An old map of Eastbourne

Publications

Eastbourne's Historic Street Furniture
New November 2024 ELHS Book
by:
Kim Adams. Bob Cookson & Lionel Moth

This book looks at Eastbourne's street furniture, including post boxes, street lamps, stink pipes, water hydrants and licencing plates. The authors have researched each topic in detail and the book includes nearly 100 colour photographs. We hope that this book will contribute to the appreciation and preservation of Eastbourne's Victorian and early 20th century heritage by making people more aware of what is on the streets around them and by encouraging the Council and the relevant utility companies to protect and preserve these features of Eastbourne's streetscape.

Available Tuesday 5 November 2024

Pages:
56
£10.00
Softback
Illustrated
Colour
Launch Price £9.00 + £2.50 p+p.
£10.00
Purchase
The Stream That Gave Eastbourne Its Name
Reworked August 2024 ELHS Booklet No10
by:
Harold Spears, revised by Peter Allen and Lou McMahon

Reworked edition of this original 1975 publication now added to the booklet series.

Eastbourne is located on the East Sussex coast, growing from a agricultural community situated to the east of the Bourne Stream. This gave the town its name.

Pages:
28
£5.00 + £1.60 p & p
Softback
Illustrated
£5.00 + £1.60 p & p
Purchase
Richard Hassell's Memories
ELHS BOOKLET NO9
by:
Mick Hymans

Richard Hassell now aged 91 has spent a lifetime in Eastbourne and has many fascinating memories about his life here.

ELHS Archivist Mick Hymans spent some time with Richard documenting his stories to create this publication, which throws some light on family life in the town before, during and after WW2.

Pages:
28
£5 + £1.60 p&p
Softback
Illustrated
£5 + £1.60 p&p
Purchase
The Sitakund Disaster
ELHS Booklet No8
by:
Stephen Levine

Our story recounts the events day-by-day of the crews rescue and the fight against the raging fire. Local firefighters and two tugs with firefighting equipment extinguished the blaze but could not save the tanker.

We tell the story of the battle of those brave men.

Pages:
28
£5 + £1.60 p&p
Softback
Illustrated
£5 + £1.60 p&p
Purchase
Royal Visits to Eastbourne
ELHS BOOKLET No7
by:
Alan Smith

This is an attempt to tell the story of many royal visits as reported in newspapers of the time, from the single paragraph in "Jackson's Oxford Journal" in 1780 to the multi-page articles with illustrations of visits in the late twentieth century.

Pages:
40
£5 + £1.60 p&p
Softback
Illustrated
£5 + £1.60 p&p
Purchase
Ellis Kelsey - An Eastbourne Photographer
ELHS Booklet No.6
by:
Nat Gonella

This booklet shows examples of the work of Ellis Kelsey who took over 2000 images,many locally, around 1900.

Pages:
40
£3 + £1.60 p&p
Softback
Illustrated
£3 + £1.60 p&p
Purchase
War Graves of Ocklynge Cemetery
ELHS Booklet No.5
by:
Kevin Gordon

This booklet gives details of the story of the cemetery and the creation of The Imperial War Graves Commission during The Great War. The text takes the form of a guided walk around the cemetery highlighting some of the graves and the stories associated with them.

Pages:
32
£5 + £1.60 p&p
Softback
Illustrated
£5 + £1.60 p&p
Purchase
Like a Falling Leaf
ELHS Booklet No.4
by:
Michael Ockenden

When the Battle of Britain came to Eastbourne. Two German airmen were killed one crashing into the roof of a school; the other drowned off Holywell. Who were they? Who shot them down? A detailed account of the action from the German and from the British side. The enduring grief of a widow interviewed in Munich. A colourful RAF pilot court-martialled and cashiered. The beautiful daughter he never knew who would go to Hollywood and star in a Bond film.

Pages:
28
£5 + £1.60 p&p
Softback
Illustrated
£5 + £1.60 p&p
Purchase
Wartime TV from Paris at Beachy Head
ELHS Booklet No. 3
by:
Michael Ockenden

Few people know that German TV was received and monitored by British Intelligence at Beachy Head during the Second World War. This booklet is a unique account of that story, with first-hand information from the German as well as the British side, and also relates how an inquiry to ELHS about a hidden diary revealed a radio intercept station above the Downs Golf Course staffed by exiled Germans.

