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X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://sussexmilitary.com
X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Sussex Military History Society
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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260520T200000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260520T213000
DTSTAMP:20260531T191915
CREATED:20260330T124055Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260330T125700Z
UID:104-1779307200-1779312600@sussexmilitary.com
SUMMARY:Courage Under Fire: The 2/5th Queen's Royal Regiment\, BEF: May 1940 - by Nigel Shearsmith
DESCRIPTION:A talk by Nigel Shearsmith\, guest speaker\, whose grandfather\, RSM Bacon\, fought in this action nr Abbeville almost exactly 86 years ago. \n\n\n\nNigel writes: “Join amateur historian Nigel Shearman for the dramatic story of how a territorial battalion from Guildford faced the might of Nazi Germany’s invasion of France. Poorly armed and minimal training\, these citizen-soldiers defended Abbeville against overwhelming odds. \n\n\n\nThrough rare photographs and personal accounts\, witness their desperate fighting withdrawal across the Somme. Despite catastrophic losses\, their spirit endured. \n\n\n\nA powerful testament to courage and survival during the darkest days of May 1940”. \n\n\n\nNigel is a retired telecommunications engineer with a lifelong passion for military history. While studying engineering at Liverpool University\, he joined the Officer Training Corps affiliated with the 5/8th Kings Regiment\, learning basic infantry skills. His career took him across Europe\, China\, India\, and North America\, where he spent his spare time exploring local military museums. \n\n\n\nThe growth of online resources reignited his passion through family history research. Focusing particularly on the Second World War\, his continuing studies challenge 1970s myths that British troops and equipment were inferior—always questioning: “if we weren’t that good\, how did we win?” He now re-enacts as a WW2 infantryman\, using his extensive small arms knowledge to demonstrate how period weapons functioned.  He is also a volunteer for Shoreham Fort.
URL:https://sussexmilitary.com/event/courage-under-fire-the-2-5th-queens-royal-regiment-bef-may-1940-by-nigel-shearsmith/
LOCATION:Lewes Town Hall\, High Street\, Lewes\, East Sussex\, BN7 2QS\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Talk
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://sussexmilitary.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/large_000000-e1774875371482.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Sussex Military History Society":MAILTO:enquiries@sussexmilitary.com
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260516T000000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260517T235959
DTSTAMP:20260531T191915
CREATED:20260406T192450Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260406T192938Z
UID:487-1778889600-1779062399@sussexmilitary.com
SUMMARY:Home Front Weekend
DESCRIPTION:Amberley Meuseum are running another action-packed Home Front weekend on Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 May. This event is full of fascinating displays\, talks and demonstrations by a wide range of World War II re-enactment groups\, historic vehicle owners and demonstrators. \nThis year\, visitors will again get the chance to visit the American army encampment on the field\, adding even more to the event\, alongside displays of 1940s daily life\, fashion and music. They are looking forward to the return of the ever-popular Wartime Fire Station display and and displays of a wide variety of military vehicles from the 1940s onwards. \nVisitors won’t want to miss the chance to enjoy expert demonstrations of an RAF Ops Room in the Hayloft. While their very own 1930s-era bus and\, Peter\, a 1918 steam locomotive\, will give the opportunity to explore all the action across the site in style. \nBook your tickets below for this special event weekend by visiting their website and see Amberley transformed into a hive of historic activity!
URL:https://sussexmilitary.com/event/home-front-weekend/
LOCATION:Amberley Museum\, New Barn Road\, Amberley\, near Arundel\, West Sussex\, BN18 9LT\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Event,Non-SMHS Event
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://sussexmilitary.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Home-Front-Military-Vehicles-Web-e1775503482830.png
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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260509T000000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260509T235959
DTSTAMP:20260531T191915
CREATED:20260330T130618Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260403T120021Z
UID:109-1778284800-1778371199@sussexmilitary.com
SUMMARY:Visit to RAF Wartling Rotor R3 Radar Station
DESCRIPTION:A members only opportunity to visit the 1950s RAF radar bunker in Wartling\, East Sussex. \nBeneath the fields above the Pevensey Levels\, in the heart of East Sussex\, sits one of the most significant surviving Rotor R3 bunkers in the country — a two-level reinforced concrete structure built between 1951 and 1955 with walls\, floor and ceiling cast ten feet thick\, designed to absorb a near-miss from Russian pattern bombing. At its operational peak\, Wartling held responsibility for all British airspace south of the Thames\, and in 1959 provided the last radar trace of the prototype Handley Page Victor before it went down. It closed in December 1964\, was stripped\, and then became flooded — remaining largely inaccessible for decades. \nThe bunker’s current state owes a great deal to support from Subterranea Britannica. A major pumping operation removed some 2.75 million litres of water\, followed by years of work to seal ingress points\, reinstate lighting and make the structure walkable again. The two-hour guided tour takes in both levels and more than thirty rooms — intercept halls\, plant spaces\, switchgear rooms and the long connecting corridors that once directed Hunters and Javelins through southern English skies. \nBooking details have been circulated to members. New members to SMHS are welcome to book tickets\, subject to availability. The donation will fund restoration and preservation work at this unusual site.
