The Port
The dock is hit
![[10191] Army corporal on gangway](/images/10191_soldier_tcm4-60745.jpg "[10191] Army corporal on gangway")
 A Corporal leaves for
War |
Southampton has for centuries been a traditional embarkation point
for soldiers heading to war, from Agincourt and the Boer War to the
Twentieth Century World Wars. The British Expeditionary Force left
from the port at the start of World War Two and when the troops
massed at Dunkirk in France to retreat, vessels from
Southampton sailed to help bring them home. Two Red Funnel ferries
were lost in the effort.
Eventually the port of Southampton succumbed for a time to War and
was closed to ocean-going ships in 1940. Following the German
occupation of France, Southampton was on the frontline of any
potential invasion of Britain and German U-boats, mines and
aircraft could easily besiege the port. It was too risky a location
for the valuable merchant fleets bringing food into the country.
Southampton had not been used as a cargo port to any great extent
before the War in any case and passenger traffic was its major
trade. Much of the dock equipment was transferred elsewhere; in
1940 the floating dock was moved to Portsmouth and the registered dockworkers
to more active ports around the country.
![[3177] Bombed cold store](/images/3177%20bombed%20cold%20store_tcm4-60958.jpg "[3177] Bombed cold store")
The Cold Store
ablaze |
The majority of enemy targeting seemed to be focused on Woolston,
home to Spitfire production in the Supermarine Aviation Works and
Thornycroft’s shipbuilding yard. The main dock still had its share
of significant attacks. On 13th August 1940 enemy bombs destroyed
the Cold Store when full of butter; the fire burned for two weeks
and the smell is still remembered by those that experienced it.
During the course of the War a lot of damage was inflicted. Many of
the dock's warehouses were destroyed, particularly around the Inner
Dock at the eastern end of the harbour, also quayside buildings at
berths 103 and 104. The Royal Pier was damaged, the Union Castle
Passenger terminal destroyed and the Solent Flour Mill, a familiar
landmark to this day, took a direct hit.
The port was not destined to lay dormant for too long. With the
changing fortunes of war and the arrival of Lend-Lease equipment from America it once
again began to make an active contribution to the war effort from
1943 onwards. When troops massed to launch the D-Day invasions in Normandy, the Port of
Southampton once more took up the traditional role of embarkation
point and played a vital part.
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