Oral History

The oral testimony of those who were there and witnessed events is the resource that is inevitably declining as the years pass by; official documents very rarely express emotion and so the thoughts and feelings of those who experienced the invasion scare first-hand need to be recorded.

The obvious people to search out are the servicemen and women who were to resist the invasion; the soldiers and Home Guard in the front line who were to defend their post to the last man and the last round.

Then there were the engineers and pioneers who actually built the defences, assisted by civilian contractors and labour.

What was the effect of being occupied by a friendly army and the impact on the civilian population? For the locals, the defence of their landscape meant forced evacuation for those living on the coast, restricted areas in which a curfew was enforced, roads were blocked and certain bridges blown up. Access to the beaches was denied, minefields proving deadly to man and beast that strayed into them.

Buildings were requisitioned for billeting or for shoring up for defence, in many ways a destructive process as loopholes were knocked through walls and some buildings demolished to clear fields or fire. Whole areas such as Cuckmere Haven disappeared under concrete and barbed wire, while parts of Pett Level were deliberately inundated.

Can you help?

Did you (or somebody you know) serve in East Sussex during the war in the regular forces or Home Guard? Were you living or staying in the area or help to construct the defences? Did you help in the clear-up operation during and after the war or play in now-demolished pillboxes as a child? Do you have defence works on your land?

If yes and you are willing to talk to me about your experiences, please email me!