Just a reminder that we’ll be meeting next Wednesday 10th February 2.30-4.30pm at the Jubilee Library for our next Conversation Cafe, as part of WWI themed The Boys on the Plaque project.

This month, we’re lucky to have guest speaker Dr Chris Kempshall who is the Project Coordinator for the East Sussex in World War one project.

We’ll also be starting a new Great War related novel ‘My Dear, I Wanted to Tell You’ by Louisa Young, which is kindly being loaned to us by Kate Regester, the Libraries and Community Engagement Manager for Brighton and Hove Libraries Service.

See below for further information.

East Sussex in WWI:

East Sussex was almost unique in its placement and activities during the First World War.

Being so close to France the difference between the home front and the war front were blurred here more than anywhere else in Britain. You could regularly hear the guns in France on the East Sussex coast.

Soldiers from all over the world were stationed here. Equipment was shipped en masse through East Sussex ports and wounded soldiers returned through them too.

We are investigating the history of the First World War but also its legacy, significance and history today. Our county has a rich history with the war and we want your help in showcasing it. This website allows you to submit your own stories, memories, and images for everyone in the county to see. You can also share and see events relating to the First World War Centenary as well as participate in our survey of local war memorials.

At the end of the centenary period, 2014 to 2018, everything that you see on this website, all of the stories, images and details, will be archived at The Keep (East Sussex Record Office), to ensure future generations can explore the history of East Sussex in the First World War.