The Portsmouth and South Hampshire Eye and Ear Infirmary

This hospital, which was situated on the corner of Clarence View and Pembroke Road, was opened in 1884. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, then practising as a doctor in Portsmouth, was instrumental in its establishment. The building was gutted during the Blitz in 1941 and the hospital was moved to temporarily to Liss before returning after the War to Grove Road North. It finally became apart of  Queen Alexandra Hospital in 1971.

Preparations for D Day

‘Police calling… All members of the public must leave sea front and immediate vicinity at once, and those without special permits or temporary passes must go outside the barriers.’

This ban on visiting Southsea seafront was issued on 17 August 1943. Boarding house and hotel keepers had been forewarned by the Police that all guests who were not in the area for an approved purpose must be out by this date, and that no more visitors were to be accepted.

Rebuilding Allocation

Portsmouth’s share of the Government’s allocation of a £4,000,000 fund for the rebuilding of central areas following civic damage in the Blitz was announced in 1950 to be £450,000, less than expected. Of the 18 cities and towns eligible for the monies, only Coventry and Plymouth were granted more. The money was for building and civil engineering works.