URL:https://sussexmilitary.com/event/visit-to-wartling-rotor-r3-radar-station/
LOCATION:West Sussex
CATEGORIES:Visit
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://sussexmilitary.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/1552685048-wartling114-e1774875942373.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Sussex Military History Society":MAILTO:enquiries@sussexmilitary.com
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260416T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260416T203000
DTSTAMP:20260531T191915
CREATED:20260330T220857Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260330T222734Z
UID:201-1776364200-1776371400@sussexmilitary.com
SUMMARY:A Hazardous Experiment: Indian Soliders\, British Doubts And The Truth About The Western Front
DESCRIPTION:Hosted by Shoreham Fort: This month’s Tin Hut Talk guest speaker is Karen Leenders\, with her fascinating talk on ‘A Hazardous Experiment’ Indian Soldiers\, British Doubts and the Truth About the Western Front… \nWere Indian troops capable of fighting in France? In 1914\, the British military had serious doubts. This talk reveals why those fears were unfounded—and tells the remarkable story of how wounded Indian soldiers changed British minds when they arrived at Brighton’s hospitals. \nDrawing on her PhD research\, Karen Leenders challenges a century of myths about the Indian Corps on the Western Front. From the trenches to the hospital wards\, she uncovers how Indian soldiers not only proved their worth in combat but transformed civilian attitudes back home. \nThis is where military history meets social history—the story of a “hazardous experiment” that succeeded against all expectations.
URL:https://sussexmilitary.com/event/a-hazardous-experiment-indian-soliders-british-doubts-and-the-truth-about-the-western-front/
LOCATION:Shoreham Fort\, Forthaven\, Shoreham-by-Sea\, BN43 5HY\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Non-SMHS Event,Tin Hut Talk
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://sussexmilitary.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/shoreham-fort-nissen-hut-e1774908498859.jpg
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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260415T194500
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260415T213000
DTSTAMP:20260531T191915
CREATED:20260329T220023Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260404T222410Z
UID:11-1776282300-1776288600@sussexmilitary.com
SUMMARY:The Experimental Station in WW1- Dr. Philip MacDougall.
DESCRIPTION:NB: AGM starts early at 1945\, followed by talk! Philip writes: “Up to and during the First World War\, the Royal Navy was at the forefront of developments in aviation: concerned not just with the use of military aircraft to defend the fleet\, but also securing the homeland against Zeppelin raiders and undertaking tactical air strikes into enemy territory. With the airplane a totally new and revolutionary weapon\, the work of several experimental airfields and seaplane stations became crucial to the success of these operations. Taking the lead role were Felixstowe and the Isle of Grain\, where work on the development of new aircraft and aerial weapons was handled\, alongside groundbreaking advances in navigational systems\, air-to-ground radio communication\, and deck-board ship landings. These two air stations (as well as others with a more minor role) witnessed a huge scale of expenditure and the assembly of an elite group of experts and hotshot pilots who\, in pushing the envelope to the extreme\, sometimes sacrificed their own lives. The work of these experimental stations has been more or less forgotten\, a result of the RNAS having been subsumed into the RAF\, and the subsequent emphasis on the airplane as a weapon of land warfare. In this First World War anniversary period\, it is a story that needs telling”. \nPhilip graduated from the University of Lancaster and is former lecturer at the University of Kent\, he has written extensively on the theme of nations preparing for war\, delving into inter-war aviation records\, looking at various air wars and how different nations interpreted the tactical lessons resulting from those conflicts. He has edited ‘Kent Airfields in the Battle of Britain’ (Meresborough Books) and has written many articles and books on military aviation as well as naval support facilities.
URL:https://sussexmilitary.com/event/the-experimental-station-in-ww1-dr-philip-macdougall/
LOCATION:Lewes Town Hall\, High Street\, Lewes\, East Sussex\, BN7 2QS\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Talk
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://sussexmilitary.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/The_Royal_Naval_Air_Service_rnas_1914-1918_Q58422-e1774875397741.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Sussex Military History Society":MAILTO:enquiries@sussexmilitary.com
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