Photogallery now added to the webpage.

I was rather surprised to find that the winch has been recently repaired.  There are new bolts on one side of it.  The suggestion of it being used to correect landing errors by LSTs seems unlikely as it currently does not face the concrete beach and I could find no trace of any other fixings in the remaining concrete which is in poor condition.  I think there may have been a slipway for small boats there.  Further investigation when the tide is out needs to be carried out.

That is a surprise, maybe somebody has a 'soft spot' for it and is trying to prevent it being lost completely. Being on the sea shore can't be doing anything for the old metalwork's longevity.

I think the LST was always a long shot anyway, but because it was only a single item in a fixed location.

A slipway and single purpose would be more reasonable.

I just zoomed in while editing the pics, and I have to say that this has made the purpose of the winch fairly obvious - well, I think so, now, anyway...

I see it lies at the foot of the concrete ramp accessing the beach.

Seem fairly certain that it would have simply have been used to aid craft from the sea to the ramp. I don't mean LCT (which aren't amphibious and stay in the water), but amphibious vehicles that may be intended to transition between land and sea, but don't always work as planned. Underpowered or unable to gain a footing, they can get stuck in the water without too much effort, and need a bit of a hand to get out. That base would be just a nice size for winch that would give amphibious vehicle a helping hand if they weren't quite able to pull themselves out of the sea and onto the land.

Wet tyres, bit of spilled diesel, rocks, gravel, sand etc can all beat amphibians, and the engines in those days didn't have the power we take for granted in military jobs today. Back then, power = weight, and that was bad news in such vehicles.

And then there's you're own thought on the spot being used as slipway, and the winch simply helped small boats that might have been in use by observers (of exercises) and by support personnel.

Have you perused this  one?
http://www.wemyssbay.net/images/railbridgeview.jpg

View from an old postcard bought circa 1953.  It seems to show the concrete beach running much further down the beach towards the water than it does now BUT it also seems to show that it didn't go as far across the beach as it does now.

Hmmm......

I suspect the view predates World War II and the concrete