Pages:
20
£3 + £1.60 p&p
Softback
Illustrated
£3 + £1.60 p&p
Purchase
Letters from Wartime Eastbourne
ELHS Booklet No. 2
by:
Gillian Rogers with Michael Partridge

What was it like for Eastbourne families during WW2, when the town was one of the most-bombed on the south coast, and families were often divided? Mrs Nell Edmonds' letters home in 1940 have been collected here, with a foreword and account of the Spencer Road bombing, which killed a number of people including Mr Edmonds, by their daughter, Gillian Rogers.

Pages:
20
£5 + £1.60 p & p
Softback
Illustrated
£5 + £1.60 p & p
Purchase
The People's Downs How Eastbourne's Downs were saved from development
ELHS Booklet No. 1
by:
Liz Moloney

How did Eastbourne Borough Council become the owner of the Downs between the town and Beachy Head, and on what terms? How did that effort relate to other contemporary campaigns to save nearby downland, in particular the Seven Sisters? Using contemporary documents and newspapers, this is the story of the people and events of the original campaign in the 1920s to 'save our Downs'.

Pages:
36
£5 + £1.60 p & p
Softback
Illustrated
£5 + £1.60 p & p
Purchase
Bessie's Eastbourne
New December 2023 ELHS Book
by:
Kevin Gordon

Kevin's Grandmother, "Bessie Gordon" lived in Eastbourne all her life. She wrote and kept a diary of her life in and around the town.

When she passed away she left all her diaries to her Grandson Kevin because of his love of ancestry and history.

ELHS member and Author Kevin Gordon, extracts and posts entrees from Bessie Gordon's diaries everyday on the ELHS Facebook page and she has hundreds of followers. This is the book to accompany daily posts.

Pages:
96
£12 + £2.50 p+p
Softback
Illustrated
Colour
£12 + £2.50 p+p
Purchase
Shipwrecks Cuckmere Haven to Langney Point
New 1988
by:
Richard Gilbert

This was published in 1988 after ELHS member Richard's death. This is the first time this publication has been available for over 30 years.

Only a handful of copies available!

Richard Gilbert collected the information contained in these pages over many years. In 1986 he offered his notes to ELHS to use as thought best and in 1986 this was the most comprehensive listing of local wrecks and incidents at sea know to us.

Richard did not consider this a finished work and we feel with him that other information may have, or will come to light.

Richards original notes are still held in the ELHS archive.

Pages:
80
£10.00 + £3.00 p+p
A4
Softback
Not Illustrated
£10.00 + £3.00 p+p
Purchase
The Boys on the Arch
Last Few
by:
Liz Moloney

The Ascham St Vincent's Memorial Arch in Carlisle Road, Meads, Eastbourne commemorates the old boys of St Vincent's, Ascham and the merged prep school who died serving in the First World War. Their stories are told in this book from the school Chronicle's accounts of their schooldays, from war records, newspapers and letters, taking us through the war from the Western Front to Mesopotamia, from the cavalry charges on the Retreat from Mons in 1914 to the devastating 'flu pandemic of 1918.

100 black and white illustrations.

Pages:
268
£10.00 + £3.00 p & p
Softback
Illustrated
£10.00 + £3.00 p & p
Purchase
Public Houses in Eastbourne
Temporarily out of stock. Watch this space
by:
Alan Smith

The history of Eastbourne's pubs, from the Angel to the Windmill. Every pub, inn, beer shop and brewery that existed in the town up to 1986 is listed and described, often with a photo or print, and in many cases with anecdotal or historical information. Public bars, brewers, landlords and advertisements are also covered in fascinating detail.

Pages:
330
£20 + £3.00 p & p
Softback
Illustrated
£20 + £3.00 p & p
Purchase
Beachy Head Lighthouse Plans
by:

Original architectural plan with fascinating detail.Ideal for framing, as in picture. (Supplied unframed. Glass of wine not included.)

