During the First World War, the port of Newhaven was key to supplying the British Army in France and Belgium.

Before the outbreak of the First World War, Newhaven was a key point in travel between Britain and Europe. Newhaven was the departure port for the railway and steamship link from London to Dieppe.

Passengers could ride the train down from London before boarding one of the twice daily steamships that would cross the channel in just under three hours. As a result, it was a key port for tourism and travel.

At the outbreak of war in 1914, the Regulation of the Forces Act (1871) allowed the government to quickly take control of Newhaven Port and it was subsequently closed to the public; all passenger services to France were suspended indefinitely.

Because of its location on the East Sussex coast, Newhaven was ideally placed to deliver supplies across the channel. However, in the early months of the war, the requirements of the military and the desires of private shipping companies often collided.

During 1914 and the early part of 1915, Britain was operating under a system often referred to as ‘Business as usual.’ Whilst the country may have been at war, the government did not want the conflict to prevent the day to day running of the country. They hoped that the war would be swiftly won without disrupting trade and commerce.

Instead of ‘Business as usual,’ the requisitioning of the port at Newhaven provided an early insight into what would be known as ‘Total War‘ where the government would be empowered to utilise any public or private industry to support the war effort for the duration of the conflict.

Following the decision to take control of Newhaven’s harbour, steamships were also requisitioned for the transportation of supplies across the channel. These supplies included ammunition, clothing, food, and horses. The return journeys from France would often include hospital ships returning wounded men to Britain.

By October 1915, 45 transport vessels were engaged in the cross-channel supply effort. Around 6,000 tonnes of supplies were being delivered to France by these ships every day and this number would rise considerably as the war progressed. In order to maintain the regularity of shipping, additional workers were sought to load ships at the quayside. Newly employed Chinese Labourers were used at Newhaven Harbour after 1917. Similarly, by February 1918, 100 women were employed to work the docks. Within a month this number had risen to over 400

Because of the ammunition supplies passing through Newhaven, the dock was under the control of the military. Newhaven Fort was guarded throughout the conflict to provide an armed guard of the port and surrounding coastline.

The military were particularly concerned at the possibility of either espionage or civil unrest in the town which would jeopardise the delivery of supplies. The greatest fear regarding Newhaven, however, was the effect an attack on the town might cause.

Alongside the guards at Newhaven Fort, eight boy scouts kept watch from the clifftops from 6am until 10pm every day and also acted as messengers. Patrolling above them were seaplanes and also airships from Polegate. These searched for German U-Boats that might be active in the channel and also kept watch for any incoming German planes and bombers.

Commander P.B. Garrett from the Naval Transports Office was keen to emphasise the huge danger of an attack on the port from either the air or by torpedo:

I would like to point out that it appears extremely essential that the ammunition Transports should never, when loaded, be allowed to remain in this harbour, as in the event of an air raid and a bomb being dropped on to any of these vessels the destruction of the whole of the quays and most of the town, would be the inevitable result. In consequence I am using the vessels that can leave at almost any hour of tide and larger than those now used could not be used to advantage.

By the end of the war, Newhaven Port had played a huge role in supplying the army abroad. 866,021 train trucks had delivered supplies to the quayside at Newhaven. These supplies had been delivered to France by 165 ships making a total of 8,778 voyages. Over 6 million tonnes of supplies including 2.6 million tonnes of ammunition were delivered to France during these supply trips.

However, this effort was not without a cost. The names of 99 people who lost their lives whilst delivering supplies to France were inscribed on the Newhaven Transport Memorial following its unveiling in 1920.

Questions to ask your students

1) What was Newhaven Port used for before the war?

2) Why was Newhaven Port important during the war?

3) How many tons of supplies left Newhaven Port during the war?

Images

Click here to download a copy of this resource: First World War – Newhaven Port – teachers

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The creation and name of the south coast town of Peacehaven are heavily connected in the events of the First World War.

The town was originally conceived as a ‘Garden City by the Sea,’ by its founder the businessman and entrepreneur, Charles Neville. His aim was to create a town on the Downs by the sea, where members of the public and ex-soldiers would be able to purchase plots of land upon which they could build homes.

