Wartime West Sussex 1939-45

These pages have over 700 digitised sources about life in West Sussex during World War II. They include photos, official leaflets, book extracts, newspaper articles, letters, diaries, original records and recorded memories. The content is suitable for anyone interested in the period and particularly for schoolchildren, students and teachers preparing work for History Key Stages 2, 3 and 4.

The project has been financed by the Heritage Lottery Fund and published by the County Library Service, with much support and material supplied by West Sussex Record Office. Any source may be downloaded, saved and printed for educational or private use free of charge, but you must obtain our written permission to re-publish them in print or online.

• Themes
  Sources on: Air raids, Battle of Britain, Canadians, D-Day, POWs and Refugees, Evacuees, Home Guard and other volunteers, Invasion, Home Front, Rationing, VE and VJ Days, Women at War.

• Wartime events
  A detailed account of the War in West Sussex, timelines, lists of events in most local towns and villages and detailed records of bombing raids and other incidents.

• Case studies for teachers
  Download resources, with teachers notes and ideas for lessons, on: The Great Escape, Petworth School Bombing 1942 and Women at War.

• Memories
  Listen to audio clips of people talking about their experiences of the war in West Sussex. Arranged by theme and by person.

• Further research
  Booklists, lists of original sources, where you can do further research, and website links.

• Source gallery search
  Search the entire Wartime West Sussex resources.

• Help and information
  Further information on the project, copyright, how to contact us and technical help.