Burton Beach Overlord Hard

Cadw's description

Summary description and reason for designation

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument.

The monument consists of a World War II Overlord hard at Burton Beach on the N side of Milford Haven. Operation Overlord was the codename for the Allied invasion of occupied northwestern Europe in June 1944, an action that would bring the war to a close within a year. The hard formed part of a chain of embarkation points along the southern English and Welsh coastlines, which were specifically designed to embark the great quantities of personnel, vehicles and supplies housed in camps and transit areas to the French invasion beaches between the Cherbourg peninsula and Le Havre. The hard was built in late 1942 and was operational until December 1944. The surviving structures include the hard, the foundations of the hard jetty and part of the original dedicated access road, together with the remains of three Royal Naval detachment offices and storage buildings.

The monument is a rare surviving example of an embarkation hard and associated structures and buildings. It is of national importance for its potential to enhance and illustrate our knowledge of the large and complex logistical system required to supply the Allied invasion of occupied Europe, an intense effort that was maintained for almost six months. The monument may be expected to contain archaeological information in regard to building techniques and functional detail. The monument is well preserved and possesses important group value.

The area to be scheduled comprises the remains described and an area around within which related evidence may be expected to survive. The scheduled area is roughly rectangular in shape and measures 86m NNW-SSE by 76m transversely.