Soldiers had, since the very start of the war, been told that the defense of places like the South Downs was an important reason to volunteer for military service. At the conclusion of the war, the failure of the promised ‘homes for heroes‘ programme convinced people of the benefits of buying their own land. However, the actual process and evolution of Peacehaven was far more complicated than it might at first appear.

First established in 1916, the name of the town itself was changed several times through a series of competitions run by Neville. During each competition, Neville would choose the winning name and whomever had submitted it would receive £100 (not a small amount of money at the time) and a free plot of land. Additionally, the runners up would also receive free plots but would have to pay a £50 fee in order to claim them.

There were 12,500 runner up plots available meaning that those ‘runners up’ claiming them promised a significant amount of money for Neville. The nature of this competition led to Neville being sued by the Daily Express, over suggestions that it was little more than a fundraising scam. The Express eventually won the lawsuit but by the time they did the publicity had already ensured that Neville had achieved his goal.

The first name of the town chosen was New Anzac-on-Sea as a tribute to the soldiers from Australia and New Zealand (Anzac stands for the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) who were fighting overseas. Many of the roads in the town were also to be named after noteworthy battles, with; Louvain, Marne, Mons, Loos, Festubert, Salonica and Ypres Avenue all in the early plans. However, it was soon decided that names so linked to death and suffering were inappropriate. The term ‘Anzac‘ was viewed as particularly sensitive after the number of Anzac casualties during the battles at Gallipoli. In response, Neville held yet another competition which was won by Ethel Radford from Leicestershire who suggested the name ‘Peacehaven’.

Whilst there were significant numbers of people who would claim the plots of land, building on them proved to be expensive so, for a time, Peacehaven had no logical layout. In the post-war period, town planners and social commentators would come to regard Peacehaven as embodying many of the worst aspects of Britain at the time. In the following years, Peacehaven would eventually grow into a recognisable town.

The town became further noteworthy for being the point on the south coast through which the Greenwich Meridian Line enters and exits the country.

Peacehaven remains the only town in the United Kingdom to be named after peace.

Questions to ask your students

1) Who founded the town of New Anzac-on-Sea?

2) Why was the name ‘New Anzac-on-Sea’ changed??

3) What is the town called today?

Images

The Meridian Monument in Peacehaven

Click here to download a copy of this resource: First World War – New Anzac-on-Sea – teachers

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Cooden Camp was a military training camp established in Bexhill at the start of the war.

The camp was situated near Cooden Beach Golf Club on what had been farmland between Cooden Sea Road to the east, and Cooden Wood, to the west. The early occupants of the camp were housed in tents in the Lower Camp near the parade ground, whilst wooden huts were constructed in the Upper Camp at the end of 1914.

The role of Cooden Camp changed throughout the war. In September 1914, new recruits for the Royal Sussex Regiment stayed in the camp. They were clothed, equipped and trained at Cooden Camp until the summer of 1915.

In September 1915, 700 men from the South African Heavy Artillery, arrived at Cooden. In the following weeks these men were joined by a small group of Australian soldiers as well. By the summer of 1916 the Royal Garrison Artillery controlled the entire site. The camp remained a training post for the next 18 months schooling soldiers of all ranks.

In January 1918 Cooden Camp’s duty changed again. The departure of artillery units was followed by the arrival of Canadian Engineers, who turned the camp into a Canadian military convalescent hospital for wounded soldiers. Canadian troops were already a familiar sight in Bexhill during the War, as a Canadian Training School and Trench Warfare School were established at the Metropole Hotel on the seafront.

The first 131 patients arrived at Cooden Camp in March 1918 to receive treatment. The hospital itself had room to care for 2000 casualties. The Princess Patricia’s Canadian Red Cross Hospital brought together two existing Canadian hospitals from Uxbridge and Ramsgate. The main function of the hospital was to allow injured soldiers to recover before returning them to France.

Sport and recreation were a big part of life at the hospital as it was a way to build spirit and morale. It was believed that if soldiers had confidence in one another on the sports field then they would have confidence in one another on the battlefield.

