Bibliography - Family History: Diaries and diarists
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A Diary kept in an Excursion to Little Hampton, near Arundel, and Brighthelmston, in Sussex, in 1778; and also to the latter Place in 1779, vols 1 and 2, by Peregrin Phillips, published 1780 (vol 1: vii + 100pp. & vol 2: viii + 128 pp., published by the author) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Fuller Lib 138] & British Library

Selections from the Diary and Epistolary Correspondence of the late William Marten of Lewes, by William Marten, published 1828 (London: Harvey & Darton)   View Online

Diary of the Times of Charles the Second by the Hon. H. Sydney, afterwards Earl of Romney, including his Correspondence, by R. W. Blencowe, published 1843 (2 volumes)

Extracts from Diary of Richard Stapley, Gent, of Hickstead Place, in Twineham, from 1682 to 1724; with a Notice of the Stapley Family, by Rev. Edward Turner, published 1849 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 2, article, pp.102-128) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2087] & The Keep [LIB/500221] & S.A.S. library   View Online

Extracts from the Diary of a Sussex Tradesman, a Hundred Years Ago, by R. W. Blencowe, M.A. and M. A. Lower, M.A., F.S.A., published 1859 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 11, article, pp.179-220) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2096] & The Keep [LIB/500230] & S.A.S. library   View Online

The Stapley Diary, by Rev. Edward Turner, M.A., published 1866 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 18, article, pp.151-162) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2103] & The Keep [LIB/500237] & S.A.S. library   View Online

The Marchant Diary, by Rev. Edward Turner, published 1873 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 25, article, pp.163-199) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2110] & The Keep [LIB/500243] & S.A.S. library   View Online

Notes to the Marchant Diary, by C. H. B., published 1873 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 25, article, pp.200-203) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2110] & The Keep [LIB/500243] & S.A.S. library   View Online

Thomas Turner, The Diary of a Georgian Shopkeeper, edited by G. H. Jennings, published October 1879 (95 pp. + xxix, Oxford Paperbacks, ISBN-10: 0192812831 & ISBN-13: 9780192812834) accessible at: British Library & West Sussex Libraries

A Sussex Pepys [Thomas Turner], by Charles Cooper, published 1901 in The Gentleman's Magazine (vol. 291, July to Dec, article, pp.17-30, London: Chatto & Windus)   View Online

Extracts from Mr John Baker's Horsham Diary, by Wilfred Scawen Blunt, published 1909 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 52, article, pp.38-82) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2137] & The Keep [LIB/500270] & S.A.S. library   View Online

The Diary of Thomas Turner of East Hoathly, 1754-1765, by Thomas Turner and edited by Florence Maris Turner, published 1925 (xxxii + 95 pp., London: John Lane) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/503556] & British Library & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

An Old Sussex Household Diary, by Rev. Ernest W. Cox, M.A., published 1926 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 67, article, pp.196-202) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2152] & The Keep [LIB/500285] & S.A.S. library

A Countryman's Diary, by Rev. A. A. Evans, published 1927 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. I no. 6, article, pp.274-275; no. 7, pp.326-328; no. 8, pp.353-354; no. 9, pp.414-415; no. 10, pp.443-445; no. 11, pp.473-474; no. 12, pp.536-538; no. 13, pp.569-571) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2303][Lib 8326] & The Keep [LIB/500137]

Old Sussex and her Diarists, by Arthur J. Rees, published 1929 (ix + 164 pp., London: John Lane) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 87] & The Keep [LIB/500157] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Diary of a Lewes Tradesman, 1832-1876, Charles Wille, by Robert Morris, published 1929 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. III no. 10, article, pp.684-691; no. 11, pp.755-765) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2307] & The Keep [LIB/500140]

The Tompkins Diary, by G. W. Eustace, published 1930 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 71, article, pp.11-56) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2156] & The Keep [LIB/500358] & S.A.S. library

A Tour into Sussex, 1788, by Hon. John Byng, published 1933 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. VII no. 1, article, pp.24-29) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2312] & The Keep [LIB/500176]

A Tour into Sussex, 1788, continued, by Hon. John Byng, published 1933 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. VII no. 2, article, pp.115-120) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2312] & The Keep [LIB/500176]

