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During the Second World War, Balmer Lawn Hotel was requisitioned for military purposes and used as headquarters for Marshalling Area B. The marshalling areas were prepared for the arrival of Allied troops that would embark for Operation Overlord in June 1944. The hotel was situated to the east of Lymington Road just north of the village of Brockenhurst. Both the hotel and the wooded area around the grounds were used. Today, the hotel still holds links to those who passed through Marshalling Area B, including British and Canadian troops.
The hotel was used by staff of the Headquarters of the Canadian 3rd Infantry Division who would land at Juno Beach, Normandy, on 6 June 1944. In 2015, a discovery was made in the hotel during renovations: documents dating from the war years were found under the floorboards. These ranged from reports of a man who was missing without authorised leave, to an invitation for personnel to attend a musical variety show called Swing into ETO (European Theatre Operations) on Sunday 30 July 1944. Other documents showed the danger that threatened men even in the UK, with one document detailing bomb disposals and locations of burials. Documents were officially marked and some linked to the HQ of the Canadian 3rd Infantry Division. These papers were checked by the Ministry of Defence and returned to the hotel.
The camps which formed the marshalling area around Southampton and the New Forest were intended to conceal the troops that would participate in Operation Overlord. From here they would eventually move on to embarkation points along the coastline in the New Forest area.
Lyndhurst Road, Brockenhurst, SO42 7ZB