Within the current lifetime of the Trust some £1.5m has been raised in support of our aims. Most importantly, the Trust has developed into the acknowledged central foundation around which other Coastal Forces related activities have sought support. As such, CFHT has been a catalyst for development across the whole spectrum of Coastal Forces remembrance.

Prior to 2016 the Trust focused on the restoration of the very few surviving Coastal Forces craft, the collation of Coastal Forces data, recording individual memoirs from surviving Coastal Forces personnel together with the collection of memorabilia. A number of memorial plaques were erected at significant locations where Coastal Forces were based during WW II. In addition, support was given to Coastal Forces Veterans organisations. By way of an example, CFHT organises the Annual Allied Coastal Forces Remembrance Service at the former Coastal Forces base, HMS Hornet in Gosport.

In 2016 HM Treasury awarded the Trust £925,000 from the LIBOR Fund, matched by the Trust with a further £150,000, to establish a permanent museum at Gosport. This Museum, named ‘The Night Hunters: The Royal Navy Coastal Forces at War’ opened to the public in the Autumn of 2021 and is part of the National Museum of the Royal Navy.

The Trust is now seeking to raise a further funds that will enable it to continue its vital work in the years to come. Projects include a northern Coastal Forces Museum based in Hartlepool that will inform the public of another aspect of the Coastal Forces story, East coast convoys and clandestine operations in occupied Norway. The trust also wishes to continue its support, together with Portsmouth Historic Quarter (PHQ), for current and future sea going coastal forces vessels.

A significant ambition is to establish a permanent memorial that will act as a focus of remembrance for veterans and an inspiration for future generations Under current plans it will be located at the entrance to HM Naval Base in Portsmouth, close to the Historic Flotilla, Boathouse No 4 and the National Museum of the Royal Navy. Some 600,000 visitors from around the world will see it every year.

The Trust hold records of each Coastal Forces vessel (some 2000), their history and the officers and men, mainly RNVR, who crewed them. Much is still on paper, photographs and some in digital format. This is a very important historical record that is currently not available to the public for research. The Trust intends to update, validate and digitise this record, then make it available at the museum and online. We have recently received some initial funding to get this project started.

An introduction to Coastal Forces

Coastal Forces have always occupied an unusual space in the Royal Navy’s predominantly ‘blue water’ mindset, but history and technology show that the threat of hostilities is guaranteed to rekindle our interests in shallow water operations.

So it was that at the turn of the 20^th century, the rapid development of more efficient, lighter and smaller internal combustion engines, the planing hull form and the threat from mines led the Admiralty to focus on the utility of small, high-speed craft in the defence of the English Channel. The Coastal Motor Boat was borne, partly as a solution to attacking the German High Sea Fleet whilst it lay in a defended anchorage. The parallels with the conflict in Ukraine are uncanny…

Between the wars, money dried up and evolution faltered, but the path was set for the rapid expansion of Coastal Forces from around 1938 onwards. By way of background about 3000 personnel, both men and women, served in CF throughout WWII. Most of these individuals were RNVR Officers or Hostilities Only (HO) ratings. By contrast the engine room staff of each craft were invariably regular RN service.

A typical MGB/MTB crew numbered around 30 people with an average age of 22 years. Most of these individuals came to the Navy via HMS King Alfred or HMS Collingwood, which during the war was a vast new entry training establishment for HO ratings. Only the very best individuals were selected for CF; they went on to serve around the British Isles, in the Mediterranean and the Far East. The St Nazaire raid was perhaps their most well-known single action, but they were instrumental in maintaining sea control in the Channel, disrupting U boat operations in the Atlantic and Mediterranean and protecting the flanks of the D Day invasion.

Coastal Forces achieved the highest number of gallantry awards of any single branch of the Service – a glowing testament to the professionalism and enthusiasm of these Citizen Sailors.

Following World War II…

Immediately after the war Coastal Forces wound down in size with the great majority of personnel returning to civilian life. The craft themselves were swiftly disposed of – many of them being sunk in Fareham Creek, or otherwise sold to become houseboats on canals throughout the UK. One veteran telling us that they left their boat in Freetown Sierra Leone giving the “keys” to the local harbour master whilst they took passage home in a troop ship. Who knows what became of that particular craft? In 1957 HMS Hornet, the HQ and spiritual home of Coastal ForcesF, was closed – although at least in 1952 a Memorial, listing CF wartime establishments was built in front of the old Wardroom, which is now the focus of Hornet Services Sailing Club.

Reintegration into civilian life, after several years of total warfare, was a real challenge for many of these people. Some of them were outstandingly successful in what they achieved becoming influential in the City and industry, or in one instance a film director who worked on the early James Bond films. A veteran once described to us how he went back to the bank where he had worked before the war. He said that discussing overdrafts and loans with customers was in stark contrast to his previous life of commanding an MTB at the age of 23 surging through the North Sea at 40 knots to engage with E Boats or coastal convoys – in the dark.

In later years…

A vibrant Coastal Forces Veterans Association (CFVA) was established post war and for several years was involved with many of the significant Remembrance Events. At its peak the membership numbered around 1000 members. However, in 2007, because of the inevitable fall in membership due to age, the Association was stood down, with the National Standard being laid up at Hornet. The gradual demise of the Association led to the establishment of the Coastal Forces Heritage Trust whose principal role is to perpetuate the memory of Coastal Forces.

For more information about the craft, the people, the technology, their exploits, please Join the Friends of Coastal Forces. See the link below!

‘Craft‘