Fritton Woods (Great Yarmouth)

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  Fritton friend (guest)

  The now closed railway line from Beccles to Gt Yarmouth skirts the north-western edge of Fritton Woods; it appears that the woods were used during the build-up to the D-Day invasion of France in 1944. Just over the main road to the south east lies Fritton Lake. (Wikipedia "Fritton") During the Second World War, Fritton Lake in Norfolk was requisitioned by the 79th Armoured Division for the secret training of specially modified tanks, which would play a significant role in the D Day Landings of 6 June 1944. Sherman Tanks were adapted to make them amphibious, so that they could “swim” to shore and provide close fire support to the first wave of troops landing on the enemy beaches. These tanks were part of a series of tanks that had been adapted to do something more than just fight in the regular way, and were collectively known as “funnies”. The Hungarian-born designer, Nicholas Straussler, invented a collapsible screen that was secured on special plates welded to the tank just above the running gear. When inflated these provided additional buoyancy, and enabled the 30 tonne tanks to displace enough water to permit them to float. Between the spring of 1943 and the summer of 1945, over 2000 men from a number of British, Canadian and American regiments / battalions came to Fritton Lake to be trained in the operation of these tanks.

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