29-05-2025
- Science
- The Herald Scotland
'World's first' diving expedition to secluded Scottish shoreline
The team was made up of a marine archaeologist, a Royal Engineer bomb disposal diver, two marine biologists and a world-record-holding female powerboat racer.
They were led by marine conservationist, broadcaster and former Royal Marine Monty Halls, whose most notable adventures include leading a multi-disciplinary team to the discovery of a sunken city off the Indian coast, three expeditions to Malawi to explore the ecosystems of the famous freshwater lake, and one to South Africa diving for evidence of prehistoric settlements in cave systems off the Cape.
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The successful expedition, which took place between May 17-24, found munitions, debris, and relics of the first amphibious training operations run the Commandos and SOE – the Special Operations Executive.
The historical remnants, left on land and the seabed during secret military training during WWII, have helped build a picture of what was involved in the preparation.
Using methodical surveying techniques to find relics beneath the sand, the team's diving operations were the first ever to take place where the amphibious landings had been rehearsed from June 1940 onwards.
