Publications
Seaford Through Time, by Kevin Gordon, published 12 January 2010 (96 pp., Stroud: Amberley Publishing, ISBN-10: 1848685122 & ISBN-13: 9781848685123) accessible at: East Sussex Libraries
Abstract:Half-way between Eastbourne and Brighton, the quiet Sussex town of Seaford is often overlooked as a holiday destination but it has an abundant and fascinating history. Seaford's past looks down on the town, quite literally in the form of the Neolithic Hill Fort on the cliffs at Seaford Head. Over the centuries the town has been a bustling Cinque Port, a rotten borough, a quiet seaside backwater, a centre for education, a garrison town and a target for enemy action. Seaford today is a residential town nestled between the sea and the South Downs National Park, however there are still clues to be found that point to the rich tapestry of its past. In this book, local historian Kevin Gordon embarks on a nostalgic trip using old photographs and postcards to discover how the town has developed and changed.
Eastbourne Through Time, by Kevin Gordon, published 1 August 2010 (962 pp., Stroud: Amberley Publishing, ISBN-10: 184868133X & ISBN-13: 9781848681330) accessible at: Eastbourne Heritage Centre & East Sussex Libraries
Abstract:Eastbourne is situated at the eastern end of the South Downs alongside the famous Beachey Head cliff. Although Eastbourne has some industrial trading estates, it is essentially a seaside resort and derives its main income from tourism. It is a genteel resort with none of the glitz, glamour and 'kiss-me-quickness' of other seaside towns; even today there are no shops or amusement arcades along the sea front. Join Kevin Gordon on this nostalgic trip through time as he shows, using old and new postcards and photographs, that Eastbourne is still the Empress of the South. This will be essential reading for anyone who knows and loves this typical British seaside town.
War Graves of Seaford Cemetery, by Kevin Gordon, published 2013 (Local History Booklet no. 11, 24 pp., Seaford Museum and Heritage Society, ISBN-13: 9781902170190) accessible at: Seaford Monumental Inscriptions Group & East Sussex Libraries Download PDF
Seaford and Eastbourne in the Great War, by Kevin Gordon, published 14 October 2014 (176 pp., Pen and Sword Books, ISBN-10: 1783036427 & ISBN-13: 9781783036424) accessible at: East Sussex Libraries
Abstract:How the experience of war impacted on the town, from the initial enthusiasm for sorting out the German kaiser in time for Christmas 1914, to the gradual realization of the enormity of human sacrifice the families of Seaforth and Eastbourne were committed to as the war stretched out over the next four years. A record of the growing disillusion of the people, their tragedies and hardships and a determination to see it through. The Sussex seaside towns of Seaford and Eastbourne were closer to the action than most places; the sound of naval battles could be heard from the coast (and sometimes witnessed by those with a good pair of binoculars). When the wind was in the right direction the rumble of artillery from France bought the frontline into the streets. At the start of the Great War, Eastbourne was an elegant and blossoming resort and did its best to maintain its tourist trade despite the arrival of soldiers, aeroplanes, refugees and the wounded. Seaford was a much smaller resort with a population of under 4,000 however thousands of troops from all over the Empire were billeted in the area either at private homes or in two massive camps. The Seaford camps were the venue for training, parades, fighting, murder and even rioting. Nearby Newhaven became an important port in which provisions were transported to the front. Conscientious Objectors, some under threat of the death penalty worked on the docks and the nearby roads.
In his book "Seaford and Eastbourne in the Great War" local historian, Kevin Gordon tells the story of how the conflict affected, not only these seaside towns but also of the soldiers (many of them teenagers) who answered the call to battle. It is a story of spies, schoolchildren and sacrifice; a story that, for many, ended in the cemetery at Seaford which today is one of the largest Commonwealth War Graves in the South of England.
In his book "Seaford and Eastbourne in the Great War" local historian, Kevin Gordon tells the story of how the conflict affected, not only these seaside towns but also of the soldiers (many of them teenagers) who answered the call to battle. It is a story of spies, schoolchildren and sacrifice; a story that, for many, ended in the cemetery at Seaford which today is one of the largest Commonwealth War Graves in the South of England.