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The Second Barons' War: Simon de Montfort and the Battles of Lewes and Evesham, by John Sadler, published 15 October 2008 (xxv + 160 pp. & 8 pp. of plates, Barnsley: Pen & Sword Military, ISBN-10: 1844158314 & ISBN-13: 9781844158317) accessible at: British Library & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

For two years in the mid-thirteenth century England was torn by a bloody civil war between the king and his nobles. For a short time, the country came close to unseating the monarchy, and the outcome changed the course of English history. Yet this critical episode receives far less attention than the Wars of the Roses and the English Civil Wars that followed.
John Sadler, in this highly readable and perceptive study of the Barons' War, describes events in vivid detail. He explores the leading personalities, whose bitter quarrel gave rise to the conflict - Henry III, his son Prince Edward, later Edward I, and their most famous opponent, Simon de Montfort, whose masterful charisma galvanized support among the discontented nobility. The clash of interests between the king and his 'overmighty' subjects is reconsidered, as are the personal and political tensions that polarized opinion and tested loyalties to the limit. But the main emphasis of John Sadler's account is on events in the field, in particular the two major campaigns that determined the course of the war and indeed the future government of England - the battles fought at Lewes and Evesham.

Fisherman Against the Kaiser: Shockwaves of War 1915-1915, by Douglas D'Enno, published 18 March 2010 (240 pp., Pen & Sword Books Ltd., ISBN-10: 1844159795 & ISBN-13: 9781844159796) accessible at: East Sussex Libraries

British fishermen are among the unsung heroes of the First World War. The conflict with Germany had an immediate and enduring impact on their lives and livelihood. They were immediately caught up in the sea war against the Kaiser's navy, confronting the threats presented by the submarines, minelayers, gunboats and capital ship of the High Seas Fleet. Often they found themselves thrust into strange, dangerous situations, which put their lives at risk and tested to the limit their bravery and skill as seamen. This is their fascinating story.
For the first time in this two-volume study Douglas d'Enno provides a comprehensive and lasting record of the services rendered by the fishermen and their vessels, both under naval control and on their own account. His pioneering history shows the full extent of their contribution to the British war effort, from minesweeping and submarine detection to patrol, escort and counterattack duties. The areas of action were not limited to the home waters of the Channel, the North Sea and the Western Approaches but ranged as far as the Arctic and the Mediterranean's Aegean and Adriatic seas. Extraordinary stories are recounted here of the hazards of minesweeping, battles with U-boats, decoy missions, patrols, blockades, rescues and capture by the enemy. First-hand accounts make up the essence of the material. Reports from the leading trade journals, specialist literature and personal manuscripts vividly recall the fishermen's experiences and the hardships and dangers they faced throughout the war.

Battle Ground Sussex: A Military History of Sussex from the Iron Age to the present day, by John Grehan and Martin Mace, with a foreward by Dame Vera Lynn, O.B.E., D.B.E., published 14 February 2012 (224 pp., Pen and Sword Books, ISBN-10: 1848846614 & ISBN-13: 9781848846616) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

From its south-eastern tip Sussex is little more than sixty miles from continental Europe and the county's coastline, some seventy-six miles long, occupies a large part of Britain's southern frontier. Before the days of Macadam and the Turnpike, water travel could prove more certain than land transportation and the seas that define the borders of our nation aided, rather than deterred, the invader. Though the last successful invasion of Britain took place almost 1,000 years ago, the gently shelving beaches of Sussex have tempted the prospective invader with the promise of both an easy disembarkation and a short and direct route to London - the last time being just seven decades ago. As the authors demonstrate, the repeated threat of invasion from the Continent has shaped the very landscape of the county. The rounded tops of the Iron Age hill forts, the sheer walls of the medieval castles, the squat stumps of Martello towers, the moulded Vaubanesque contours of the Palmerstone redoubts and the crouched concrete blocks and bricks of the Second World War pillboxes constitute the visible evidence of Sussex's position on Britain's front line.

The Battle of Hastings 1066: The Uncomfortable Truth - revealing the true location of England's most famous battle, by John Grehan and Martin Mace, with a foreward by Dame Vera Lynn, O.B.E., D.B.E., published 29 October 2012 (192 pp., Pen and Sword Books, ISBN-10: 1848848277 & ISBN-13: 9781848848276) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

The Battle of Hastings is the most defining event in English history. As such, its every detail has been analysed by scholars and interpreted by historians. Yet one of the most fundamental aspect of the battle - the place upon which it was fought - has never been seriously questioned, until now. Could it really be the case that for almost 1,000 years everyone has been studying the wrong location? In this in-depth study, the authors examine the early sources and the modern interpretations to unravel the compulsive evidence that historians have chosen to ignore because it does not fit the traditional view of where the battle was fought. Most importantly, the authors investigate the terrain of the battlefield and the archaeological data to reveal exactly where history was made.

