The history portal for Shoreham-by-Sea, Sussex, England
Long time Shoreham resident Bill Gebbett kindly allowed us to record some of his reminiscences from a diverse life in Sussex ranging from his exploits on the farm at Holmbush, driving tractors at 12 years old, becoming a bee expert, amateur film-making, and earning his living as a roofing contractor. Recorded in interview with Mike Riddiford in 2022. The recording is around 47 minutes.
Friday 13th March 1964: A light aircraft recently departed from Shoreham Airport crashed into a tree and the front garden of a house, 77 Buckingham Road, Shoreham. Both occupants of the Tiger Moth aircraft died either at the scene or en route to nearby Southlands Hospital. The deceased were pilot, Colin Barrett (23) of Hove and passenger Harold Ginn (33) of Brighton.
written by Jenny Elton
Following the onset of war in September in 1939 a Register was taken of the civilian population with the purpose of producing a National Identity card. Later it was to become multifunctional, first as an aid in the use of ration cards and later helping officials to record the movement of the civilian population over the following decades. From 1948 it formed the basis for the National Health Service Register. The data was collected on 29th September 1939.The following information was listed. Name, gender, date of birth, marital status, occupation, and whether a visitor, servant, patient, inmate or inferred family member and other members of the household.
Continue reading “One Day, One Year, One Place”An excellent photograph has arrived from Colin Wadey who has kindly permitted us to re-publish it here. This is Middle Road Secondary Boys School in 1946, around 10 years after the school was built. Colin has listed his classmates – with quite a few familiar Shoreham names in the roll.
LtoR Mr Jeavons (Head), M Hearsey, P Tillet, E Willboughby, R Sheeon, R Saint, Fermer, Barker, Abethall, Mr Osborne (Master)
Collins, Cherry, Ellis, Dean, Heaster, Aylen, Yarlot, Grimwood, Payne, Kilner, Bishop
Horner, Morris, Lees, Carden, Hobden, Gordon, Bridle, Nash, Wadey
Peter Tillett sent in this photograph from his time in 1946 of Teaching and Dinner Staff. His recollection of the names is below.
There is a curiosity hidden deep in the plans and maps of Shoreham Airport… the previous existence of three WWII Pickett-Hamilton Defensive Forts. Are they still hidden under the grass and tarmac? Are they lost?
Joined Neil De Ville at the auctioning of these eight old photos and managed to purchase them.
Pencilled notes on the reverse of some indicate they were photos of Catty Norman and his family who’s bungalow was destroyed by the 1913 storm. No bungalow names were shown but we were able to identify them by by a painstaking trawling through this website’s collections comparing them with similar photos. We thought it might be interesting enough to include an explanation of the identification process and this follows after the eight photos.
Freeholders that lived in or held land in Old or New Shoreham, Southwick or Kingston who voted in the 1784 Poll
1622 Shoreham to Lancing Marshes Map – Although lacking in some detail and is incomplete (the original has the extreme west part missing) this is probably one of the earliest large scale maps of the area. Surveyed and drawn by George Randoll , presumably for the then owners of the land, it came into the hands of the Petworth Estate in 1784 when they purchased Pad Farm and some of the marshes. It shows the main course of the river around Old and New Shoreham. Unusually orientated north to south it covers the area from Well Dyke (near today’s Sussex Pad site) to the ‘Stoane Beatche’ (which shows the build up of the Shoreham Beach spit or peninsula – this is thought to have been long established and even by the 17th century the river is believed to have entered the sea as far west as Southwick). From east to west the map originally covered from Shoreham to Worthing Gate (map piece missing – now known as Teville Gate). Text in the top left corner refers to the submerged village of Pende reads ‘In this place being distant from the shore in the sea (axer?) could wales (rocks) to be (seen?) at low water which are commonly called axaparte – the old name for Pende. A ferry is shown at Old Shoreham where the toll bridge is now – the Lancing and Well Dyke ‘shoppes’ were, of course , workshops. Were these offshoots of the river man made for drainage or naturally formed? Apart from the main river little or nothing of them in their original position remains now although the section from ‘Salte Mershes’ opposite Old Shoreham down to ‘Lyttel Iland’ seems to have survived up to 1780 alongside a road through what is now the airport (Map5a) and although that road can still be seen on the 1912 map (Map12b) the ditch itself has disappeared.
Reproduced by permission of Lord Egremont.
Compiled by Roger Bateman with the added reminiscences of Gerald (Gerry) White.
Advertisements from some of the town’s shops and businesses ranging from the early 1900’s to the 1950’s. Largely a pictorial record including brief information where known to which has been added extracts from the recollections of Gerry Impey. Gerry has become a much valued contributor to the Shorehambysea.com history forums with his knowledge of the town over many years from the 1930’s onwards.
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