Saturday 23 August 2014

"the grave's a fine and private place…" exploring Hastings Cemetery

The cemetery was opened on 28th November 1856, the Church of England section being consecrated by Bishop Gilbert of Chichester, followed by a service in All Saints Church. The first burial was that of ‘Yorky’ Smith.

More information:

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

A linked list of the people so far recorded who gave their lives as a result of World War One (the Great War) who are recorded in the common wield, not in the CWG areas, (apart from a few exceptions) can be found here

Deaths in 1914:

Friday 22 August 2014

Stop Press! Book Sale this long weekend at the History House

Help us clear the shelves, come in and browse, and take away a bagful of esoteric and assorted books.

Friday – Monday
11 – 4
21 Courthouse Street

Friday 8 August 2014

Prince Albert Statue

HLHG and History House volunteers are endeavouring to get the statue of Prince Albert back into the public domain.

The statue has been stored in an old greenhouse in Alexandra Park for many years.

It is proposed that it should be placed in the vicinity of the Town Hall and Priory Meadow.

The memorial of which the statue formed a part would have been 150 years old this year.

HBC want to know if the public support this proposal so if you do support it, please email blawes[at]talk21.com (replace at with @) and the Subject ‘Albert Statue, or drop a note into the History House for the attention of HLHG.

Tuesday 5 August 2014

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

For the past year and more FoHC members, especially Judith Dean,  have been recording the stories of those people who gave their lives as a result of World War One (the Great War) who are recorded in the common wield, not in the CWG areas.

Some particularly interesting stories from the CWG areas have however been included.

A linked list of the people so far recorded can be found here.

Where people are buried or remembered in overseas cemeteries, there is a link to photos and basic information.  (The idea originally was to see how many people from Hastings were buried in each cemetery, but this has not proved practicable.)

Each listed cemetery is linked to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery information.

If you know of others, or have more to add to a story please let FoHC know at info(at)friendsofhastingscemetery.org.uk [please substitute @ for at - this is to avoid spamming]

The next cemetery walks will be on

Sunday - 2 PM,

  • 17th August
  • 14th September

World War One Stories
WW1 Cemeteries & Memorials