The Princess Patricia Canadian Red Cross Hospital also had its own Concert Party, known as the ‘Parakeets,’ who entertained the sick and wounded at Canadian hospitals across Sussex. The hospital remained open until February 1919. The V.A.D hospital established as part of the camp in 1914, also operated until January 1919.

Questions to ask your students

1) Which town was Cooden Camp opened near?

2) Soldiers from which different countries stayed at Cooden Camp?

3) When did the camp close?

Images

Click here to download a copy of this resource: First World War – Cooden Camp – teachers

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The outbreak of war in 1914 saw the major combatants draw heavily on their empires, dominions and colonies.

The use of West Indian and African soldiers in the various armies provided much needed manpower in fighting the war but also gives a clear insight into the attitudes and prejudices that existed towards these men.

Once war was declared in 1914, the West Indies offered to send contingents of men to fight alongside Britain. The British West Indies had been part of the British Empire since the 17th century. Only two years before the start of the First World War, they had been divided into eight separate colonies, the names of which we are familiar with today: The Bahamas, Barbados, British Guiana, British Honduras, Jamaica (with dependencies Turks and Caicos), Trinidad and Tobago, the Winward Isles, and the Leeward Isles. In total, 16,000 soldiers were recruited in the West Indies along with 4,500 volunteers who were also sent to the war.

Whilst Britain was more than happy to accept these men from the West Indies, they were far more opposed to using black African soldiers on European battlefields. African soldiers were common in the French army during the First World War, with around 450,000 men being deployed in their armies. However, Britain eventually banned the use of black African soldiers in their own armies in Europe.

Additionally, the German army was fiercely opposed to the use of black African soldiers in Europe, going so far as to produce a pamphlet which suggested that colonial soldiers were perpetrating a variety of war crimes and atrocities on German soldiers such as the cutting off of ears, hands, or heads as trophies.

Stories about this sort of behaviour were rife in the British and French armies as well but were often anecdotal or slightly removed from the actual supposed incidents themselves. The nature of these atrocity reports was often complicated by different ideas of warfare and the supposedly barbarous nature of some of the colonial combatants.

Ongoing German propaganda often portrayed black soldiers as uncivilised demons or apes who would destroy all forms of pre-war civilisation. Allied propaganda would attempt to counter these arguments by referring back to Germany’s supposed lack of civilisation for starting the war in the first place, but would also represent their own black soldiers in similar ways or portray Germany in a manner which echoed racial stereotypes.

Men from the West Indies arrived in Sussex prepared to fight side by side with the British army. A camp was created at Seaford to be used to train and prepare the 1st Battalion of the West Indies Regiment for the fighting taking place in Europe and beyond.

However, much like the Indian soldiers initial deployment in France or the men of the Chinese Labour Corps, the soldiers arriving from the West Indies did not have an easy trip to Britain or Europe. The initial journey to Britain was hazardous and, when their ships were diverted via Halifax in Canada, hundreds of men were left with severe frostbite. Many had to be sent back to the West Indies as unfit to serve and were given no compensation or benefits.

The winter of 1914/15 was particularly cold and harsh. The West Indian soldiers were confined to poor accommodation and unsuitable clothing for the duration of the winter and, as a result, their health and morale began to suffer. Following this, a bout of pneumonia which had afflicted numerous men and an epidemic of mumps then swept through the camp.

The West Indian Regiment would go on to play a crucial role in the First World War, especially in Palestine and Jordan, where they were deployed against the forces of the Ottoman Empire. During this fighting, General Allenby sent a telegram to the Governor of Jamaica:

I have great pleasure in informing you of the gallant conduct of the machine-gun section of the 1st British West Indies Regiment during two successful raids on the Turkish trenches. All ranks behaved with great gallantry under heavy rifle and shell fire and contributed in no small measure to the success of the operations.

Thousands of men from the West Indies had campaigned to be allowed the right to fight alongside Britain at the start of the war. However, in a cruel twist of fate, by the war’s conclusion, the West Indian soldiers were on the verge of mutiny in the Italian camp of Taranto. Manpower shortages had left the West Indian soldiers facing hard physical and demeaning labour, such as the building and cleaning of toilets for white soldiers. The later discovery that white soldiers in the camp had received pay rises whilst they had not, tipped the regiment over the edge.