Hove and Portslade in the Great War, by Judy Middleton, published 19 June 2014 (208 pp., Pen & Sword Military, ISBN-10: 1783036435 & ISBN-13: 9781783036431)

Bognor in the Great War, by Clifford Mewett, published 3 September 2014 (176 pp., Pen & Sword Military, ISBN-10: 1783462825 & ISBN-13: 9781783462827) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries

Bognor at the time of the Great War was a small seaside town, quiet in winter but full of visitors in the summer. At that time it was barely one hundred and thirty years old, developed from a hamlet by Sir Richard Hotham, a hatter, who wanted to create his own purpose built bathing resort, to attract the nobility to take the sea air and as a rival to other towns along the Sussex coast. rnrnIn 1911 the population of Bognor had grown to a little over eight thousand, of whom around eleven hundred men answered the call in 1914, around a third of whom never returned. The book tells their stories, not in alphabetical Roll of Honour order, but in real time as it happened. It also takes a close look at those who fought and returned to Bognor, albeit with some badly injured, facing the future carrying the scars of four years fighting. Also included are the local villages of Aldwick, North and South Bersted and Felpham.rnrnWartime life in Bognor has also been included, how the town coped from the influx of Belgian refugees in 1914, a look at the various voluntary organisations, recruitment, invasion fears, conscientious objectors, tribunals, lighting restrictions, Zeppelins, food shortages and the victory celebrations. rnrnQueen Victoria, who stayed at Bognor as a child, once referred to it in later life as 'dear little Bognor'. Some eighty years later 'dear little Bognor' flexed her muscles as her young men marched to war.

This is a good example of what can emerge from newspapers, in this case The Bognor Observer and the West Sussex Gazette. The opening includes the way in which horses were requisitioned in large numbers, their owners sad to see them go and in some instances struggling to make a living. Bognor's summer season struggled along and as in Brighton and Eastbourne the visitors and the resort's role as a centre for the injured were both accommodated. Illustrated with over thirty contemporary black and white photographs.

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

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.

A Woman Living in the Shadow of the Second World War: Helena Hall's Journal from the Home Front, by Helena Hall and edited by Linda Grace and Margaret Nicolle, published 10 November 2014 (256 pp., Yorkshire: Pen and Sword Books, ISBN-10: 1473823250 & ISBN-13: 9781473823259) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 18610] & The Keep [LIB/508058] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

John George Haigh, the Acid-Bath Murderer: A Portrait of a Serial Killer and His Victims, by Jonathan Oates, published 19 December 2014 (240 pp., Pen and Sword, ISBN-10: 1783462140 & ISBN-13: 9781783462148) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Brighton in the Great War, by Douglas D'Enno, published 30 November 2015 (176 pp., Pen & Sword Books ltd., ISBN-10: 1783032995 & ISBN-13: 9781783032990) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/509151] & West Sussex Libraries

Although the impact of the Great War on Brighton was profound, the seaside town was spared any direct attack by the enemy. The fear of spies and sabotage, however, was widespread at first and aliens were an issue which had to be swiftly resolved under new legislation. Allies, of course, were warmly welcomed, and accommodation was swiftly found for those fleeing the catastrophic events in Belgium.Between 1914 and 1918, Brighton made major contributions to the war effort in many ways: by responding readily to the call to arms, by caring for great numbers of wounded (the story of the exotic Royal Pavilion being used as a hospital for Indian casualties is widely known locally) and by simply being itself - an open and welcoming resort that offered sanctuary, respite and entertainment to besieged Londoners and to other visitors, from every stratum of society. The book looks at the fascinating wartime roles of Brighton's women, who quietly played a vital part in transport services, industrial output and food production. Non-combatant menfolk also kept the wheels turning under very trying circumstances. When the meat shortage became acute, the mayor himself took direct action, requisitioning ninety sheep at Brighton Station for the town which were destined for butchers' shops in London.The names of no fewer than 2,597 men and three women who made the supreme sacrifice were inscribed on the town's memorial, which was unveiled at the Old Steine on 7 October 1922 by Earl Beatty. At the ceremony, the earl acknowledged that 'it was by duty and self-sacrifice that the war was won.' It remained, he said, for those who had survived the conflict to ensure that the great sacrifices of the past, both by the dead and the living, should not have been made in vain. We remember them in this book.

Chichester in the Great War, by John J. Eddleston, published 29 February 2016 (176 pp., Pen & Sword Books ltd., ISBN-10: 1783463287 & ISBN-13: 9781783463282) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries

Tangmere Airfield had a prominent role in the Air War from 1916 onwards and many local men joined the Royal Sussex Regiment. This book looks at 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 Chichester were committed to as the war stretched out over the next four years. The Great War affected everyone. At home there were wounded soldiers in military hospitals, refugees from Belgium and later on German prisoners of war. There were food and fuel shortages and disruption to schooling. The role of women changed dramatically and they undertook a variety of work undreamed of in peacetime. Meanwhile, men serving in the armed forces were scattered far and wide. Extracts from contemporary letters reveal their heroism and give insights into what it was like under battle conditions.