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The larks still sing over the Sussex Downs where soldiers once trained at Seaford before heading out to the front.

Luke Barber, research officer at the Sussex Archaeological Society, has uncovered the hidden history of the training camps at the coastal town. During World War One it doubled in size due to the influx, initially, of recruits for the ‘Kitchener’s Army’ at the beginning of the war, and then Canadian soldiers towards the end of the conflict.

Having unearthed thousands of fragments of grenades and evidence of other training activity, he is now planning to excavate an underground chamber that was used to prepare troops for gas attack. The gas chamber’s location at Dymock Farm overlooking Seaford Head was pinpointed from the painting of Canadian war artist, David B Milne.

Farmer, Mary White, says the view has hardly changed in 100 years.

Sara Parker visited various Seaford sites to discover more about the legacy of the training camps.

Location: Seaford, East Sussex BN25 4AA
Image: Fred Varley's painting of Seaford. Image courtesy of the Canadian War Museum.

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