Shirley @ 77

At the age of 77 plus I have now been bitten by the family history bug!. It all started because I wanted to find out some details of my father’s army service in the 1914/18 First World War. He joined the 5th Battalion Royal Sussex Cinque Ports Regiment as a private working in the transport section with horses.

He served in France mainly transporting rations to the front line by wagon but was also involved in digging trenches for protection of provisions and forces.

5th  Royal Sussex

I was not born until 1934 therefore the stories I heard about his First World War experiences were not really understood by me until I was about eight which was 22 years later we were all by then heavily involved with the Second World War.

Ever since I can remember we have had two brass candlesticks on the mantel piece in our front room and I learned that my father had in fact found them in France whilst digging trenches and rightly or wrongly had brought them home in his kit bag! They are now in my possession after the breakup of our family home and I hope that they remain in our family as long as possible because although not valuable they are a constant reminder of my father and all his comrades many of whom lost their lives fighting for us.

Both candle sticks are of the sliding kind to push the candle up as it burns and are dented and well worn but considering their history they deserve a place in our family and still look good after a good polish.



Dad, mum and me

After surviving the First World War as if that wasn’t enough my father volunteered to be an Auxiliary Coast Guard in the Second World War and was very heavily involved in protecting the coast line from Fairlight to Winchelsea in East Sussex.

On a clear day one can see the coast line of France hence there was a huge possibility of invasion by the enemy crossing the channel. There was a look-out built on Pett Level beach which was manned twenty four hours a day throughout the war years by the Auxiliary coast Guards who were all local men of many of whom like my father had served in World War one.