Lepe Country Park is a pleasant but unremarkable bit of beach with fine views across the Solent. That is until you walk a little way east to Stansore Point.
It seems extraordinary that here at Stansore Point, miles away from anywhere, a temporary manufacturing facility could have been set up to produce six of the giant B2 Phoenix Caissons
that formed part of the temporary Mulberry Harbours used to off load the cargo needed for the invasion of Normandy.
Although partly washed away, the main Construction Platforms form a line 374 metres long, 11m wide and 1.3m high large enough to construct all six caissons simultaneously.
On either side are the Rolling-track Walls which carried timber rails, and were used to winch the caissons to the launching area. The bases on which the winching gear was mounted still survive.
Also visible are a pair of "Dolphins" which formed part of a pier head used to load ships departing for Normandy,
and also, one suspects, to bring in the large quantity of materials needed for the construction of the site.
Two of the Phoenix Caissons made it back to Weymouth after the war and can still be seen in Portland Harbour.
External Links and References
External Links
D-Day at Lepe Country Park
Brief introduction and link to a self-guided audio tour of D-Day on Lepe Beach https://www.hants.gov.uk/thingstodo/countryparks/lepe/explore/d-day-at-lepe
1944-2009
This plaque was dedicated on 28th June 2009 to commemorate the 65th Anniversary of D-Day
'WE WILL REMEMBER THEM'
Unveiled by Dr Julian Lewis M.P.
Attached to the side of one of the Winding Gear Bases at Stansore Point is a plaque which reads:
4th/7th ROYAL DRAGOON GUARDS
On 3rd June 1944 the Regiment left from here to land on D-Day 5 minutes before the main assault on GOLD BEACH in Sherman amphibious Duplex Drive tanks for the campaign in NW Europe
In proud memory of our comrades and the 124 who did not return to these shores.
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