In 1860 a Mr Anderson published a paper suggesting that guns could be mounted on railway carriages to give them better mobility. Guns on trains may seem to be a good idea, but there is a big problem with recoil which means the size of gun needs to be restricted, especially if it is fired…
Month: September 2020
On Top of the World !
I recently saw a small report in a 1903 newspaper that related to ‘Mademoiselle Florence the Globe Walker’. Considering the attitudes of the time, It would have been amazing for a woman to have walked around the world in 1903 so I tried to find out more. Actually Florence, an 18-year-old from New Jersey in the…
A Bee in his Bonnet!
Percy Ernest Hurst came from a respected Eastbourne family. He was born in Eastbourne on 21st July 1865. His father Edward operated the windmill at Ocklynge which was known as Hurst Mill. The family owned and lived in Ocklynge Manor in the High Street, one of the oldest buildings in the town. Percy was a vegetarian…
Quirky Sussex History by Kevin Gordon 