Sussex Frontline
Client: Newhaven Fort

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This gallery, housed in one of the restored casemates explores the many ways that Sussex’s location on the coast made it the first line of defence in the second world war and later, a launch point for the assault and liberation of Europe.

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Again personal stories are the back bone of the narrative and both residents and visitors to Sussex can see how familiar landmarks and places were transformed by the necessities of war.

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The gallery opens with an object based display setting the conflict in context, linking to the themes of the closing space in the World War One gallery. We then focus on Sussex’s place on the front line at sea, on land and in the air. Newhaven’s place in Hitler’s short lived invasion plan “operation sealion” illustrates the risk to Britain in the early years of the war.

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Deeper into the space object rich displays explore how Sussex’s role slowly turned from defence to offence as the war progressed. Newhaven was the launch point for many raids leading up to D Day while the Navy’s gunboats based in the port slowly learned how to counter the E Boat threat and the RAF slowly took control of the skies over the channel.

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Guests can listen into dramatized first hand accounts from people involved through the period style telephones of the “History Hotlines”. The cast of characters is wide and includes from active service men to children’s adventures in what had become a militarised zone.

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A projected animated map shows how the Sussex coast and countryside was transformed with command centres, aerodromes, radar chains, harbours and equipment depots culminating in preparations for D Day.

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