A Tour into Sussex, 1788, continued, by Hon. John Byng, published 1933 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. VII no. 3, article, pp.193-197) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2312] & The Keep [LIB/500176]

A Tour into Sussex, 1788, continued, by Hon. John Byng, published 1933 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. VII no. 4, article, pp.260-266) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2312] & The Keep [LIB/500176]

A Tour into Sussex, 1788, continued, by Hon. John Byng, published 1933 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. VII no. 5, article, pp.298-303) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2312] & The Keep [LIB/500176]

A Tour into Sussex, 1788, continued, by Hon. John Byng, published 1933 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. VII no. 6, article, pp.395-397) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2312] & The Keep [LIB/500176]

Turner Trove: A Link with a Famous Sussex Diarist, by L. B. Smith and E. A. Hadley, published 1935 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. IX no. 9, article, pp.546-550) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 9330] & The Keep [LIB/500180]

The Journal of Gideon Mantell: A Sussex Doctor and Geologist a Century Ago, edited by E. Cecil Curwen, M.B., F.S.A., published 1938 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. XII no. 1, article, pp.20-25; no. 2, pp.100-104; no. 3, pp.159-164; no. 4, pp.257-259; no. 5, pp.298-303; no. 6, pp.380-388; no. 7, pp.461-465; no. 8, pp.535-540; no. 9, pp.614-622; no. 10, pp.668-673; no. 11, pp.754-761; no. 12, pp.810-818) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2317] & The Keep [LIB/500183]

Mary Capper's Diary, by Rev. J. A. Wood, published November 1946 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. XI no. 4, article, pp.90-93) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8229][Lib 2210] & The Keep [LIB/500213] & S.A.S. library

Mary Capper's Diary, by Rev. J. A. Wood, published February 1947 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. XI no. 5, article, pp.104-107) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8229][Lib 2210] & The Keep [LIB/500213] & S.A.S. library

Mary Capper's Diary, by Rev. J. A. Wood, published May 1947 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. XI no. 6, article, pp.125-127) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8229][Lib 2210] & The Keep [LIB/500213] & S.A.S. library

The Life and Times of Thomas Turner of East Hoathly. A picture of the daily life in a small village in Sussex, England … drawn from the diary of a tradesman for the years 1754-1765., by Dean Kirkham Worcester, published 1948 (Undergraduate Prize Essays: Yale University. vol. 6., xi + 73 pp., New Haven: London) accessible at: British Library & East Sussex Libraries

The Memoirs of Gaius Carley, A Sussex Blacksmith, by Gaius Carley and edited by Francis W. Steer, published 1963 (viii + 74 pp., Chichester: Moore and Tillyer) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2558] & The Keep [LIB/503550] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Victorian Horsham - The Diary of Henry Michell 1809-1874, edited by Kenneth Neale, published 1975 (Chichester: Phillimore & Co., ISBN-10: 0850332281 & ISBN-13: 9780850332285) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 6141] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Henry Michell's diary offers new insights into 19th-century Horsham. His attitudes and aspirations show the Victorian middle-class environment in which he lived. His interests ranged over the major issues of as well as upon subject matter of more immediate relevance to Sussex. The book will thus be of interest to historians and to a reading public that enjoys social history and biographical literature. The scope of the diary and Michell's life embraces the Corn Law controversy, the railway 'mania', the American Civil War, Parliamentary reform, and the Great Exhibition of 1851.

Timothy Burrell: a Sussex Diarist, his life and time, by Maisie Wright, published June 1980 in Sussex Genealogist and Family Historian (vol. 2 no. 1, article, pp.4-10) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8671] & The Keep [LIB/501188] & CD SXGS from S.F.H.G.

A Preaching Diary of George Gilbert of Heathfield, by Neil Caplan, published September 1980 in Sussex Genealogist and Family Historian (vol. 2 no. 2, article, pp.72-74) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8671] & The Keep [LIB/501188] & CD SXGS from S.F.H.G.

