The man with time on his hands
If you’re going to have a hobby, why not make it a really good one?
View ArticleWhen computers were huge but had a lot less byte
Pedestrians came to a standstill in East Street to watch this monstrosity of a computer being hauled through a window.
View ArticleBrave Percy was the wartime Pick of the RAF bunch
Percy Charles ‘Pick’ Pickard was born in Handsworth, Yorkshire in 1915.
View ArticleSussex Lambs to the slaughter at Boar’s Head 1916
A century ago, at 3am on Friday June 30 1916, three battalions of the county regiment clambered over the parapet of their trenches to attack the enemy.
View ArticleEducating growing numbers of 20th century Bognor pupils
Today when the subject of education and schools occurs, we think immediately of the larger offerings in the town – The Regis, Felpham Community College and the range of infant and junior schools. But I...
View ArticleWar records open to all to commemorate centenary of Battle of the Somme
With the 100th anniversary of the Battle of The Somme approaching, a family history website has made its entire collection of military records free to access.
View ArticlePoignant video tells the story of The Somme
Young men from across all of Sussex fought and died 100 years ago today (July 1) as the Battle of the Somme began.
View ArticleAn unselfish student of the world around us
I recently had an email enquiring about Henry Guermonprez (1858-1924) and this week therefore I thought we could take a look at his life.
View ArticleWhen the Bowes-Lyon family gave Bognor The Den
One of the famous families in the town, who owned property, was the Bowes-Lyon family, of who the Queen Mother was a member and frequent visitor to the town to see friends.
View ArticleSo many sweethearts met at the Bognor Pavilion
There is a building in Bognor that always evokes memories – The Pavilion.
View ArticleVintage and Steam returns to open air museum
Step back in time at Vintage and Steam and experience the nostalgic sights and sounds of an era when steam powered the country.
View ArticleHerbert Bates – writing the war stories as Flying Officer X
Herbert Ernest (HE) Bates was born on May 16 1905 in Rushden, Northamptonshire and educated at Kettering Grammar School.
View ArticleCOUNTY NEWS: Beagle aircraft factory remembered in new exhibit
It was a revival of the golden age of aviation and a local industry that created more than 1,000 jobs in a West Sussex town.
View ArticleFrom Three Bridges to Midhurst – HG Wells’ love affair with Sussex
As he explored one day in the attics at Uppark, the “handsome great house” near Petersfield in West Sussex where his mother was housekeeper, young Bertie unearthed a box of brass objects which he...
View ArticleRemembering the Bognor milkmen of old
One of our diminishing services is that of the daily delivery of milk to our doorstep.
View ArticleFascinating Tudor map shows changing face of Sussex
A beautifully illustrated map of Sussex during the Tudor era is among a collection of 400-year-old drawings published this month. The maps were created by cartographer and antiquarian John Speed...
View ArticleAbout Bersted: well known when Bognor was just a babe
According to the 1807 guide ‘The origin & description of Bognor or Hothamton and an account of some adjacent villages,’ South Berstead (note the spelling) is: “A village to the north of Bognor, at...
View ArticleMartin Venables: A man of art and nature
This week I will take a look at the life and works of a man for whom the time before the 1700s was of particular interest.
View ArticleLetters from the Front on a frosty Christmas morning
The Christmas truce of 1914 has become the stuff of legend.
View ArticleThe magnificent aerial adventures of Sir Anthony ‘Mark’ Selway
Anthony – always known as Mark in the Royal Air Force – Selway arrived in September 1929 at RAF Tangmere, his first posting after Cranwell.
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