Publications
The Day Wadhurst Changed - Friday 20th January 1956, by Michael Harte, Rachel Ring and Heather Woodward, published 11 May 2006 (164 pp., Wadhurst History Society & printed at Greenman Enterprise, Wadhurst, ISBN-10: 0954580222 & ISBN-13: 9780954580223) accessible at: Wadhurst History Society & East Sussex Libraries
Abstract:The book, with 85 illustrations - most not published before - sets the scene of life in England and in Wadhurst just before the crash; then follow details from the official records of what happened on Friday 20th January 1956 and personal recollections from many of those who were there on that afternoon. Personal memories of events in the week after the crash are followed by an analysis of the RAF Court of Inquiry and other official reports produced in the weeks after the accident. The book then examines the delays in rebuilding the High Street and the decisions taken by the local authorities involved. The book closes with an analysis of the press and other media response to the event, of the research undertaken by the authors and, as a final note, of the miracles that saved Wadhurst from what could - if events had happened differently - have been a tragedy of epic proportions with a heavy loss of life and the destruction of much more than three buildings in the High Street: Wadhurst might almost have died.
Wadhurst Back in Time: 1901-1936, edited by Heather Woodward, David James and Arthur Dewar, published 12 December 2011 (348 pp., Wadhurst History Society & printed at Greenman Enterprise, Wadhurst, ISBN-10: 0956176860 & ISBN-13: 9780956176868) accessible at: Wadhurst History Society
Abstract:Looks at Wadhurst during the years of extraordinary change and challenge at the beginning of the 20th Century and includes the recollections of local residents with many illustrations. Public Transport, Census Returns, The Great War, Farming, Blacksmiths, Brewing, Building, Coppicing, The Motor Trade, The Gas Works, The Police and Fire Services and Local Developments are just some of the aspects covered. An historical timeline of world events helps to set the scene.
Review by Margaret Pearce in Sussex Family Historian vol. 20 no. 4, December 2012:This book contains 13 chapters by different authors covering life and times in Wadhursr between 1907 and 1936, including the Great War, Farming, local industries, cultural life and much more. Totally absorbing reading about village life and a series of studies on several important aspects of the early years of the 20th century
Wadhurst's Black Sunday: 9th May 1915, edited by Arthur Dewar, David James and Heather Woodward, published 2015 (142 pp., Wadhurst History Society) accessible at: Wadhurst History Society
Abstract:A detailed account of the Battle of Aubers Ridge on 9th May 1915. The book features a time line of world events between March and June 1915 and one of the Battle itself. It touches briefly on the causes of the First World War and also deals with battles which lead up to the tragedy. There is a short biography of each of the 25 Wadhurst men killed on that awful day and the book goes on to analyse the effects on Wadhurst and its people.