The name of George Gilbert deserves to be better-known in the annals of Sussex religious dissent because he played so great a part in the religious revival in Sussex during his sixty years of ministry at Heathfield from 1767 to 1827

A Catalogue of Sussex Diaries, compiled by M. J. Burchall, published 1983 (Occasional Papers No. 9, 16 pp., Sussex Genealogical Centre, ISBN-13: 9780907084112) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/501288] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Our Sussex Diarists, by Brian Harwood, published June 1983 in Sussex Genealogist and Family Historian (vol. 5 no. 1, article, pp.32-38) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 9173] & The Keep [LIB/501191] & CD SXGS from S.F.H.G.

Other Sussex Diarists: Additions, published September 1983 in Sussex Genealogist and Family Historian (vol. 5 no. 2, article, p.79) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 9173] & The Keep [LIB/501191] & CD SXGS from S.F.H.G.

Other Sussex Diarists: Additions, published December 1983 in Sussex Genealogist and Family Historian (vol. 5 no. 3, article, pp.121-122) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 9173] & The Keep [LIB/501191] & CD SXGS from S.F.H.G.

The Diary of a Farm Apprentice William Carter Swan 1909-1910, edited by Edmund E. Swan, published 1984 (141 pp., Gloucester: Sutton, ISBN-13: 9780862991098) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 9105] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Diaries in the West Sussex Record Office, by Alan Readman & Timothy McCann, published March 1984 in Sussex Genealogist and Family Historian (vol. 5 no. 4, article, pp.145-147) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 9173] & The Keep [LIB/501191] & CD SXGS from S.F.H.G.

The Diary of Thomas Turner, 1754-1765, by Thomas Turner and edited by David Vaisey, published 1 November 1984 (420 pp., Oxford University Press, ISBN-10: 0192117823 & ISBN-13: 9780192117823) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 12976] & The Keep [LIB/503555] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Thomas Turner (1729-1793) was a hard-working and ingenious village shopkeeper in Sussex. In the eleven years of his diary, he recorded the minutiae of everyday village life in pre-industrial England. This edition contains about a third of the massive whole of the diary, but allows Turner to take his rightful place alongside Pepys, Evelyn, and Woodforde as an indispensable English diarist.

Thomas Turner's Diary, 1754-1765, by Thomas Turner with engravings by Peter Forster, published 1987 (Fleece, ISBN-10: 0948375159 & ISBN-13: 9780948375156) accessible at: British Library

An Astrological Diary of the Seventeenth Century: Samuel Jeake of Rye 1652-1699, edited by Michael Hunter and Annabel Gregory, published 3 March 1988 (312 pp., Oxford University Press, ISBN-10: 0198229623 & ISBN-13: 9780198229629) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/503538] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Samuel Jeake (1652-1699) was a merchant and nonconformist of Rye in Sussex with a passionate interest in astrology. His diary is here published for the first time; in it he not only recorded the events of his life in detail but subjected them to astrological scrutiny, interspersing his text with horoscopes. The resulting work is one of the most interesting seventeenth-century diaries to be published this century, throwing new light on the history both of astrology and on the topics with which this is juxtaposed in the course of the book - commercial, medical, religious, and intellectual.
The text is prefaced by a lengthy and illuminating introduction which sets the diary in context. Apart from giving a full account of this little-known personality, it makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the preoccupations and priorities of Jeake's age, and not least the rationale and affiliations of astrology in the age of the Financial Revolution.

No continuing city: The diary and letters of John Burgess, a Sussex craftsman, between 1785 and 1819, by John Burgess and transcribed by Donald F. Burgess, published 1989 (157 pp., D. F. Burgess, ISBN-10: 0951501704 & ISBN-13: 9780951501702) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 12812] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Despatches From The Homefront: the war diaries of Joan Strange 1939-1945, by Joan Strange and edited by Chris McCooey, published 1989 (178 pp., Monarch Publications, ISBN-10: 1854240498 & ISBN-13: 9781854240491) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

"No soldier": the 1942 diary of Miss Editha Blaikley of Wren Cottage, Tidebrook, Sussex., by Editha Blaikley, published 1992 (222 pp., Mayfield: Cinderhill Books) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/503534] & British Library & East Sussex Libraries

Victorian Village: The Diaries of the Reverend John Coker Egerton, curate and rector of Burwash, East Sussex, 1857-1888, by late John Coker Egerton and edited by Roger Wells, published 26 November 1992 (384 pp., Stroud: Sutton Publishing Ltd., ISBN-10: 0750902744 & ISBN-13: 9780750902748) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/503797] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

