Littlehampton in the Second World War
The town's wartime experience from 1939 to 1945
Littlehampton's experience of the Second World War was shaped by its position on the south coast, directly facing occupied France and lying within the invasion zone that both sides recognised as the most likely theatre of conflict. The town was militarised, bombarded, evacuated and transformed by six years of war that left physical and emotional scars on the community.
The beach and the seafront, which had been the source of the town's prosperity as a resort, were closed to civilians and fortified against invasion. Barbed wire, anti-tank obstacles, pillboxes and minefields replaced the beach huts, deckchairs and sandcastles, and the promenade became a military zone. The harbour was requisitioned for naval use, with patrol boats and other small craft operating from the river. Littlehampton Fort, the Victorian coastal battery at the harbour entrance, was reactivated and fitted with modern guns to defend the harbour mouth.
Air raids were a constant threat, and Littlehampton was bombed on multiple occasions during the war. The town's position on the coast made it a target for German bombers both as a deliberate objective and as a convenient place to jettison unused bombs on the return flight from raids on London and the industrial cities. The raids caused casualties and damage to property, and the air raid sirens, the blackout, the shelters and the wardens became part of daily life for the duration.
Evacuation brought children from London and the other cities considered vulnerable to bombing, and Littlehampton's households took in evacuees who were billeted with local families. The experience of evacuation was mixed, with some children settling happily into their new homes and others struggling with the separation from their parents and the unfamiliar rural and coastal environment. The evacuees brought a different perspective to the town, and the connections formed during the war years sometimes lasted a lifetime.
The build-up to D-Day in 1944 brought intense military activity to the Littlehampton area. Troops, vehicles, equipment and supplies were assembled along the south coast in preparation for the invasion of Normandy, and the area around Littlehampton was part of this vast logistical operation. The secrecy surrounding the invasion plans was strict, and residents were aware that something major was being prepared without knowing the details. When the invasion fleet sailed on 6 June 1944, the relief and anxiety were felt equally in Littlehampton as in every coastal town along the Channel.
The post-war period brought the gradual return to normality, the removal of the beach defences, the reopening of the seafront and the slow rebuilding of the resort economy. The war had changed the town, physically and socially, and the Littlehampton that emerged into the peacetime world was different from the one that had entered the war in 1939. The war memorials, the stories of the veterans and the memories of the home front became part of the town's identity, a shared history that connected the community through the experience of hardship and survival.
The Littlehampton Museum holds a collection of wartime artefacts, photographs and personal accounts that document the town's war years. These records preserve the stories of the people who lived through the conflict, ensuring that the wartime experience is not forgotten as the generation that endured it passes.