This site contains the Beckett Rankine archive of papers and articles relating to the Mulberry Harbours.

Heralded as one of the greatest harbour engineering feats of all time, the Mulberry Harbours played a vital role in the successful outcome of Operation Overlord, Churchill’s bold and decisive invasion of the Normandy coastline that signalled the beginning of the end of World War II.

The Allies’ invasion force needed sheltered water for the rapid offloading of supplies during the landing of 175,000 allied troops in what has become known as the D-Day landings.  The solution was two temporary, prefabricated harbours taken in sections across the channel and then reassembled on ‘Omaha’ and ‘Gold’ beaches.

The overall organisation, planning, design and coordination of the military and civil engineers working on this historic project was led by the Director of Ports and Inland Water Transport, Brigadier (later Sir Bruce) White whose engineering consultancy, Sir Bruce White, Wolfe Barry & Partners eventually became Beckett Rankine.

To access documents from the archive, please click on the links above then select the document of interest and download it. The documents are presented uncatalogued so perseverance may be required to find specific items.