History Behind Silvermere Lake

As well as being a naturally exciting back drop for golfers Silvermere Lake also has an interesting history we can all be proud of.

In 1939 Barnes Wallis started his research into targeting the enemy’s power supplies, thus destroying their ability to wage war. In April 1942 he was ready to start early testing on his garden patio in Effingham, Surrey.  Later that month he chose Silvermere Lake as the location for his first catapult experiments in an effort to find alternative ways of placing the required amount of explosives adjacent to a dam wall.

More experiments took place later in May 1942, securing Silvermere Lake as a place of historical interest. Operation Chastise was carried out during May 1943 and an attack on German Dams ensued and was ultimately a success. Barnes Wallace and the intensely brave Dambuster Squadron were instrumental in allied victory. However, it’s nice to know that our very own Silvermere Lake had its own contribution to make towards the war effort.

Sir Barnes Wallace