In my family archive I have a small cutting titled “27,000 MILES TO VISIT FATHER’S GRAVE” This is just the thing that piques my interest and encourages me to find out more. Well here is the story! Ernest Alfred Berry was born on 10th December 1870 in Taunton, Somerset , the son of an umbrella-maker Alfred…
Month: July 2024
A Royal Embarkation at Brighton.
Many years ago I was given a copy of this 1819 cartoon by the satirical engraver George Cruikshank (1792-1878). Sadly it is not an original but I like it because it has lots of detail to be interpreted. It is entitled “Royal Embarkation or bearing Brittannia’s Hope from a Bathing Machine to a Royal Barge” The…
Honour your eyes and visit West Dean!
Every year tens of thousands of visitors get off the bus at Exceat and head along the river to view Cuckmere Haven and the magnificent Seven Sisters. However if those visitors went in the opposite direction, a short walk up a hill and then down into a fold of the South Downs they would find…
The world’s top policeman lived in Sussex and everyone knew where!
The 1950s editions of the Kelly’s Directory for Eastbourne show the occupant of 50, St John’s Road, Meads as “SILLITOE. Sir Percy K.B.E.” This is remarkable considering that Sir Percy was the head of MI5 and was a noted opponent of violent street gangs. Percy Joseph Sillitoe was born in London on 22nd May 1888 and was educated…
Strange Numbers on Sussex Homes
As you leave Seaford heading east towards Eastbourne, the cottage on your right seems to have a very high number – 151 – surely there are not that many houses in narrow Chyngton Lane? In nearby Bishopstone, the old Post Office is now divided into three cottages numbered 133, 134 and 135 ! I recently…
Quirky Sussex History by Kevin Gordon 