Mulberry 70

In recent years divers from Southsea Sub-Aqua Club (SSAC) have completed three projects to investigate, dive and record wrecks along the South Coast of England which played a part in the WW2 invasion of Normandy.

This year we are planning another ambitious project to survey 20+ sites that are believed to be connected to the Mulberry Harbours that played such a vital part in the supply of troops and equipment the Allied forces. The building of the Top Secret Mulberry Harbours, each the size of Dover was the largest ever British construction project and completed in less than a year. The various components of the Mulberry Harbours gathered along the south coast of England before being towed to France and carefully assembled to create two fully functional harbours within days of D Day was critical to supporting the invasion forces and ultimately the ending of WW2.

Along the Hampshire and West Sussex coast alone there are in the region of 30 sites associated with the Mulberry project; from foreshore (construction/slipways), exposed/intertidal concrete units, to fully submerged bridges, pontoons and associated concrete caissons. Southsea Sub-Aqua Club plans to provide an accurate and detailed record of these sites thereby adding to the public record of the Mulberry Harbours in British waters. In our discussions with English Heritage, they have confirmed that data held on Mulberry Harbours is very limited and has the potential to be inaccurate.

We are very grateful that our project has been financially supported by the BSAC Jubilee Trust with a grant of £1250 which will help defray the fuel costs for the Club RHIB, Southsea Explorer on Project Diving and sonar survey trips.

The team behind this project won the Duke of Edinburgh's Prize in 2015, Peter Small Award in 2015 and runner-up for the BSAC's Wreck Award 2015. This was a record-breaking third time that the club had won the Duke of Edinburgh's Prize.