So Sweet as the Phlox is: The Diary of Florence Raply, 1909-1912, by Peter Jerrome, published 1993 (148 pp., Petworth: The Window Press) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 12073] & West Sussex Libraries

The Diary of Thomas Turner, 1754-1765, by Thomas Turner and edited by David Vaisey, published 1994 (new edition, xxxix + 386 pp., East Hoathly: CTR Publishing, ISBN-10: 0952451603 & ISBN-13: 9780952451600) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/503555] & East Sussex Libraries

Nurse Stoner's Diaries; Being a Collection of Reminiscences by Cuckfield's First District Nurse 1855-1947, edited by C. E. Salter, published 1996 (published by the editor) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries

Mrs Henry Dudeney: A Lewes Diary 1916-1944, by late Mrs. Henry Dudeney and edited by Diana Crook, published November 1998 (254 pp., Tartarus Press, ISBN-10: 1872621341 & ISBN-13: 9781872621340) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/503532] & East Sussex Libraries

Victorian Diary of Newick, Sussex, 1875-1899, by Tony Turk, published 1999 (215 pp., published by the author, ISBN-10: 0953696707 & ISBN-13: 9780953696703) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/503459] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Journal of the Great War. From Sussex Shore to Flanders Fields, by Edward Heron-Allen and edited by Brian W. Harvey and Carol Fitzgerald, published 2002 (vol. 86, xxii + 282 pp., Sussex Record Society, ISBN-10: 085445053X & ISBN-13: 9780854450534) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15043] & The Keep [LIB/500463][Lib/507867] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries   View Online

Edward Heron-Allen was a polymath; one of the most remarkable of his era. By profession a solicitor, he was also a distinguished zoologist (F.R.S.), historian, Persian scholar and translator, author of a classic book on violin-making studied worldwide, cheirosopher and writer of early science-fiction novels and stories, some of these being published pseudonymously and now much sought after. He left many beautifully bound unpublished manuscript volumes (carefully preserved by a grandson) and it was amongst these that the editors came across this fascinating Journal of the Great War, previously unknown outside the family.
In this personal Journal Heron-Allen chronicles the impact of the War on the lives of himself, his family in Selsey, West Sussex and on a wide range of friends, acquaintances and organisations nationally. With the observant and penetrating eye of an experienced author, lawyer and scientist, he describes in unsurpassed detail the day-to-day experiences of life under the increasingly stringent conditions of wartime Britain. He depicts the effects of conscription, spy scares and Zeppelin raids on the population, both in Sussex and in London, where he retained a town house.
Although well over age, he was determined to contribute actively to the war effort and the Journal recounts his military training with the Sussex Volunteer Regiment - a somewhat 'Dad's Army' process depicted with a touch of humour - then officer training in Tunbridge Wells. However, the final stages of the War find him making use of his linguistic abilities in the propaganda department of the War Office, working with colleagues who included the uncongenial H.G. Wells. As part of this work he visited the Western Front and saw for himself the terrible destruction of places he had known before the conflict. All of this is interwoven with his vivid account of the privations and near social breakdown of the local Sussex community.
In his unusually lively and controversial text, Heron-Allen does not disguise his criticism of a good many of the well-known characters he encounters - such as the novelist Ford Madox Ford, his tenant at Selsey. The importance of this previously unpublished Chronicle is, though, that it casts an exceptionally civilised and perceptive eye on the Home Front - and especially the Sussex Home Front, illuminating one of the defining moments of the 20th century and the irrevocable changes that the Great War inflicted on the structure of English life.

