Rebuilding in Southampton after the devastation of war was a large undertaking. It was the seventh heaviest hit target in Britain and had been severely damaged with many homes and building lost.

As people who had lost their homes, been evacuated or were away serving in the war effort began to return to Southampton, the shortage of housing became clear. It was also an opportunity for town planners to complete slum clearance projects and create new social housing for the poorer citizens.

The social housing projects of the 1920’s that saw the building of Herbert Collins’ ‘Garden City’ estates in the Highfield and Bassett areas were to be continued, although the need for low cost housing meant that the new projects were not so ambitious. It was decided that the productive power of armament factories could be used to produce 'Pre-fabricated' houses that could be assembled on site quickly. A great many 'Pre-fab' bungalows and houses were built and were intended to last only ten years. Many are still standing and in use today. New housing estates were planned and built on the outskirts of the town, pushing the boundaries out to encompass all of Millbrook and Redbridge in the west and on the eastern side Harefield and Thornhill.

Rebuilding the town centre was slower. There were restrictions on the capital expenditure allowed and it was only when these were lifted in 1949 that the building rate increased. Over many years, and to the present day, the High Street and above bar shopping precinct have been regenerated. Much of the original town centre was lost forever and this gave planners the opportunity to start again, tackling traffic and congestion issues at the same time. Status as the regional shopping centre for the county was regained over time and many new businesses were attracted. In 1964 Southampton became officially recognised as a City.

Docks after air raid

As for the port, it had suffered heavily through the war. It had been wound down to a standstill in the early stages and repeatedly hit by high explosives. Warehouses were destroyed; bombs flattened buildings at berths 103 and 104, the Solent Flour Mill took a direct hit. Immediately at the end of the war plans for the future were made. A new Union Castle passenger terminal was built and in December 1946 work began to construct another new passenger terminus to serve the large liners such as the ‘Queen Elizabeth’ and ‘Queen Mary’. This would later become the high prestige Ocean Terminal, opened in 1950 by the then Prime Minister Clement Atlee. These investments and developments were a sign of confidence and commitment that Southampton was to become again ‘The Gateway to the World’.

Southampton remembers

Post war rebuilding