WWII Shells Found on Dorset Coast
2No. WWII shells were found on the Dorset coast in separate incidents, at Weymouth and Studland respectively. The item at Weymouth was found on the beach and declared free from explosives by a Bomb Disposal team before removal.
The 3″ shell found on National Trust property at Studland, however, was live. A 100m cordon was put in place before the item was destroyed in a controlled explosion.
Such finds are rather frequent along the Dorset coast, large parts of which have been historically used for practice firing ranges, in addition to hosting numerous anti-invasion defences and coastal batteries. Studland Bay, in particular, has an interesting military history as it was used as a live training area by Allied troops in the build-up to D-Day.
