Celebrating our collections dating from 780AD to the present day
By Alice Millard, Archivist Figure 1 Tommie (L) and Betty (R) planning a road trip, 1958. (AM 1768/2/2/3/86) In May 2023, we were delighted to take in the archive of two Worthing women, Myra ‘Tommie’ Thomas and Betty Hakesley. Known affectionately as ‘Tommie and Betty’, the couple lived together in Worthing from the 1980s until…
By Mia Curtis-Mays, Archives Assistant When the Second World War was declared, the protection of the children in targeted city areas, such as London and Portsmouth, was put into action. My great-uncle was a Portsmouth evacuee. Although not evacuated to West Sussex, my Nan’s recollections of her brother being evacuated inspired me to look more…
Continue reading ➞ Escape to the Country: The rural education of evacuees in West Sussex
By Victoria Evans, Searchroom Archivist Please note that the following blog post includes content that some may find upsetting. This year’s Holocaust Memorial Day marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. It is a time to reflect on the atrocities committed and to remember those who were murdered. Within this blog post we…
Continue reading ➞ Holocaust Memorial Day – The Worthing Refugee Committee
By Matthew Jones, Assistant County Archivist Residents of towns and villages along the south coast of England would have been only too aware of the huge build-up of military personnel, vehicles and equipment as the preparations for D-Day gathered pace in early 1944. Bognor Regis: airborne assault glider being towed by an aircraft, 6 June…
By Nichola Court, Archivist Extract from the anonymous Flapper's diary, noting her journey down to Chichester and various activities in the area (ref AM 75/1) In 2008, WSRO purchased at auction an item listed as ‘a “flapper’s” social diary’ (catalogued as AM 75/1). Although the diary is short, covering barely three months, the auctioneers noted…
Continue reading ➞ ‘Who’s that girl?’ The anonymous diary of a 1920s flapper (part 1)
Chosen by Lady Emma Barnard This remarkable notebook was kept by my great-aunt Veronica, the daughter of Clive and Alicia Pearson, who lived at Parham. Veronica deposited it with West Sussex Record Office before her death in 1993; it is a moving record of wartime life on the estate, a vignette of an extraordinary time.…
Continue reading ➞ ‘Parham in the War’, 1940-1947 (Parham 1/4/10/3/3)
West Sussex Record Office 