Brest Road

The Brest in question here is the hilly French port on the west coast of Brittany, with which Plymouth was twinned in.

Not quite as large as Plymouth, Brest was used as a German submarine base from 1940-44. Over three-quarters of the town was destroyed during the war and in the post-war reconstruction the old part of Brest was rebuilt. Sitting on a six-mile long bay at the mouth of the Penfield River, Brest is almost entirely dependent on the Navy and is the base for the French Atlantic Fleet.

In English occupation between 1372-1397, this Brest is marginally more fortunate than its namesake on the Polish border which has changed hands at least three times this century.

Brest Road itself is still expanding. Running eastwards from Derriford Roundabout it houses the new Evening Herald/Morning News complex.

EH 19 June 1993