A3 £4 + £3.20 p & p, supplied in cardboard mailing tubes.

This size is recommended in order to see the detail more clearly:

A4 £3 + £1.90 p & p, supplied in card backed envelopes.

Pages:
No items found.
George Ambrose Wallis and Other Agents of the Eastbourne and Sussex Estates of the Dukes of Devonshire
Published jointly with the Eastbourne Society and the author
by:
Tom Hollobone

George Ambrose Wallis, Eastbourne's first mayor, and his brother, William Lumb Wallis, were responsible for the parades and promenades, Upper Dukes Drive, the Devonshire Baths, many fine houses and much beside.This booklet contains much new information about the Wallis brothers, about Henry Currey, the architect, and others who played a significant role in the building of the Victorian town of Eastbourne.

Pages:
58
£3.00 + £1.60 p & p
Softback
Illustrated
£3.00 + £1.60 p & p
Purchase
The 1841 Census for Eastbourne
by:

A meticulous transcription of the names, ages, employment and addresses of those living in the Parish of Eastbourne on the night of 6/7 June 1841. An invaluable reference for genealogical researchers.

Pages:
112
£3 + £2.50 p & p
Softback
£3 + £2.50 p & p
Purchase
Canucks by the Sea
Extended second edition
by:
Michael Ockenden

The story of the Canadian Army in Eastbourne during the Second World War. Thousands of men passed through – but which houses were taken over? What really happened at Belle Tout and when Ratton Manor caught fire? Where were the AA guns? Two fighter bombers hit the power station in 1942; Canadians shot down one but the other escaped, its pilot later interviewed by the author in Hanover. Where did they drink and brawl? How did we interact and what was the impact on local women – single and married? How many became war brides? Fully illustrated.

Pages:
193
£10.99 + £2.50 p & p
Softback
Illustrated
£10.99 + £2.50 p & p
Purchase
The Redoubt Fortress and Martello Towers of Eastbourne 1804-2004
by:
Rosemary Milton and Richard Callaghan

An impressive illustrated record of the origins and use of these defences against the Napoleonic threat, together with details of the soldiers and military units which manned them.

Pages:
88
£6.99 + £2.50 p & p
Softback
Illustrated
£6.99 + £2.50 p & p
Purchase
A History of the Eastbourne Aviation Company 1911 - 1924
by:
Lou McMahon and Michael Partridge

A detailed, fully illustrated story of the men who learned to fly and of the machines in which they flew; also a record of the RNAS occupation and the 250 aircraft that were built here.

Pages:
174
£15.95 cover price
Hardback
Illustrated
£2 + £2.50 p & p
£15.95 cover price
Purchase
Turnpike Territory, the Glyndebridge Trust and the Lewes to Eastbourne Turnpikes
by:
Peter Longstaff-Tyrrell

A guide to the old coach road from Lewes to Eastbourne. Fully illustrated in colour. Extended second edition.

Pages:
40
£4.25 + £1.60 p & p
Softback
Illustrated
£4.25 + £1.60 p & p
Purchase
Journal index . The Eastbourne Local Historian The First 50 Years.
Issues 1 - 198
by:

Every one of the society's periodicals from Autumn 1970 up to Winter 2020. Fully indexed and fully word searchable PDF Immerse yourself with over 4300 pages of Eastbourne related history.

Pages:
£30.00 + £2.00 P&P
Data Disc
Data Stick
£30.00 + £2.00 P&P
Purchase

FORTHCOMING PUBLICATION

Origins of Eastbourne's Street Names .An illustrated record of the origins of the names of every one of Eastbourne's streets including their historical context or derivation, together with their dates of origin. A completely new edition is in progress.

Purchase

Get your copy from:

07474 580500 or by email at owen124244@gmail.com

If possible we would prefer payment by bank transfer rather than cheque to save an unnecessary trip to the bank. Details of bank account will be given when placing an order. If bank transfer is not possible please ensure that cheques are made payable to the Eastbourne Local History Society. Please ask for rates if you need other than UK second-class postage.