The mutiny lasted for around 4 days and, at its conclusion, 60 soldiers were tried and convicted. Most received prison sentences from 3 to 5 years while one soldier was sentenced to 20 years in prison and another was executed by firing squad.

The mutiny may have subsided but the feelings behind it had not, with many West Indian soldiers deciding that they would strike for higher pay when they returned home to the West Indies. However, the islands of the West Indies had already been undergoing a series of violent strike actions during the final years of the war. The British were so concerned by these that they had moved naval warships into West Indian ports to quell the possible uprising.

Fearing that returning West Indian soldiers to this environment may cause further problems, the decision was taken to send 4,000 West Indian soldiers to Cuba and Venezuela and leave them there instead. Many would be forced to stay and never see their homelands again.

19 West Indian soldiers died in the Seaford training camp and their bodies are buried in a military cemetery there. In November 1994, for the first time, a memorial service was held, attended by Second World War veterans from the West Indies Ex-Service Men and Women’s Association of London. They were possibly the first to visit their compatriots in 80 years. In 2006, family members from the West Indies visited the graves of West Indian soldiers in Seaford.

In November, 2015, the first ever English Heritage approved Blue Plaques in Seaford town were unveiled to commemorate the centenary of the formation of the British West Indies Regiment in 1915. A Blue Plaque was placed in Seaford Cemetery, Alfriston Road, to remember the 19 Caribbean soldiers who are buried there.

The unveiling ceremony was followed by the annual 2 minute silence at 11 o’clock by the West Indian Association of Service Personnel. Guests then moved on to unveil a second plaque at Seaford railway station.

Questions to ask your students

1) How were black soldiers viewed during the war?

2) What were conditions like for West Indian soldiers in Seaford?

3) Where were 4,000 West Indian soldiers sent after the war?

Images

Click here to download a copy of this resource: First World War – West Indian Soldiers – teachers

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When war was declared in 1914, Britain relied heavily on soldiers from the empire. Men from around the world would arrive in East Sussex to fight for Britain.

At the outbreak of the First World War, the Indian Army numbered 240,000 men; by 1918 it had grown to nearly 550,000. Most recruits came from the north of India, especially the Punjab. The Indian army at the time was made up of numerous religions. Battalions of Punjabi Muslims served in Mesopotamia and, after the war, the 92^nd Battalion were made ‘Prince of Wales’s Own‘ in recognition of their bravery and gallantry. Sikhs made up 20% of the British Indian Army at the outbreak of the war. By its conclusion around 130,000 Sikh soldiers had served.

Indian soldiers served on many battlefields over the course of the war but many of the troops were unfamiliar with their equipment, having only been assigned their rifles and kit upon arriving in France. Their lack of warm clothing during the cold weather soon saw morale plummet and desertion was not uncommon. In October 1915, the infantry divisions were withdrawn to Egypt whilst the cavalry remained in France.

Nearly 700,000 Indian soldiers served in Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq) fighting against the Ottoman Empire. Indian soldiers also fought the Germans in East Africa and defended the Suez Canal. Three battalions of Gurkhas and one of Sikhs participated in the Gallipoli campaign. The Sikh Battalion was almost wiped out in the Battle of Krithia.

Smaller units of Indian soldiers also served in Singapore and China, whilst many others remained in India to defend the North Western border against incursions from Afghanistan.

During the First Battle of Ypres, Khudadad Khan, used his machine gun position to hold the allied line and prevent a final German breakthrough. When the position was finally overrun, the defenders were all killed, except for Khan who suffered many wounds and was left for dead. Despite his injuries he managed to crawl back to his own lines under cover of darkness. He and his men had held the line long enough for further reinforcements to arrive. For his courage and bravery Khan was awarded the Victoria Cross.

Many Indian soldiers like Khudadad Khan were wounded during the war and a great number of them were taken to Brighton to be nursed back to health. The Royal Pavilion, Corn Exchange and Dome were all converted into military hospitals and provided 722 beds. The workhouse on Elm Grove was renamed the Kitchener Hospital and also took in patients. Between 1914 and 1916, 12,000 soldiers were treated in Brighton with 4,306 placed in the Pavilion. Only 32 men died in the Royal Pavilion hospital.