A Midhurst Lad: A Sussex Childhood from the Mid 1920's to the Late 30's, by Ronald E. Boxall and edited by Joan Stanley, published 1 October 2003 (264 pp., Red 'n' Ritten Ltd, ISBN-10: 1904278310 & ISBN-13: 9781904278313) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15139] & West Sussex Libraries

The Diaries of Sarah Hurst, 1759-1762: Life and Love in 18th Century Horsham, by Barbara Hurst (transcription) and Susan C. Djarbi (editor), published 10 December 2003 (343 pp., Horsham Museum Society, ISBN-10: 1902484223 & ISBN-13: 9781902484228) accessible at: Horsham Museum Society & West Sussex Libraries

The Diaries of Sarah Hurst records the day to day life of a young woman who lived in Horsham, Sussex between 1759 and 1762. Consequently, this book can claim to be one of the most important sources of information on life in the 18th century. The Diaries of Sarah Hurst not only create a vivid portrayal of the local town's people they also provide a fascinating insight into the social history of women, as they contain the intimate thoughts and feelings of a young woman and her relationships with the people around her. Sarah's intimate diaries can't help but touch the reader as she writes about her love for Henry Smith, a man who was thirteen years older than her.

Diaries can tell us much about how a person sees his or her world and when they can be linked with others of the same period or close to, even better - for one person's view of a time, person and place may be very different from another's. Sarah Hurst's diary predates that of John Baker of Horsham but they knew the same people and this Susan Djabri uses well to show how the two writers had very different views of the same people. Sarah's diary is of the same date as Thomas Turner of East Hoathly who, like Sarah, went sea-bathing along our coastline. The difference in their approach to going bathing is a comment on the difference between the lifestyle of the affluent Hurst and the struggling Turner as well as their personalities. Both diarists are from businesses. Sarah expects to help in her family's shop but also writes poetry and has a lively social life as many urban Georgian women did. One would like to know why she was so secretive about her marriage, not telling her family until afterwards. The diary ends before that story unfolds.
Many women like Sarah worked in businesses in Georgian England and a considerable number ran their own. The formidable Mrs Dring of Brighton ran a shop and a lodging house, Isabella Pullen built her own. Their role is understated in most Georgian studies but a start has been made in Hannah Barker's The Business of Women - female enterprise and urban development in Northern England 1760-1830, Oxford University Press, 2006. Diaries such as this with the excellent background research by the editor, street directories, inventories, wills and other sources should help us to understand the role of women in Georgian Sussex.

A fine day In Hurstpierpoint - the diary of Thomas Marchant, 1714-1728, by Anthony Bower, published 16 September 2005 (328 pp., Hurst History Group & printed at Lulu.con, ISBN-10: 1411645669 & ISBN-13: 9781411645660) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15536] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Frederick Weekes: the diary of a Sussex Farmer, 1837-1852, edited by Anthony Bower and Ian Nelson, published 2007 (137 pp., Hurst History Group, ISBN-10: 0954374630 & ISBN-13: 9780954374631) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Keen historians of the Victorian age will welcome the publication of a diary written by Sussex farmer Frederick Weekes of Brighton and Hurstpierpoint. His diary written between 1937 and 1852 provides snapshots of rural life as Sussex emerged from the Georgian era to embrace the Victorian age.
Edited for publication by Ian Nelson and Tony Bower of the Hurst History Study Group, Weekes' notes will be of particular interest to genealogists because they include references to many of the tradesmen living in and around Mid Sussex.

Time was : memories & anecdotes of a bygone age : recollections of growing up in Northiam, 1905 to 1926, by Jack Vidler, published 2009 (2 volumes, London: Mollie Grant and Kathleen Upton) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/502964][Lib/502969] & East Sussex Libraries

pt. 1. Including the village, transport, farming, hops and the forge, wheelwright, bakehouse and mill
pt. 2. Including the scouts, electricity, radio, the cinema, St Mary's Church, houses (Great Dixter, The Farthings and Brickwall), school, Sunday school and work.

Worthing at War: The Diary of C. F. Harriss, edited by Paul Holden, published 21 April 2010 (224 pp., Chichester: Phillimore & Co. Ltd., ISBN-10: 1860776183 & ISBN-13: 9781860776182) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries

