The town and royal dockyard of Pembroke Dock, sited some five kilometres eastwards up the Haven from Milford, developed rapidly during the nineteenth century and became a major Royal Dockyard. Like Milford, the town betrays its recent foundation in its gridiron street pattern and angular dock structures, so different to the more forgiving street plans of earlier historic towns. From its opening in 1814 as a naval facility and town, Pembroke Dock developed substantially through two further periods of extension in 1830-2 and again in 1844, constructing many of the Royal Navy's warships. Despite the decline and sudden closure of the once magnificent facilities in 1926, the town flourished again as preparations for the Second World War saw the establishment of a Royal Air Force flying-boat station (nprn 308217).
During World War Two, Pembroke Dock was within easy range of German bombers based in France and with its flying-boat station, barracks (nprn 32085) and naval oil depot (nprn 33600), was a vulnerable target suffering repeated air raids. In August 1940 a daylight raid set alight an oil tank at the Llanreath Admiralty depot, causing a major blaze and severe damage, including the loss of life of five of the 650 firemen drafted in to help. Night attacks on Pembroke Dock began in 1940 and continued in 1941: in one attack alone in May 1941, 32 people died and 2000 houses were damaged.
The modern Irish Sea Ferries terminal has been built over some of the ship-building slips that served the Royal Navy.
(sources include Pembroke Dock Community Web Project)
RCAHMW, 19 November 2010.