Now is the time for marching,
Now let your hearts be gay,
Hark to the merry bugles
Sounding along our way.
So let your voices ring, my boys,
And take the time from me,
And I'll sing you a song as we march along,
Of Sussex by the Sea!

The first verse of 'Sussex by the Sea', written by William Ward Higgs in 1907, and adopted as a marching song of the Royal Sussex Regiment in the First World War.

To mark the centenary of the First World War the Ashdown Forest Research Group has written case studies on all the men who died while on military service during the war and who are commemorated by the war memorials at Forest Row and Hartfield in Sussex. These are parishes which lie on the northern fringes of Ashdown Forest that traditionally have strong links to the Forest.

There are 113 studies in total, which are listed below. Click on any name to read the related study. You can go from one study to the next by clicking the red arrows.

The authors are identified at the end of each study. They would welcome any corrections, supplementary information or photographs that might be of interest. Please contact them by email.

Researching the Men of Ashdown Forest who Fell in the First World War —
Overview Essay

Click here to read an online essay which describes how the research project was undertaken and highlights some key features that have emerged from the 113 case studies.
(A PDF version of the essay, which omits certain interactive features, may be downloaded by clicking here.)

 

Parliamentary Recruiting Committee poster, 1915


LIST OF STUDIES
   
Baker, Pte George Frank Maskell, Pte Harry George
Bannister, L/Cpl William Henry Maskell, Pte Mark
Bassett, Spr Albert May, L/Cpl Ernest William
Bassett, Pte James Baldwin Medhurst, Spr John Arthur
Baylay, Lt George Frederick Mellor, Pte Benjamin Charles
Biddlecombe, Seaman Henry George Melville, Lt William Woodfall
Boakes, Pte Ernest Stanley Miles, Pte Walter Alfred George
Brand, Pte Albert Victor Mills, L/Cpl Albert
Brooker, Pte Charles Frederick Mitchell, Pte Albert
Brown, Pte William George Padgham, Pte Spencer
Brownlow, Capt Wilfred Herbert Cecil Padgham, Pte William
Burfoot, Pte Bertram Page, Pte Harry
Cannon, Pte Ernest Edward Pannett, Pte Reginald Henry
Cook, Pte Sidney Herbert Parker, Pte Edward John
Cox, Pte Raymond Parker, Pte William George
Divall, Pte Edward Peel, 2nd Lt Charles William
Divall, Pte Reginald Polehampton, Lt Frederick William
Draper, Bomb. Thomas James Richardson, Pte Albert Edward
Dunstan, Cpl Herbert George Robinson, Lt Cyril Charles
Edwards, Pte Frederick Robert Robson, Pte Robert Charles
Edwards, Pte Frederick Sylvester Sands, Pte Alfred Jesse
Farley, Sh.Sm. Victor Frederick Sands, Pte William Thomas
Fielder, L/Cpl Edward Cecil Shelley, Spr Ewbert John
Fielder, L/Cpl Frederick Stephen Simmons, Pte James
Fisher, 2nd Lt Edmund Montagu Prinsep Simpson, Lt George
Fisher, Capt George Kenneth Thompson Sippetts, Sgt Jack Frederick
Fry, CSM Frederick Samuel Snelgrove, Lt Sidney Henry
Gladman, Pte Archibald Frederick Southey, Dvr Frederick Charles
Gordon, 2nd Lt Ronald Granville Stevens, Pte Charles Edward
Grayer, Pte Harold Stevenson, Pte George William
Gregory, Pte George Stevenson, Pte John
Grisbrook, Cpl Alfred Llewellyn Styles, Pte William Joseph
Harding, Pte Ernest Sumner, Pte Alfred William
Heasman, Pte George James Sykes, Lt Col William Ernest
Hill, Gnr Frederick William Syms, Pte Charles
Holmwood, Pte Frederick Tester, Pte William Edgar
Honeysett, Pte Thomas Edward Thomsett, Pte Philip
Horlick, Maj Gerald Nolekin Tibbles, Pte Frederick Charles
Humphrey, Pte Thomas Titcomb, Pte Arthur William
Hyder, Pte Frank Tomsett, Pte Albert Ernest Standen
Kekewich, Capt George Upton, Pte Albert James
Kekewich, Capt Hanbury Lewis Upton, Stoker Arthur
Kekewich, Capt John Vaughan, Dvr Ernest Stanley
Kennard, Pte Arthur Villiers, Lt Algernon Hyde
Kensett, Pte Henry James Waters, Lt Eric Gordon
Killick, Pte William Webber, Pte Frederick Percy
Lawrence, Capt Michael Charles Weeding, Tpr George
Lawrence, Capt Oliver John Weeding, Pte John
Leney, Pte Cyril Henry Weekes, Pte David
Lucas, Capt Keith Wheatley, Pte Doctor
Luxford, BSM Bernard Wheatley, L/Cpl George
Luxford, Gnr Edward James Wheatley, Pte Harry
Luxford, Sgt William Wheatley, L/Cpl William James
Martin, Pte Walter White, Pte Albert Henry
Martin, Capt William Gerald Whitfield, Capt Nigel Bernard
Maskell, Pte George Woodhams, Sgt Thomas Henry
   
Post-war casualty: Wheatley, O/S Charlie

 

Summary details of these men in tabular format may be downloaded by clicking one of the following links: Summary table sorted by name | Summary table sorted by date of death (both PDFs).

 

   

(From left to right) Early recruitment poster for the Southdown battalions of the Royal Sussex Regiment; the famous "Daddy, What Did YOU Do In the Great War?" recruitment poster; and the start of full-scale conscription, 2 March 1916. (Source: Imperial War Museum)