Newhaven was closed to all commercial traffic from July 1940, although it reopened for coastal coal supplies in 1941. The Harbour was placed under naval control with army units providing support along the coast.
Initially the port was used by hospital carriers and vessels loading stores for the British Expeditionary Force. After the fall of France, the focus switched to naval craft and RAF sea rescue launches. Railway employees in the Marine Workshops applied their skills to the repair of motor gunboats, torpedo boats and air-sea rescue craft.
As D-Day approached, the harbour became filled with small craft, berthed almost from shore to shore. Camouflage netting was strung across the river Ouse north of Newhaven to conceal the build-up of craft from enemy reconnaissance flights. Tank landing craft were positioned on the west side of the harbour – there is still a slipway built to allow tanks to drive directly onto the vessels in the present-day marina; grid irons were added here to facilitate the quick repair of ships. Meanwhile, troops were based to the east of the river Ouse as they arrived by train.
The railway came into its own, feeding a continuous supply of troops into the port to prepare for the landings. They disembarked at Newhaven Town and Newhaven Harbour stations and transferred into the plethora of ships and landing craft that awaited their arrival. This was probably the first time that troops realised the scale of the enterprise they were joining.
The delay of D-Day from 5th to 6th June added to the tension.
Details of the train service requirements are sparse but can be gauged by the 62,000 troops who embarked for France between D-Day and the end of June. The month of July saw a further 100,000 men sailing from Newhaven for France.
During this period, many cross-Channel steamers returned to Newhaven to ferry troops. The railway steamers Biarritz, Canterbury, Isle of Guernsey, Isle of Thanet, and Victoria were frequent visitors. One can imagine the bureaucracy involved in processing over 3,000 troops each day to ensure they ended up on the right vessel. The Maid of Orleans left Newhaven on 27 June but was torpedoed and sunk on her return crossing from Normandy the following day.
Many of the wounded from the front line were, as with the Dunkirk evacuation, brought back to Newhaven which became the primary hospital port. Most headed off by rail for hospital treatment.
As the war progressed, an increasing number of prisoners of war were also processed at the port for onward transit.
From D-Day until 31 March 1946, some 11,817 vessels were noted using Newhaven.
A commercial service between Newhaven and Dieppe was reinstated from 19 January 1945, making it the first cross-Channel route to return to operation (Dover-Calais did not return until 1946).
:: More information about the events taking place in Newhaven are at https://www.newhaventowncouncil.gov.uk/news/newhaven-remembers-d-day80/
:: Image from Newhaven Historical Society
