

The crackle of gun fire echoed across the bay, as the British and American troops slowly fought their way towards the German lines. Every so often, the gun fire was interrupted by the sound of an explosion, sometimes ground burst, sometimes air burst.but whichever it was, the sound was immense, and the flames and smoke spectacular. I happily snapped away with my camera, watching every movement the Allied and Axis troops made. I couldn't see Martin, or at least make him out from the rest of the massed Allied troops on the beach. I knew he'd be having the time of his life.I mean, who doesn't want to play soldiers with all the proper kit to play with!?

The battle went on for about half an hour, during which time, there were numerous explosions, almost constant gun fire, the sounds of German mortars, mock aircraft strafing on the beach in front of me, and hundreds of ooohs' and ahhhs' at every bang and explosion. The crowds were huge, and obviously enjoying it immensely.

The all clear signal from the anti aircraft gun next to me sounded, and the remnants of the German forces surrendered. They were marched from the beach by the British and American troops to rapturous applause from all around.

As the troops made their way off the beach, people began to gather around the jeep and the other assorted army vehicles. The level of interest was extraordinary.and it wasn't just kids who were impressedthere were large numbers of adults who had either memories of the equipment from their time during the war, or who just wanted to look and touch. When Martin returned, he was engaged for quite some time after, talking, answering questions and posing for photos.

Finally, the participants packed up and began to drift away towards the meeting point set back off the beach. The area was cordoned off, and only participants could enter with their vehicles. There was a wide array of both Allied and Axis military vehicles here..once again, all lovingly restored and in working order. There more jeeps, a huge Dodge ambulance, a Dodge weapons carrier, a Dodge command car and several more transport wagons, as well as a number of German vehicles. I didn't know where to look next, and with camera in hand just wondered around mouth open, in awe of the machinery around me!

All in all, it was a great afternoon's entertainment. Lots of noise, great vehicles, enthusiastic participants and an appreciative audience. Martin tells me that there are more events lined up for 2006. Check out the following link for more information.

(http://www.southcumbrianorthlancsmvt.org.uk/new_future2006.htm) I will certainly be keeping my diary free for some of the upcoming eventsmore photographic opportunities!!

The serious side to this is that it gives everybody the opportunity to see the uniforms and the vehicles that our fathers, mothers, grand fathers and grand mothers used during the Second World Warand the participants of the Poulton-le-Sands Heritage Festival showed their appreciation on the Sunday morning by escorting a number of veterans to a service in remembrance of those who died.

I'd recommend attending any one of the future events if you hear about them. They're great fun, and the people taking part are only too eager and happy to talk about their hobby, their uniforms and their vehicles!!