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Relics of World War 2

Writer's picture: Stuart Grant Stuart Grant
Image of pavement in Meads Village

This example is from Meads Village where the right hand pavement is red brick and the left a motley collection of paving slabs. Another fascinating relic of the war is to be found opposite The Pilot pub in Meads Street. The Pilot was the favoured haunt of the 83rd Battery of the 23rd Field regiment whereas their colleagues in the 31st and 26th Batteries preferred The Ship – a couple of hundred yards down the street. The 83rd had their HQ right opposite The Pilot in what was then Holywell Priory, former home of the Countess of Nouailles – demolished in the 1950s. While the site is now a modern housing development, the retaining flint wall remains and has four embrasures – letterbox-like slits through which one could poke one's gun at the enemy. It is not known whether the Canadians were responsible for creating these or the Home Guard.

Image of Gunhole in wall at Meads Village

The good news behind all of this is that I am at last doing some writing – my fifth novel which has a working title, The Chalky Sea, is now underway and is set here in Meads during WW2. The officers' and sergeants' mess for the 36th Battery was in my own road. When I stare out of the window at the sea, devoid of inspiration, all I have to do is imagine those young men doing the same thing. Twenty-five of the men of the 23rd Field Regiment lost their lives when the 2nd Division finally saw enemy action. I am indebted to Michael Ockenden's book Canucks by the Sea for his detailed research into the presence of the Canadian army in Eastbourne during WW2.

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