In the churchyard to the north of St. Leonards church Seaford is a large box tomb decorated with anchors. This is the last resting place of Admiral James Walker who had an adventurous life on the high seas. Walker was born in Scotland in 1764 and joined the Navy at the tender age of twelve….
Did My Parents see White 4?
Although I was born 12 years after the end of the Second World War, it was fresh in many people’s minds and there was still physical evidence to be seen in the form ‘bomb-sites’; I particularly remember the gaps, like missing teeth, in the smart terraces of The Avenue in Eastbourne and also old Home…
A Cricketing Copper
An old police friend, ex Inspector Bill Tee of the BTP from Crewe, has sent me a photo of his great-great uncle, former Sussex policeman George Berry. As I enjoy my local history, I said I would try to find out more. George was born at Woolbeeding, West Sussex on 17th January 1840. His parents were…
Crypt-ic clues to Lost Names
Family Roots (The Eastbourne Family History Society) have published the Monumental Inscriptions (MI) for many locations but I am particularly interested in those for St Mary’s Church, Eastbourne as I live close by. Over the years many of the memorials have eroded and are now impossible to read. One of these is a cream-coloured marble ledger…
Brighton’s Bent Cops
I knew a bent cop once. His name was Derek Ridgewell who was a British Transport Police (BTP) Detective Sergeant. He seemed to have a haughty arrogance about him and certainly looked down on me, a mere uniform PC. Ridgewell was the head of the ‘Dip Squad’ responsible for arresting travelling pickpockets, particularly on the underground….
Damaris, the Lost Love.
Damaris is an unusual name. It is thought to derive from ‘little calf’ an old Greek term of endearment. The name is mentioned in the bible and indeed the Greek Orthodox Church recognise Damaris as a saint. Damaris Richardson was born in Brede, East Sussex in 1834 and baptised at St George’s Church, Brede on 27th April that…
Sussex Photographic Rambles 1924
My grandmother Bessie Roberts lived at Taddington Road, Eastbourne. She was interested in photography and owned a ‘Box-Brownie’ Camera. She was the secretary of the Eastbourne Brownie Photographic Club which met at the Technical Institute (Eastbourne Library is now on the site) and in 1924 kept a record of the club’s ‘photographic rambles’. All the photographs…
The Green Man
The Right Honourable Henry Cope, Earl Vernor was a well known character in pre-Regency Brighton. He would walk around Brighton followed by a green carriage, driven by a green-uniformed groom. He himself wore all green and his lodgings were painted green with a green sofa and green bed. It was even said that he would only eat green…
A Remarkable Eastbourne Engineer
Colonel Charles Manby lived at The Greys in Borough Lane, Old Town. (Greys Road is named after the building) Charles Manby was born on the Isle of Wight in 1804. He was the son of Aaron Manby (1776-1850) who was a Shropshire ironmaster who took his expertise to France where he established several ironworks. His father…
This isn’t a tall tale – but it is !
I joined the British Transport Police at Brighton in 1973, a month after my 16th birthday, however I was a Police Cadet. William Henry Auger was even younger than me and he joined the Police as a Constable! William was born on 27th December 1881 in Cardiff to Henry and Laurette Auger. Within a few months of…
Quirky Sussex History by Kevin Gordon 