Landing craft left for D-Day from much of the south coast of England, and beyond. Each beach had an associated naval force which carried the troops for that sector. That also included all the other supporting naval vessels, from minesweepers to battleships. Two follow-up forces (Force B and L) carried troops that were not tasked to assault the beaches but would go ashore towards the end of D-Day, or on following days.
Above: Troops of the Highland Light Infantry of Canada loading onto LCI(L)s before D-Day, probably at Southampton. (Photo: Gilbert Alexander Milne/Canada. Dept. of National Defence/Library and Archives Canada/PA-133121)
Landing craft left for D-Day from the following parts of the UK:
Force U (Utah Beach) loaded at Torquay, Brixham, Dartmouth and Plymouth.
Force O (Omaha Beach): loaded at Weymouth, Portland and Poole.
Force B (Follow-Up Forces for Utah and Omaha Beaches): loaded at Plymouth, Falmouth and Fowey.
Force G (Gold Beach): loaded at Southampton and Stanswood Bay in the New Forest.
Force J (Juno Beach): loaded at Southampton and Gosport.
Force S (Sword Beach): primarily loaded at Portsmouth and Gosport, but additionally at Newhaven and Shoreham to the east.
Force L (Follow-Up Forces for Gold, Juno and Sword Beaches) loaded at Tilbury and Felixstowe.
Some loading took place at other places nearby those mentioned, and not just at existing ports. Types such as LCTs and LSTs took on board vehicles at embarkation ‘hards’ formed from concrete blocks laid over beaches. Bigger troop transport ships often remained at anchor and were loaded either by their own small craft, or by other larger vessels ferrying personnel out to them.
These troops had previously been based in temporary camps in Marshalling Areas slightly inland. Generally these were fairly close to the embarkation point that those troops would use. However sometimes the limited space available in those camps meant that troops had to move a longer distance before embarking.
Loading of some non-perishable stores took place over the period 1-18 May, mostly onto landing barges. The embarkation of troops began on 31 May 1944, and at that point D-Day was set for 5 June. Once the bigger landing craft had been loaded with troops, vehicles or cargo, they anchored in a nearby harbour or river to await orders to sail. In the case of Forces G, J and S, many vessels waited in the Solent (the sheltered waters between the mainland and the Isle of Wight).
The time that landing craft departed for Normandy to land on D-Day varied depending on the speed of the convoy each craft would be travelling in (there were fast and slow convoys), the distance each had to travel, and the time when each had to arrive. Not all landing craft needed to be in position right from the start of D-Day.