Second World War military activity in the area

1939-1945

The Second World War brought military activity to the Locks Heath area, as it did to much of southern Hampshire. The proximity to Portsmouth and Southampton, both strategic military targets, meant that the surrounding countryside was used for military purposes including anti-aircraft positions, troop encampments and supply depots. The D-Day preparations of 1944 saw intense military activity across the Solent region, with troops, vehicles and supplies gathering in the fields and lanes of south Hampshire before the Channel crossing. Coldeast Hospital treated military casualties, and the local population experienced rationing, blackouts and the anxiety of living within range of German bombing raids. The war disrupted the agricultural calendar and accelerated the social changes that would reshape the area in the post-war decades.