The MacAdam Shield-Shovel, also known as the Hughes Shovel, was an item of Canadian infantry equipment designed at the beginning of the First World War. It was conceived and patented by Sam Hughes

Sam Hughes

For other people of the same name see Sam Hughes Sir Samuel Hughes, KCB, PC was the Canadian Minister of Militia and Defence during World War I...

, the Canadian minister for the Department of Militia and Defence in 1913, for use as an instrument which held the combined function to operate as a spade and a shield from which soldiers could securely fire from at enemy positions and advantageously not be targeted in return. However, the implement was first suggested by Ena MacAdam, Hughes' personal secretary, after she witnessed Swiss soldiers constructing frontline fortifications in France.

Description

The MacAdam shield-shovel resembled the standard portable infantry spade

Spade

A spade is a tool designed primarily for the purpose of digging or removing earth. Early spades were made of riven wood. After the art of metalworking was discovered, spades were made with sharper tips of metal. Before the advent of metal spades manual labor was less efficient at moving earth,...

 of its day in both size and shape. Its design however required it to prevent the penetration of, or at the very least deflect, enemy gunfire. As a result of this condition, heavier than usual steel was used in the construction of the blade; it measured at three-sixteenths of an inch thick.Heavy steel was also used to make the shovel's detachable handle which measured four feet in length. Unique to the shield-shovel was the inclusion of a 3.5 by 2 inch sight-hole in the blade. In total, the MacAdam shield- shovel weighed 5 pounds 4 ounces..

Performance

In 1914, 25,000 shield-shovels were ordered and shipped to Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 for use by the 1st Canadian Division

1st Canadian Division

Formed in August 1914, the 1st Canadian Division was a formation of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. The division was initially made up from provisional battalions that were named after their province of origin but these titles were dropped before the division arrived in Britain on October 14,...

. Preliminary tests however revealed the unfortunate conclusion that the shovel’s blade was incapable of stopping the penetration of gunfire even from the smallest of enemy calibre arms. Its value as a digging tool was also questioned as soldiers commented against the shovel’s weight, its inability to be easily carried, and the fact that the blade was poor for shovelling loose soil as it contained a large sight-hole. With such a reputation, several high ranking Canadian and British military officials refused to press the instrument into service. With these developments, an executive order was eventually issued for the shovels to be reduced to scrap. A total sum of $1,400 was recovered in the salvage; a figure far less than the original contract price which tagged each MacAdam shield-shovel at $1.35. Despite being condemned by the military, a small following of Canadian snipers continued to use the shovel. Aware of the tool’s limitations, they generally preferred to use them in a collective series for added protection.

Assessment

The MacAdam Shield-Shovel currently stands in Canadian First World War historiography as an invention which was poorly conceived given that its intended purpose was never fully realized. Understanding that the shield-shovel was likely one of many in a series of squandered government war expenditures is often additionally difficult to accept. Given all this, however, one historian is of the opinion that the MacAdam Shield Shovel must be recognized for what he feels it represents: a serious attempt to improve the well-being of Canadian troops. Others feel the device is simply indicative of Sir Sam Hughes' greed and arrogance which often put his own well-being ahead that of his troops.

Sources

• Haycock, Ronald G., Sam Hughes: The Public Career of a Controversial Canadian, 1885-1916. Toronto: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 1986.

• Morton, Desmond. Marching to Armageddon: Canadians and the Great War 1914-1919. Toronto: Lester & Orpen Dennys Publications, 1989.

• Morton, Desmond. When Your Numbers Up: The Canadian Soldier in the First World War. Toronto: Random House of Canada, 1993.

• Radley, Kenneth. We Lead Others Follow: First Canadian Division 1914-1918. Toronto: Vanwell Publishing Limited, 2006.

• Rawling, Bill. Surviving Trench War-fare: Technology and the Canadian Corps, 1914-1918. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1992.