William Foord joined the British army at the outbreak of the First World War and departed for France. He never returned. William Albert Foord was born in the village of East Dean on the south east coast near the town of Eastbourne, East Sussex, on 25 September 1895. When he was one year old, the family […]
When thousands of British soldiers, including men from the Royal Sussex Regiment, died at Aubers Ridge in 1915, it began a scandal that reshaped the Government and wartime production. The end of 1914 had failed to bring about the end of the First World War. The hoped for war of movement had failed to materialise. […]
During the First World War, the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) first began operating in March 1917. As the First World War dragged on into 1917, ongoing shortages of men and soldiers began to impact Britain’s ability to continue the conflict. In the early years of the war, as men had left their civilian jobs to […]
Upon discovering that Kat Francois had a West Indian relative in World War One (WW1) who had once been stationed in Seaford, she began the process of writing Raising Lazarus, a play about that very subject. They said goodbye to Caribbean soil, They said goodbye, family friend and foe, They said goodbye burnt mangoes, Ripe and moist […]
Did you know that the Russian Revolutions of 1917, removed Russia from the First World War and brought about the rise of the Soviet Union? At the outbreak of the First World War, the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary faced off against the Triple Entente Alliance of France, Britain and Russia. The Entente Alliance had […]
Currently on display at St Paul’s Cathedral is a beautifully embroidered altar frontal that was made in 1918-19 by wounded and disabled servicemen as part of their rehabilitation. Painstakingly restored for the First World War centenary, the frontal is the subject of a new book entitled ‘From the Hands of Heroes’. Besides telling the story […]
Did you know that on 7 December 1916, David Lloyd George became the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom? 1916 had been another difficult year for Britain during the First World War. Herbert Henry Asquith had been Prime Minister of the country since 1908 and had held power throughout the conflict so far. However, the early […]
Did you know that in November 1914, Britain, France, and Germany began constructing their first proper trenches? In the opening weeks of the First World War, as Germany invaded France and Belgium and began to advance on Paris it did not appear as though they could easily be stopped. By the end of August, the […]
‘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. The latest in this wonderful series, called ‘Then and Now’, can be seen in the […]
Did you know that a failed German plot to distract America led to their entry into the First World War? Following the outbreak of the First World War, the United States of America worked hard to maintain its neutrality. However, the culmination of several events in 1917 brought them into the conflict. When war engulfed Europe […]