As these soldiers were a mix of Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs, great care was taken to respect the religion and customs of each. Separate water supplies were provided for Hindus and Muslims in each ward, and nine kitchens catered for the different requirements of the patients. Separate areas were also provided for worship with a marquee being erected in the grounds for Sikhs and an east-facing area of the lawn reserved for Muslim prayer. Wounded soldiers were cared for by orderlies of the same caste and religion.

However, at times, the patients at the Royal Pavilion were also kept apart from the inhabitants around them. Barbed wire was placed around the Pavilion in order to keep the patients in and the residents of Brighton out. The army was particularly concerned about the possibility of the female inhabitants of Brighton contracting a bout of ‘Khaki Fever‘.

By the end of 1915, the Indian Army was moved away from the Western Front to Mesopotamia and no further Indian soldiers arrived in Brighton.

Following the conclusion of the war, a permanent memorial was opened at Brighton Pavilion in honour of the Indian soldiers who had been cared for. The ‘India Gate‘ was opened in 1921 by the Maharaja of Patiala. In his speech he paid tribute to ‘Brighton’s abounding hospitality’.

To commemorate the Indian soldiers who had died in the various hospitals in Brighton, a permanent memorial was unveiled in the South Downs. The Chattri was unveiled by the Prince of Wales in 1921. The Royal British Legion held an annual pilgrimage to the memorial every year until 1999. Since 2000 the ceremony has been conducted by the Chattri Memorial Group and takes place every June.

Questions to ask your students

1) How big was the Indian Army by 1918?

2) What different religions did soldiers in the Indian Army have?

3) When did Indian soldiers leave Brighton?

Images

Click here to download a copy of this resource: First World War – Indian Soldiers – teachers

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With manpower shortages hampering the war effort, the British Army looked to China in order to find able workers.

1915 was the worst year of the war for Britain and France. The casualties sustained in battles at Ypres and Gallipoli had brought little success and cost the British Army so much that the start of 1916 saw the introduction of forced recruitment through conscription.

Beyond the need for fighting men, however, was the additional need for men to provide labour at various supply depots and ports both in Europe and Britain.

The French initially attempted to solve this problem with the foundation of their own Chinese Labour Force in May 1916. They hired 40,000 Chinese men to serve with their army and hundreds of Chinese students to serve as translators. Shortly after the French had launched their project, the British followed suit by creating a recruitment base in the British colony of Weihaiwei (now the city of Weihai, Shandong Province) in October 1916.

China was a neutral country at the time and citizens were forbidden from fighting in the war by their government. Working as labourers however, was permitted and around 95,000 men would join this British Corps over the remaining course of the war.

Life in the Chinese Labour Corps began under terrible conditions with men sailing across the Pacific Ocean and then, to avoid landing taxes at Canadian ports, travelling for 6 days across Canada in sealed trains. By the time they sailed across the Atlantic and then journeyed by train down the length of Britain, many of the men who had set out from China had died.

Every man who joined the Labour Corps was assigned a number that replaced their name for the duration of their service. Whilst translators were on hand to explain orders to the men, British officers referred to each Chinese labourer by the numbered wristband they wore and it was reproduced on the headstones of those men who had died.

Men who had joined the Labour Corps lived under the restrictions of Military Law and were contracted for a duration of 3 years. It was not uncommon, therefore, to see groups of Chinese labourers continuing to work on the abandoned battlefields in 1919 and 1920 long after the soldiers had departed them and returned home.

Duties for men in the Labour Corps included digging trenches, filling sandbags, building huts, repairing roads, loading and unloading vehicles and munitions, and even cooking.

The port of Newhaven was the key supply point on the East Sussex coast. Chinese Labourers became a common sight in the town as they worked on the dockside and handled the train-ferry to Dieppe.

China officially declared war on Germany in 1917 after a U-Boat sunk the French ship Athos at the cost of 543 Chinese lives. Britain and France had promised China that they would ensure the Shandong Peninsula would be returned to them from the Japanese if the war was won.

During the negotiations at the end of the war, this promise was not kept and, as a result, the Chinese refused to sign the Treaty of Versailles which brought about the end of the war and dictated the terms and cost that Germany and its allies would have to pay.

