Hastings Pier in WW2, continued - Derequisitioning

Taken from http://www.pillbox.org.uk/pillblogs/detail.asp?ID=370 with permission

Not only were formal documents and procedures needed to requisition the piers, but also to reverse the process.

However, the army was unwilling to derequisition some of the piers under its control.  The War Office issued orders to all commands in November 1943, to submit lists of requisitioned piers and whether control of them could be relinquished.

As a result, of the 53 requisitioned piers in Great Britain at that time, 18 were found to have no operational value as of December 1st 1943.

South Eastern Command's response was that both Brighton Piers and and that at Eastbourne were under its control, as well as some in West Sussex and Kent, stating: "It is NOT considered operationally desirable that any of these piers should be de-requisitioned."

This indicates that St. Leonards and Hastings Piers had already been handed back. There had been some great confusion over the latter in 1941 however.

In August, the War Office had noticed that the Hastings Corporation had cut out an new 40-ft section, effectively severing the pier from the promenade.  This, it was argued, was contrary to Defence Regulations, as the Corporation had prevented access to property that the War Office might want to occupy.

The graphic below explains the situation and is based on a sketch drawn at the time.

Hastings Corporation owned what was known as the 'Parade Extension', but the pier proper was owned by the Hastings Pier Company.  Both had been served requisition notices, and the army cut the main gap.

The Corporation rejected the charge against them and it was discovered that a local military commander had, in fact, asked them to undertake the work in May 1941, so that the promenade could be completely sealed up with barbed wire entanglements.

It was not until late 1944 that all piers were allowed to be handed back to their respective owners; on 21st December, the War Office issued the following order:

...it is now considered that the operational necessity of the retention of piers for defence purposes has now ceased...

The Hastings Promenade Extension was still the subject of requisitioning confusion in May and June 1945.  The Corporation believed that compensation would be paid under an 'omnibus' agreement that covered all their property as one process.  However, the War Office maintained that the pier was not part of this process and demanded a separate claim form to be submitted.  How this issue was resolved is seemingly not recorded!