Of all the historical documents charting Worthing's past, few are more important than a wartime diary called 'Hotchpot', compiled with religious dedication by Broadwater resident C.F. Harriss. Mr Harriss was a retired lawyer who lived with his wife in Rectory Gardens throughout the Second World War, and his diary, now in the hands of West Sussex Library Service, charts in intimate detail the daily lives of people during this turbulent time. Mr Harriss hoped the giant tome, split into two volumes, would assist future historians attempting to probe through the mists of oblivion. He wrote, 'It was written at the time and so supplied an exact and vivid record of wartime life, a true and intimate example, in the colour of the moment, of what ordinary citizens felt, thought and said.' The diary is remarkable chiefly on account of Mr Harriss's literate and informed manner. As well as describing events in wartime Worthing, it provides what is almost certainly an accurate commentary on civilian morale as news of the progress of the war reaches a seaside town. The diarist is a 'character' and his personality inflects his account, but he is above all knowledgeable and articulate and his daily entries are a pleasure and an education to read. 'May 28, 1940. The Anglo-French army is retreating to the coast. It is fighting with extreme gallantry but the impression remains that its situation is almost desperate. England's turn is expected to come next by means of parachutists and bombing aircraft, then perhaps invasion. Last evening we watched Corporation employees erecting the barricades across Montague Place and South Street and other thoroughfares giving access to the sea. These consisted of bathing machines placed side by side and partially filled with shingle.'

The Bird Man of Blatchington: The Diaries (1846-1869) of the Revd Robert Nathaniel Dennnis, by Rodney Castleden, published 2011 (Seaford: Blatchington Press)

Brighton in Diaries, by Paul K. Lyons, published 1 October 2011 (192 pp., The History Press, ISBN-10: 0752462229 & ISBN-13: 9780752462226) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries

J. Rock to Caffyns Ltd.: the diary of a Hastings & Tunbridge Wells royal carriage builder 1822-1949, edited by David Renno, published 1 October 2012 (iii + 103 pp., Hastings: Hastings Local Books, ISBN-10: 0956866948 & ISBN-13: 9780956866943) accessible at: British Library & East Sussex Libraries

Not Forgetting the Ninth: The War Diary of Sgt Cyril Grimes 1944-45, edited by Sylvia Fox, published 2013 (164 pp., Timebox Press, ISBN-10: 095502191X & ISBN-13: 9780955021916)

With the wealth of commemorations marking the 100th anniversary of the start of WW1 it is easy to overlook that this year is the 70th anniversary of the end of WW2. This book chronicles the last year of the war through the daily experiences of a soldier of the Royal Sussex Regiment as they travel to India, Burma and Malaya to take part in the campaign against the Japanese.
As he writes he tells us where he went, transport used, his duties and, of course, the weather. His concerns about his health, enjoyment of sport, visits to the cinema, dances, together with an overriding concern to keep himself and his clothes clean paint a picture of the man and what the realities of life were like in that theatre of war.
There are clear maps which detail their manoeuvres and photographs which convey the euphoria felt after the Japanese surrender. A very poignant account of a less well known aspect of the war.

Hoops & Signals: The Story of a Sussex Great Grandfather, by John Ireland, published 11 January 2013 (70 pp., Country Books, ISBN-10: 1906789797 & ISBN-13: 9781906789794) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Thomas Ireland lived in the village of Balcombe all his life. From the age of 11 he was a barrel hoop maker before joining the LBSCR in 1852 as a tunnelman, subsequently being made a signalman. Largely self-taught he kept journals or diaries from the 1860s to the 1890s and it is these that provide the source of much of the information for this book. Subject matters cover his two jobs, current affairs, recipes, gardening, remedies and strong views on religion (anti-popery). Also included are photos and local postcards together with a family tree to 1747 and notes on the origins of the surname. A worthwhile contributions to the county's rich historical heritage.

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

The Shadow Between: The Diary of a Lost Love 1882-1938, edited by Mairi Rennie, published 4 May 2016 (118 pp., New Generation Publishing, ISBN-10: 1785077376 & ISBN-13: 9781785077371) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries

The Shadow Between is based on the diary of a well-known illustrator and artist, William Parkinson (1858-1938). This was the period when the old ways were being superseded by the beginnings of modern life - railways, cycles, motor transport, photography, cinemas, medicine, fashions, the fading of the British Empire, and new social attitudes. The story is set in West Sussex, near Midhurst - now the centre of the South Downs National Park. In 1882 William was 24. He visited a college friend whose father was Rector of Terwick, near Rogate and fell in love with the Rector's daughter. It was a very intense experience which affected the rest of his life. The book is fully illustrated.