Most Chinese labourers returned home in 1920 with a small number remaining in France.

Official statistics suggest that around 2,000 men of the Chinese Labour Corps lost their lives but modern estimates place the actual number at around 20,000.

Questions to ask your students

1) Which country first started hiring Chinese labourers during the war?

2) What duties did Chinese labourers perform during the war?

3) When did Chinese labourers return home?

Images

Click here to download a copy of this resource: First World War – Chinese Labourers – teachers

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Seaford resident Cuthbert Bromley distinguished himself during the Gallipoli landings on 25 April 1915.

Cuthbert was born in Hammersmith, London before the family moved to live in Seaford. One of four brothers, Cuthbert originally planned on being a doctor or a civil servant after finishing school. However, he eventually settled on the army and joined in 1898. Cuthbert proved to be a strong and capable soldier and served in West Africa before also being stationed in India.

Cuthbert was widely recognised as being incredibly strong and capable of great sporting achievement. Under his leadership, the 1st Battalion of the Lancashire Fusiliers gained a variety of regimental sporting achievements. Cuthbert had also achieved the notable feat of swimming between Malta and Gozo, a feat which is still attempted by swimmers today.

War time service

In 1915 Cuthbert’s regiment was included in the plans for the attack on Gallipoli as part of the Dardanelles Campaign. The original aim of the operation had been to lead an expedition through the Dardanelles Straits and eventually threaten the capital of the Ottoman Empire, Constantinople. However, the Ottoman defences at Gallipoli had prevented British and French ships  from sailing past. It was decided to land an infantry force to try and clear the way for the fleet.

On April 25 1915, Cuthbert and his men landed on the beaches. The landings were a disaster. The beach was heavily defended with a mix of barbed wire and land mines, some of which were hidden just below the surface of the water. As a result, many were killed as they exited their boats or drowned. It was during this landing that Cuthbert Bromley performed actions of notable bravery and heroism as reported in the London Gazette.

On the 25th April 1915, headquarters and three companies of the 1st Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers in effecting a landing on the Gallipoli Peninsula to the West of Cape Helles, were met by very deadly fire from hidden machine guns, which caused a great number of casualties. The survivors, however, rushed up to and cut the wire entanglements, notwithstanding the terrific fire from the enemy, and after overcoming supreme difficulties, the cliffs were gained and the position maintained. Amongst the many very gallant officers and men engaged in this most hazardous undertaking, Captain Bromley, Serjeant Stubbs, and Corporal Grimshaw have been selected by their comrades as having performed the most signal acts of bravery and devotion to duty.

Cuthbert was wounded in the back during this landing but refused to leave his unit for medical treatment. It was only when he received another wound to his leg on the 28 April that he agreed to medical treatment. After a few weeks of recuperation, Cuthbert returned to his men at Gallipoli and, when the commanding officer fell sick on 13 June he was promoted to acting Major. He still held this rank when he led his men into battle at Gully Ravine. To motivate his men Cuthbert gave a stirring speech before leading them over the top. Early in the battle he received a wound to his foot but, once again, refused medical assistance and continued to lead his men forwards. It was not until the following morning once he was sure that the captured position was well defended that he agreed to seek treatment.

The HMT Royal Edward

This final wound saw Cuthbert travel to Cairo for medical treatment for six weeks whilst his foot healed. After his recovery, Cuthbert managed to arrange himself passage onboard the troopship Royal Edward in order to return to Gallipoli from Egypt as quickly as possible.

On 13 August 1915, the Royal Edward, whilst it crossed the Mediterranean at 9am, was intercepted by UB-14, a German submarine and torpedoed. A letter from Lt Col WB Pearson, Cuthbert’s close friend and commanding officer, described the events following the attack on the ship for Lady Bromley, Cuthbert’s mother.

