Wartime detritus

Following on from Wednesdays post regarding remembering and forgetting, there is of course another dimension to this, and that's, not knowing in the first place. Often, unless curious, people only know the editorialized abridged version of events and times, and that can make events appear distant and impersonal. Take the Second World War, we all know about the Second World War, don't we. Or do we? It's our history, that one we hark on about at times of national insecurity or jingoistic need. Though, on the whole, we really know very little about it especially the local war. As with history in general, we're told about the big events and personalities, but not the myriad of smaller events and masses of people behind them. Take Studland Beach for example. A beautiful dune backed beach stretching west from Poole harbour up to the Purbeck Hills and the beginnings of the Jurassic coast; a haven for wildlife, holiday makers and naturalists, a couple of miles of tranquil sands and a pleasure to walk in any season. Though during the Second World War Studland was a restricted area, heavily defended against invasion, and later a weapons testing and training area;  hosting a life fire exercise as big as, possibly bigger than, the well known one a Slapton Sands in Devon. You'd never know the area saw years of frenetic military action. Well, you will if look a bit harder. Amongst the dunes concrete scatters and crumbling remains indicate pillboxes, gun emplacements and anti tank obstacles; barbed wire pickets and trench-works litter the landscape along with Sommerfeld track and all manner of wartime oddities. Look harder again and you see some areas are covered in small fragments of shell, rocket, barbed wire, or as in the picture .303cal metal jacketed projectiles (other calibers too, I've found .303, 9mm and 45cal cartridges). Studland was the site of vital and unique wartime activities (about I will post more another time), but as I say, to the casual walker it would just appear a beautiful natural landscape. I wonder how many people walking there know any of that; that said, in recent years some info has been put up at Fort Henry overlooking middle beach. Though, I'm sure in years to come Studlands wartime service will be all but forgotten. It is the nature of things I suppose.