a case. 1945 At the end of World War 2, there was a large beach Minefield at Rattray. During land mine clearance, high pressure water pumps were used at the Loch of Strathbeg to provide a supply of water to jetting nozzles used to wash out land mines from the sand dunes. This work was carried out by 11th Coy Bomb disposal led by Major W.M. Hewitt. During clearance into 1946, a number of Royal Engineer personnel were killed in the minefield. Maps Historical maps of the area are available online that show the transition of Strathbeg Bay into Loch Strathbeg (links are provided rather than the image for copyright reasons): References External links Official Tourism Web Site Special Protection Area designation RSPB webpage on Loch Strathbeg Royal Society for the Protection of Birds reserves in Scotland Special Protection Areas in Scotland Protected areas of Aberdeenshire Strachbeg Ramsar sites in Scotland Strathbeg