The Forgotten Bead — The true story of Exercise Tiger, the disatrous rehearsal for D-Day

On the night of 27 April 1944 a beautiful stretch of the Devon and Dorset coast bore witness to a desperate tragedy. Civilians from the villages around Slapton Sands had recently been evacuated and the area had become the focus of intense military activity. Tales began to leak out of night-time explosions and seaborne activity. This was Exercise Tiger, the main rehearsal for the American D-Day landings on Utah Beach in Normandy.

Ken Small tells a gripping tale of wartime disaster, one which was covered up by officials embarrassed by the fiasco. But one man's curiosity and determination turned into a fight to uncover the truth about the deaths of nearly 1,000 American soldiers and sailors, ensuring their sacrifice would never be forgotten.