A Fantastic Failure: The Story of the Shield-Shovel
The rise and fall of a bizarre WWI-era military tool
The year was 1913 and a Canadian secretary named Ena MacAdam had just thought up the next revolution in shovel design.
The Shield-Shovel Is Born
MacAdam’s improved shovel could be used as both a regular shovel and a shield to cover soldiers as they fire at the enemy. She pitched the idea to her boss, Sam Hughes, who believed the shovels were “ideally suited for modern warfare.” As Canada’s Minister of Militia and Defence, Hughes sought to make the shovels a reality.1
Hughes Gets a Patent and Explains the Shovel’s Function
Hughes obtained a patent for the shield-shovel, crediting Ena MacAdam with the invention. From this patent we learn of the shovel’s design and intended use.
As seen above, there is a hole in the corner of the shovel. Soldiers are meant to put the barrel of their gun through the hole and rest it there as they shoot ahead. The handle is turned to reveal a spike that can be planted in the ground to secure the shovel in place. The patent claims that “[the shovel] provides an excellent shield for the head of a soldier in the act of firing, while the location and size of the firing opening 2 does not necessitate the head being exposed in taking aim.”
The Shield-Shovel Meets Its End
WWI began in 1914 and the time came for the invention to be put into action. 25,000 shield-shovels were purchased at a price of $1.35 each.2 Unfortunately, whatever hopes that were had for the unique equipment were swiftly crushed. The shield-shovels didn’t work, they were a miserable failure.3
A report from June of 1915 detailed the problems with the shield-shovels: “too heavy and difficult to carry, chafes thighs and bangs about, not bullet proof, colour of equipment too light.”4 Not only were they worthless as shields, they were also found to be “patently useless for digging” as well.5 It’s for these reasons that the troops detested the shovels and they were ultimately scrapped.6
Morton, Desmond. Marching to Armageddon. Toronto, Lester & Orpen Dennys, 1989, p. 8.
Duguid, A. Fortescue. Official History of the Canadian Forces in the Great War, 1914-1919. Vol. 1, Ottawa, King’s Printer, 1938, p. 75, https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/themes/defence/caf/militaryhistory/dhh/official/book-1938-great-war-1-1-en.pdf.
Rawling, Bill. Surviving Trench Warfare: Technology and the Canadian Corps, 1914-1918. University of Toronto Press, 2014, p. 18.
Duguid, A. Fortescue. Official History of the Canadian Forces in the Great War, 1914-1919. Vol. 1, Ottawa, King’s Printer, 1938, p. 426.
Morton, Desmond. When Your Number’s Up: The Canadian Soldier in the First World War. Toronto, Random House of Canada, 1993, p. 33.
Morton, Desmond. A Military History of Canada. 5th ed., Toronto, McClelland & Stewart, 2007, p. 137.