The Royal Edward was struck by one or two torpedoes about 9.am. and went down in about 4 1/2 minutes. Your son was not well that morning – a touch of fever and had not come down to breakfast as usual. As far as I can gather he was one of the last to jump overboard but must have either jumped on some floating wreckage or had some fall on him for he was seen swimming in the water in a half-unconscious state with his forehead damaged. One of our men who knew him helped him onto a collapsible boat but which kept turning over as people tried to climb on. So the awful hours passed until the hospital ship ‘Soudan’ was seen in the distance and your son and this man started to swim for it – but your son was by this time very feeble and told the man to go on and he turned back after about 20 yards and swam back towards the upturned boat crowded with men.

The next details I have is from a semi-official source and says a man – one of ours, who knew him well, who had been rescued in one of the hospital ship boats – was in this boat as it cruised about picking up survivors. They found your son’s body floating in the water and took it on board and tried to revive him, but it was some hours after the original tragedy and he was dead and so his body was consigned once more to the deep, for the boat was nearly filled to the gunwale and there were still some survivors struggling in the water.

In March 1917, Cuthbert’s actions and bravery during the landings at W Beach were formally recognised with the award of a posthumous Victoria Cross. The Victoria Cross is the highest military honour that can be awarded in Britain and is given to those who have shown valour ‘in the face of the enemy’.

Cuthbert was commemorated on the Helles Memorial in modern day Turkey. He is also recognised on the war memorial in his home town of Seaford as well as having a road named after him.

Cuthbert Bromley was honoured with the laying of a VC Paving Stone in Seaford on 16 August 2015.

Questions to ask your students

1) What is a Victoria Cross?

2) How many times was Cuthbert Bromley wounded?

3) Where is Cuthbert Bromley commemorated?

Images

Click here to download a copy of this resource: First World War – Cuthbert Bromley – teachers

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Major Alfred John Martineau was the Commander of Newhaven Fort during the early years of the war.

Alfred John Martineau was born in 1871, the youngest son of Judge Alfred and Maria Martineau, 6 Evelyn Terrace, Brighton.

He was a highly qualified doctor and surgeon and worked at the Hospital for Sick Children, Great Ormond Street before going on to practice at Hove, Sussex, where he was also a surgeon to the Brighton Ear and Throat Hospital.

Alfred Martineau had served for many years in Sussex Territorial Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA). On August 26th 1914 he was promoted to the rank of major. During the early part of the war he was stationed at Newhaven, in command of the fort. The Fort was an important part of the defenses along the Sussex coast and guarded the supply port at Newhaven. Major Martineau would leave command by 15th November 1915.

Major Martineau was then sent to France on 7th April 1916. He was killed in action on April 17th 1917 aged 46 whilst with the 19th Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery. He was shot by a sniper whilst doing reconnaissance work in connection with his battery. He is buried at the Bully-Grenay Communal Cemetery, British Extension, Bully-les-Mines, Pas de Calais.

The British Medical Journal reported his life and death in 1917

ARMY.
Killed in Action.
MAJOR A. J. MARTINEAU, F.R.C.S.
Major Alfred John Martineau, F.R.C.S., Royal Garrison Artillery, was killed in action on April 17th. He was the
youngest son of the late Judge Martineau, and was educated at St. Thomas’s Hospital, taking the M.R.C.S. and L.R.C.P.Lond. in 1895, and also the F.R.C.S.Edin. in 1899. After filling the posts of house-surgeon at St. Thomas’s Hospital, and at the Hospital for Sick Children, Great Ormond Street, and of house-physician to the Brompton Chest Hospital, he went into practice at Hove, Sussex, where he was surgeon to the Brighton Ear and Throat Hospital. He had served for many years in No. 1 (Brighton) Company of the Sussex Territorial Royal Garrison Artillery, and on August 26th, 1914, was promoted ‘to the rank of major and to the command of the company. During the early part of the war he was stationed at Newhaven, in command of the fort at that port, and subsequently took his company overseas.

His fellow soldiers mourned his loss upon receiving news of his death.

‘I learnt the news that one of our best liked Officers of prewar days, a Major Martineau, who in happier days had been a leading surgeon at the Children’s Throat and Ear hospital in Upper Church Street, Brighton, had been killed in France while marking the fall of shot of a German battery. A Great Loss’
Corporal C. E. Cornford, Sussex 

At the time of his death Alfred Martineau’s address was 22, Cambridge Road, Hove. He was 46 years old.

