Author Topic: What happened in Rustington and Littlehampton during WW2?  (Read 26378 times)

Offline alllegs

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What happened in Rustington and Littlehampton during WW2?
« on: Tuesday 28 July 09 15:45 BST (UK) »
Hi,

I'm a teacher and next term I will be teaching WW2 to my year 5 class (9 and 10 year olds).  I have a ton of information about WW2 and know what I'm teaching but I'd like to tailor it to where my school is situated (Rustington, West Sussex) to make it more relavant to the children.  But I have no idea whether anything occured in Rustington and/or Littlehampton during the war.  Were children evacuated here? Was the village bombed?  Wikipedia claims that Littlehampton Community High School was a WW2 Military Hosptial, is this true and where can I find out more?

Any other info about the area would be greatly welcomed.

Thank you in anticipation
Legs
xxxx
Census Information is Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
DUR-Bainbridge,Hodgson,Richardson,Walker,Thompson,Armory,Wynn,Humble,Dunn,Chapman,Herin
YKS-Bradley,Hellawell,Dransfield,Sanderson,Gledhill,Mallinson,Tyas,Thornton,Nobel,Brook,Senior,Bower,Kay,Hirst,Smith,Lockwood, Clayton,Rollinson,Swallow
NTHNTS-Hubbard,Line,Goate,Tyler,Weed,Warren,Brown,Hollowell,Bird,Kirby,Dolby,Gilbert,Wootton
NFK-Burton,Myhill,Fisher,Thompson
LNRK-Neilson,Dudson,Forrest,McNight,Paterson
WL-Williams

Offline suzard

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Re: What happened in Rustington and Littlehampton during WW2?
« Reply #1 on: Tuesday 28 July 09 16:02 BST (UK) »
http://local-history.co.uk/Groups/sussex.html

gives contact name phone no and address of Rustington Heritage centre

may be worth contacting???

Local library may have local history publications

Suz
Thornhill, Cresswell, Sisson, Harriman, Cripps, Eyre, Walter, Marson, Battison, Holmes, Bailey, Hardman, Fairhurst Noon-mainly in Derbys/Notts-but also Northampton, Oxford, Leics, Lancs-England
Census Information is Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

Offline alllegs

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Re: What happened in Rustington and Littlehampton during WW2?
« Reply #2 on: Tuesday 28 July 09 16:11 BST (UK) »
Thank you Suz, will have a nosey :)

Legs
xxxx
Census Information is Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
DUR-Bainbridge,Hodgson,Richardson,Walker,Thompson,Armory,Wynn,Humble,Dunn,Chapman,Herin
YKS-Bradley,Hellawell,Dransfield,Sanderson,Gledhill,Mallinson,Tyas,Thornton,Nobel,Brook,Senior,Bower,Kay,Hirst,Smith,Lockwood, Clayton,Rollinson,Swallow
NTHNTS-Hubbard,Line,Goate,Tyler,Weed,Warren,Brown,Hollowell,Bird,Kirby,Dolby,Gilbert,Wootton
NFK-Burton,Myhill,Fisher,Thompson
LNRK-Neilson,Dudson,Forrest,McNight,Paterson
WL-Williams

Offline Stovepipe

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Re: What happened in Rustington and Littlehampton during WW2?
« Reply #3 on: Thursday 30 July 09 12:28 BST (UK) »
How far outside the named places will you go?

A close family member witnessed German dive bombers attacking the radar station at Poling, and others have told of the air field at Tangmere being bombed.

The Angmering Village Life website has a detailed and interesting report on the village in WW2.  It also mentions the raid on Poling.

http://www.angmeringvillage.co.uk/history/Articles/WartimeAng.htm

HTH,
Stovepipe
Census information is Crown Copyright: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk


Offline alllegs

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Re: What happened in Rustington and Littlehampton during WW2?
« Reply #4 on: Friday 31 July 09 11:55 BST (UK) »
Thank you Stovepipe,

The Angmering site looks fab.  The Poling radar station bombing sounds very interesting, do you have any more details?  Tangmere is a bit far out for it to be relevant to my class.

