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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| WW2 lost 'clickers' sought for 75th D-Day anniversary | WW2 lost 'clickers' sought for 75th D-Day anniversary |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| Lost 'clickers' from the D-Day Normandy landings are being sought to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the World War Two invasion. | Lost 'clickers' from the D-Day Normandy landings are being sought to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the World War Two invasion. |
| Birmingham manufacturer ACME Whistles made 7,000 devices in just six months for the soldiers but said "very few" originals have been seen since. | Birmingham manufacturer ACME Whistles made 7,000 devices in just six months for the soldiers but said "very few" originals have been seen since. |
| Soldiers would use the clickers to communicate with people nearby to establish if they were friend or foe. | Soldiers would use the clickers to communicate with people nearby to establish if they were friend or foe. |
| The company said it hoped to "unearth a lost piece of sound history". | The company said it hoped to "unearth a lost piece of sound history". |
| As soldiers from the American Airborne Division were dropped behind enemy lines in darkness, they used the clickers if they detected someone nearby. | As soldiers from the American Airborne Division were dropped behind enemy lines in darkness, they used the clickers if they detected someone nearby. |
| Two clicks in response to one meant it was a friend. | Two clicks in response to one meant it was a friend. |
| Fearing the clickers would be captured and replicated, they were only ever used for 24 hours before they were banned completely. | Fearing the clickers would be captured and replicated, they were only ever used for 24 hours before they were banned completely. |
| ACME Whistles was founded in Birmingham in 1870, where it still exists today in the city's Jewellery Quarter. | ACME Whistles was founded in Birmingham in 1870, where it still exists today in the city's Jewellery Quarter. |
| During the World War Two, it was dedicated entirely to making whistles and clickers for the war effort. | During the World War Two, it was dedicated entirely to making whistles and clickers for the war effort. |
| However, as the landings were a top secret project, little paperwork or images of the clickers and their production existed. | However, as the landings were a top secret project, little paperwork or images of the clickers and their production existed. |
| "The factory itself was bombed when incendiary bombs were dropped and one found its way down the lift shaft, exploding in the cellar," Simon Topman, the company's managing director, said. | |
| "Whistles were sent raining out into the streets of Birmingham, a third of the factory was demolished, but so essential were its products that it was rebuilt in just four days." | "Whistles were sent raining out into the streets of Birmingham, a third of the factory was demolished, but so essential were its products that it was rebuilt in just four days." |
| You may also be interested in | You may also be interested in |
| He said nobody had ever contacted them having found a clicker and he wanted to find as many of the original 7,000 as possible ahead of the 75th anniversary on 6 June. | He said nobody had ever contacted them having found a clicker and he wanted to find as many of the original 7,000 as possible ahead of the 75th anniversary on 6 June. |
| People may not realise "the significance of the unassuming clicker," he said. | People may not realise "the significance of the unassuming clicker," he said. |
| Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, on Twitter, and sign up for local news updates direct to your phone. | Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, on Twitter, and sign up for local news updates direct to your phone. |