My grandmother, Bessie loved Christmas and I am lucky that I not only have her diaries but paintings, drawings and photographs too. She lived at 8, Annington Road, Eastbourne with her disabled husband Alex, who had lost a leg during the Great War. Christmas was often spent with Alex’s brother Reg and his wife Alice,…
Category: Eastbourne
John & the Giant Eel
John William Hills was born at the Police House in Glynde, East Sussex on 5th February 1891. His father (also John) was the village policeman. In 1912, John moved to East Dean when his father was transferred there and they lived in the Police House facing the village green near Dennetts Stores. During the Great War, John served…
A Sussex Bonfire Speech from 1900
My grandfather, Ebenezer Roberts (1867-1947) was an interesting character. He first worked as the driver of a goat-chaise on Eastbourne seafront before being promoted to a ‘bath-chairman’. He later worked as a greengrocer in Old Town and as a painter and decorator. He was the Chairman of the Eastbourne Old Age pensioners Committee and a…
Flush-Brush-Flush
Amongst the archives of the Eastbourne Society, is large full length portrait of a smiling, alert, dark-suited woman with her hands crossed on her lap. She looks like a lawyer but this is Rannie, a long-serving Eastbourne headmistress. Elise Orange Randall was born on the island of Guernsey in 1884. She was the daughter of…
The Miracle of Old Tom
I feel at home living next door to Eastbourne’s parish church, particularly as many of my ancestors were baptised and married there. Unlike me though, they seemed to be models of bravery and goodness – take for instance one of my cousins* Thomas Boniface. Boniface is an old Eastbourne name and over the years has been…
The Murder of Inspector Walls
On the evening of 9th October 1912, Countess Sztaray left her house at 6, South Cliffe Avenue near the Grand Hotel, Eastbourne for a dinner appointment in town. As the Countess got into her carriage, the coachman, David Potter noticed a man on the ivy-clad balcony above the front door. The Countess returned to her house and…
Spending a Penny in Eastbourne
There are complaints on social media today that Eastbourne toilets now cost £1. Local loos however have always been an issue …. Despite our idea of Victorians being genteel and prudish they would have got used to seeing people going to the toilet in public. If you stayed at a hotel or inn you would have…
The Adventures of a Sussex Marine
Frederick (Fred) James Gordon was my great-uncle. He was born at 1am on 11th February 1894 and was delivered by Doctor Muir Smith at 23, Commercial Road, Eastbourne. His parents (my great-grand parents) were Frederick and Hannah Gordon. Frederick had a long and adventurous life and my cousin Leeanna and myself hold photographs and postcards that he sent…
An Incorrigible Thief
One morning in September 1888, Mrs Mary Torry left her bedroom at the Diplocks Hotel in Eastbourne and went downstairs for breakfast. She left her bedroom door unlocked and when she returned she noticed that money and jewellery were missing from her handbag. Suspicion fell on the young, well-dressed chap in the adjacent room. He…
Known to millions but now forgotten
When the Reverend Power died in Eastbourne in 1899 the press said that his name was ‘a household word’ and he was ‘known in millions of homes around the world’, but today he is virtually unknown. Philip Bennett Power was born in Waterford, Ireland in 1822. He was educated at Trinity College Dublin where he…
Quirky Sussex History by Kevin Gordon 