The first party to land consisted of one officer, Captain Hamer and 13 men from Y Troop who landed at 08:20. The party consisted of 4 computers under a sergeant compiler and a despatch rider, the equipment being landed on hand carts. The parties embarked on 3 separate landing craft, and were widely dispersed when they landed, and due to difficulty moving along the beaches due to the self-propelled guns firing, it took time to join up.
Initially visibility was virtually nil due to smoke from grass fires caused by the initial bombardment. Consequently it was not until 10:00 that survey tasks commenced. The initial survey data based on one trigonometrical point, a lighthouse, with a measured base and sun observation was established by 12:00, and made available to Artillery Regiments. The party then began to establish trigonometrical points along the beach marking these with flags. This survey was then used by the Landing Craft Guns (LCG) and the ships of naval support force G to accurately fix their positions improving the effectiveness of their fire.
At 12:20, the first mechanical transport landed, a jeep, allowing more mobility and the development of a more comprehensive survey plan. Within 24 hours Theatre Grid was established.