Questions to ask your students

1) What was Alfred Martineau’s pre-war job?

2) Why was Newhaven Fort important during the war?

3) How did Major Martineau die?

Images

Click here to download a copy of this resource: First World War – Alfred Martineau – teachers

The post Major Alfred Martineau appeared first on WW1 East Sussex.

During the First World War, over 240,000 British soldiers lost limbs as a result of the fighting. Of these men a number would be sent to a hospital in East Sussex to learn from the limbless children who stayed there.

In the years before the war there were little educational options or support for children deemed as being handicapped or ‘crippled’ as they were termed at the time. In response to this absence, Grace Kimmins established the Guild of the Poor Brave Things in 1894. The Guild aimed to provide different and positive forms of education to physically handicapped children.

A result of this new movement was the creation in 1903 of the Chailey Heritage Craft School which provided room and board for handicapped children and regular structured lessons. Alongside this, Kimmins also unveiled the Guild of Play which sought to provide an alternative to activities on the rough streets of urban Britain.

Originally the school was only open for disabled boys. However, in 1908 it began to admit non-disabled girls from the Guild of Play who would be taught to become good housemaids and were taught skills such as laundry and midwifery.

When the First World War broke out and the British Army began to sustain heavy casualties, the school began to take on new and unforeseen duties. Following her work as a Patron and fundraiser for the new endeavour the Princess Louise Military Hospital opened its doors to wounded soldiers.

With so many men returning from the front lines having lost limbs, a number were sent to the hospital to learn from the children how best to overcome their injuries. This ‘educative convalescence’ allowed soldiers and children to learn and play alongside each other in a safe and instructive environment. This education included agriculture, forms of industry such as toy making, and artistic classes such as painting.

Further than this, the children of the school helped construct new wooden buildings on the site which, when completed, they then moved into thus freeing up their original building for use by wounded soldiers.

The War Office closed the hospital as a place for soldiers in 1920 but it was shortly afterwards reopened as the ‘Princess Louise Special Pensioners Hospital’ by the Ministry of Pensions, where it continued to allow injured men to work alongside children.

Questions to ask your students

1) What was ‘educative convalescence’?

2) Why were the children at Chailey Heritage useful in helping wounded soldiers?

3) What sort of activities would the soldiers and the children do together?

Images

Click here to download a copy of this resource: First World War – Educative Convalescence – teachers

Images from the Chailey Heritage photographic album pamphlet. (c) All images are courtesy of The Keep 

The post Children and ‘Educative Convalescence’ appeared first on WW1 East Sussex.

In 1918 as a result of the war and German U-Boats sinking ships carrying food, rationing was introduced and a committee was set up to look at the ways of utilising any available natural resource.

Throughout the country, rural schools were instructed to ‘employ their children in gathering blackberries during school hours’ for the Government jam making scheme.

The children of Willingdon School rose to the challenge and supervised by their teachers groups went out into the fields from 9 September to 23 October; to harvest what was obviously a bumper crop. The School Log records 17 days when the children were taken out blackberry picking. The first afternoon 9th Sept – ‘No school this afternoon, the children gathered 73 lbs of blackberries for jam for the Ford Committee.’

The fruit was packed into specially provided baskets of a regulation size and sent immediately by rail from Hampden Park station to the special factories where it was made into blackberry and apple jam for soldiers. Mr Haylock, headmaster, records the amazing weight of 1,869 lbs 3oz being sent from the school. In return, cheques were sent to the teachers who were authorised to pay the pupils.

On 28th October Mr Haylock records receiving a cheque for £23.7.6d in payment, which he shared out among the gatherers, the 123 children on the school roll. This was a good sum of money when compared to the average weekly wage of an agricultural worker, in 1918, who was paid just £1.10.6d for a 52-hour week.

Questions to ask your students

1) Why was food running short during the war?

2) How many lbs of blackberries did Willingdon children collect?

3) How much money did the children make?

Images

Click here to download a copy of this resource: First World War – Children collecting blackberries – teachers

This story was submitted by Rosalind Hodge, Archivst, Willingdon Parish Church

The post Children collecting blackberries appeared first on WW1 East Sussex.