The Hon Gerard Freeman-Thomas was one of the first casualties of WW1 in the Eastbourne area and his death was to have far reaching consequences for the future development of large areas of Willingdon and parts of Eastbourne. Gerard Frederick Freeman-Thomas was the elder son and heir of Freeman Freeman-Thomas, Lord Willingdon who became the […]
While researching the present Bexhill Remembers exhibition at Bexhill Museum, it became clear that our town did have a greater role in military matters during the First World War than might first be apparent. One would reasonably expect there to be the impact of so many people going off to war, some willingly and others […]
‘Memorial’ is the piece of music I composed for the Roll of Honour video that lists the names of the men from Newhaven, in East Sussex, who died in the First World War. My approach was to keep the piece simple – I wanted the music to support the visuals (the list of names) rather […]
‘WHEN THE LIGHTS WENT OUT.’ Deep water filled trenches Bitter cold, rotting feet How could they send these young men to their deaths? They should have been told to retreat Those men who stayed behind, their hands not used to kill mankind Safe, they gave their orders, sent young men unto their deaths Left children […]
We run Senior’s Tea Clubs in Saltdean and in Telscombe Cliffs. On Friday 1 August 2014 we commemorated the FIrst World War Centenary by putting up lots of union jack bunting and hiring 4 old style wooden pub games like the half penny and skittle, but unfortunately our members were more interested in chatting and […]
Did you know that Britain, France and America sent the first proposals for a peaceful settlement with Germany on 5 November 1918? Germany had already made tentative enquires as to the possibility of making peace through America on 4 October 1918. They were particularly interested in making a peace based on President Woodrow Wilson‘s Fourteen […]
In 2011, I started a blog with the aim of showing the photographs I take. Driven by the need to produce content to support the photographs, I began to research the history about the places I visited. As time has passed this interest in photography and history led me to start creating the ‘Then and […]
Did you know that Britain still has £2bn worth of debts to pay back after the First World War? During the First World War, the British government offered a series of war loans for possible investment. In 1917, in order to help raise funds to continue financing the war effort, Britain began to issue war […]
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 […]
‘Then and Now’ images Kieron Pelling has created a series of images especially for the East Sussex World War 1 website which overlay original photos taken during the period 1914 to 1919 with contemporary photos taken in the same place. This wonderful series, called ‘Then and Now’, can be seen in the gallery below. Read […]
