On the wall outside of Allhallows Museum there is a plaque which commemorates “Exercise Tiger.” It was a World War II rehearsal on 27th / 28th April 1944 at Slapton Sands for United States forces destined for “Utah” beach in Normandy on 6th June 1944 which would be led by the 8th Infantry Regiment of the 4th Infantry Division.

In November 1943, villages around Slapton Sands in south Devon were evacuated and homes and land turned into a training ground for soldiers. Over a five week period, ending on December 20, 1943, the villages of Blackawton, Chillington, East Allington, Sherford, Slapton, Stokenham, Strete and Torcross were evacuated by British and American authorities with the help of the WVS (Woman’s Voluntary Service). A total of 3,000 civilians comprising 750 families left their homes and 180 farms and shops.

The whole exercise became a disaster as the first troops of the 8th Infantry Regiment stormed ashore just after dawn on 27th April 1944 to be pounded by Royal Navy guns firing on the beach and American troops acting as “defenders” firing machine guns at them. It took precious minutes to stop this devastating bombardment but by then soldiers had been killed by their comrades and allies. Late that same night an unarmed reinforcement convoy crowded with American troops circling off Slapton Sands was attacked by German E-Boats and two large ships sank almost instantly, drowning many on board.

This was a catastrophe of huge proportions. A devious cover up was instigated by the United States high command involving mass graves in Devon fields. Lost ships and soldiers have vanished from the records. The army death toll is persistently quoted by the U.S. military as 749, all of which occurred during the German seaborne attack to which have to be added the U.S. Navy casualties of 198.

They deny any infantry casualties were suffered during the initial beach assault which is contradicted by eyewitnesses. Bodies from the friendly fire incident on the beach were quickly buried in local fields and later removed for disposal. The dates of their deaths are recorded as 6th June 1944 as casualties of the Normandy campaign. Three hundred and two of those men were previously stationed here in Honiton.

There is compelling evidence to suggest the Germans were tipped off about the attacked convoy as a ploy to deceive them the true D-Day objective was Calais and not Normandy. Extensive research discredits the official explanation and casualty numbers, not administrative blunders but a deliberate cover up of staggering proportions to conceal what is probably the deadliest incident of friendly fire of World War II.