Did you know that the Newhaven Transport Memorial currently sited in the Memorial Garden was originally placed elsewhere? The Transport Memorial bears the names of 99 people who lost their lives whilst undertaking to deliver supplies to the frontlines during the First World War. It was unveiled in 1920 at the corner of Meeching and […]
The East Sussex ports played an important role as the place of departure for soldiers heading to France, and the arrival point for those returning. Men who had been wounded in action would need to be carried across the Channel by designated hospital ships. The nature of the fighting during the First World War meant […]
Bombardier Clement William Whyborn was the first Bexhill man to fall during the First World War. Monday 15th September 2014 marked the 100th anniversary of the death of Bombardier Clement William Whyborn, the first Bexhill man to be killed in action during the First World War. The town had already been affected by the outbreak […]
With manpower shortages hampering the war effort, the British Army looked further afield in order to find able workers. 1915 was the worst year of the war for Britain and France whilst, correspondingly, proving to be one of the best for Germany and its allies. The casualties sustained in battles at Ypres and Gallipoli had brought […]
Upon the outbreak of war in 1914, Sussex soldiers were quickly deployed to predetermined defensive positions along the coast, such as Newhaven Fort. The main occupier of the Fort, Sussex Royal Garrison Artillery (R.G.A.), did not maintain a war diary during the Great War, a common occurrence for UK based Territorial Force (T.F.) units. The primary […]
During the war careful measures were taken to maintain the spirits of men serving at the front and civilians living at home. Propaganda was one of the ways by which the government persuaded the public to support the First World War. This was initially achieved by seeking and gaining approval and enthusiasm from the population […]
Living in St Leonards at the outbreak of the war, Reginald Cox signed up to fight. By the end of the war he had suffered serious injuries in the line of duty. My Great Uncle on my Mother’s side was Reginald Cox who was born in 1892 in Edenbridge, Kent. In 1914 he was living […]
A few years ago, looking into my Family Tree, I discovered I had a great Uncle, Benjamin, killed in action 3rd October 1918 in France and buried in TEMPLEUX-LE-GUERARD BRITISH CEMETERY on the Somme. The name is on the memorial on the Bexhill Marina and the family address was 59 Sidley Street, Bexhill. We made […]
With the outbreak of the Great War in early August, 1914, an Expeditionary Force comprising a hundred thousand British army and territorial soldiers was rapidly deployed to the French-Belgian border. Despite it being a comparatively mobile front, the force was decimated and forced to retreat; it soon became clear that millions of newly-trained soldiers would […]
Did you know that the poem “Pillbox” by Edmund Blunden refers to a Serjeant Hoad, and that there is only one Sjt Hoad casualty recorded in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Debt of Honour database? (There are 3 other Hoads, but all privates). He was HOAD, FRANK ALBERT. Rank: Serjeant. Service No: SD/429. Date of […]
