Coastal Defences and the Second World War

1939

During the Second World War, Emsworth's position on the south coast placed it within the defensive zone prepared against potential German invasion. Anti-invasion defences were erected along the harbour shore and the beaches of Chichester Harbour. The town's proximity to the military installations at Thorney Island, which housed an RAF base, made it part of the wider military landscape of the south coast. Troops were billeted in the area, and the D-Day preparations of 1944 brought military activity to the harbours and roads of the region. Emsworth residents experienced air raids, rationing, and the disruptions common to all south coast communities during the war.