When war was announced in 1914, significant efforts were made by the British Government, businesses and community organisations to recruit volunteers to the army. Sources from the University of Sussex’s Mass Observations archive, held at The Keep, provide an insight into attitudes towards compulsory conscription, which was introduced mid-way through WW1 to enlist the vast […]
The outbreak of the First World War brought about many changes to life on the home front, including a long-lasting impact on the serving of alcoholic beverages. Public houses and beer had been a staple of British social and socialising life in the years before the First World War. During the Victorian era many pubs […]
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 […]
Read this article to learn about the Newhaven Port during the First World War. 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 […]
Read this article to learn about the town of New Anzac-on-Sea. The creation and name of the modern south coast town of Peacehaven are heavily connected to the events of the First World War. The town was originally planned as a ‘Garden City by the Sea’ by its founder, the businessman and entrepreneur, Charles Neville. […]