I popped into the West Sussex Record Office at Chichester yesterday and they have loads of police records of bombings and the ARP log books, plus lots of log books from the Rustington School which was  built in 1939 to accommodate the lcoal kids and the evacuees.  All the original corridors are built to withstand a bomb!

Thanks again

Legs
xxxx
Census Information is Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
DUR-Bainbridge,Hodgson,Richardson,Walker,Thompson,Armory,Wynn,Humble,Dunn,Chapman,Herin
YKS-Bradley,Hellawell,Dransfield,Sanderson,Gledhill,Mallinson,Tyas,Thornton,Nobel,Brook,Senior,Bower,Kay,Hirst,Smith,Lockwood, Clayton,Rollinson,Swallow
NTHNTS-Hubbard,Line,Goate,Tyler,Weed,Warren,Brown,Hollowell,Bird,Kirby,Dolby,Gilbert,Wootton
NFK-Burton,Myhill,Fisher,Thompson
LNRK-Neilson,Dudson,Forrest,McNight,Paterson
WL-Williams

Offline Stovepipe

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Re: What happened in Rustington and Littlehampton during WW2?
« Reply #5 on: Friday 31 July 09 18:12 BST (UK) »
Hi Legs,

The report of the Poling raid on the AVL website makes redundant anything I could add.  The member of my family watched the action from Highdown Hill.

That's brilliant info from WSRO.

Regards,
Stovepipe
Census information is Crown Copyright: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

Offline alllegs

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Re: What happened in Rustington and Littlehampton during WW2?
« Reply #6 on: Saturday 01 August 09 13:08 BST (UK) »
Thank you again Stovepipe.

I can imagine the sight for Highdown Hill, I was up there only this morning walking the dog and admiring the view.

Legs
xxxx
Census Information is Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
DUR-Bainbridge,Hodgson,Richardson,Walker,Thompson,Armory,Wynn,Humble,Dunn,Chapman,Herin
YKS-Bradley,Hellawell,Dransfield,Sanderson,Gledhill,Mallinson,Tyas,Thornton,Nobel,Brook,Senior,Bower,Kay,Hirst,Smith,Lockwood, Clayton,Rollinson,Swallow
NTHNTS-Hubbard,Line,Goate,Tyler,Weed,Warren,Brown,Hollowell,Bird,Kirby,Dolby,Gilbert,Wootton
NFK-Burton,Myhill,Fisher,Thompson
LNRK-Neilson,Dudson,Forrest,McNight,Paterson
WL-Williams

Offline tweet

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Re: What happened in Rustington and Littlehampton during WW2?
« Reply #7 on: Tuesday 04 August 09 10:50 BST (UK) »
Hi 
I went to north rd school in 1949, my father was in the home guard and their HQ was in the village hall (now the woodlands center ) i have a photo of him on parade on the rec,  he had to patrol the beach at night after  work with a 303 rifle .

Most of the gardens had airaid shelters then, and my sisters prefab on jubilee ave had an airaid siren in the back garden on a telegraph pole.

Our playground at school had airaid shelters as well,

My father told me all about the raid on poling  , we could see the mast's from our front bedroom window and also the red lights at night.  that was in Edward Rd, now Woodlands ave, the coucil offices was a fire station then, 

Regard Tweet
1944-2013

Offline alllegs

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Re: What happened in Rustington and Littlehampton during WW2?
« Reply #8 on: Tuesday 04 August 09 11:07 BST (UK) »
Wow,  Thank you tweet, that's fantastic.  The kids will love this kind of information.

thanks again
Legs
xxxx
Census Information is Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
DUR-Bainbridge,Hodgson,Richardson,Walker,Thompson,Armory,Wynn,Humble,Dunn,Chapman,Herin
YKS-Bradley,Hellawell,Dransfield,Sanderson,Gledhill,Mallinson,Tyas,Thornton,Nobel,Brook,Senior,Bower,Kay,Hirst,Smith,Lockwood, Clayton,Rollinson,Swallow
NTHNTS-Hubbard,Line,Goate,Tyler,Weed,Warren,Brown,Hollowell,Bird,Kirby,Dolby,Gilbert,Wootton
NFK-Burton,Myhill,Fisher,Thompson
LNRK-Neilson,Dudson,Forrest,McNight,Paterson
WL-Williams