Shoreham tributes form largest social history archive of its kind

Archivists at West Sussex County Records Office have spent the last year carefully cataloguing, drying and preserving more than 1,900 items featuring heartfelt messages from mourners.

Staff and volunteers rescued damp, moulding and crumpled notes, taking care to separate and document every single one.

Over four months the items were placed in a drying room so moisture left at a natural rate to restore them to their original form - or as near to it as possible.

Now they are being preserved between plastic sheets and will be kept in one of the building's temperature-controlled store rooms, set at 17 degrees, to protect the messages for many years to come.

The work is nearly completed and will be available for the public to view from Monday at the office in Orchard Street, Chichester and also online.

Some of the pieces will continue to form part of a display at the message board by the Shoreham Toll Bridge and it is hoped there will be an exhibition of the collection at the Adur Civic Centre.

Books of condolences and copies of The Argus editions from the week after the crash will also form part of the enormous collection.

County archivist Wendy Walker said the project had never been attempted before and had set a precedent for other authorities.

She said: "We have been contacted by a number of people asking why we did it and how. Lambeth Council asked us about it and I believe are now doing the same to preserve tributes left after the death of David Bowie."

Louise Goldsmith, West Sussex County Council leader, said: "I think this [incident] is sadly unique. It was the largest major incident in this country since 7/7 - I have never seen anything like this in my lifetime. The archive is meant to be a collection of living history. We will, of course, keep all the official records of the tragedy but this represents the enormous response the community had to the crash which is an important piece of social history."

Visit the archive at the records office or go to westsussexpast.org.uk/SearchOnline from Monday.

WE WILL NEVER FORGET YOU. NOW REST IN PEACE

ELEVEN roses for the eleven lost souls. Rest in peace.

This simple, heartfelt message captures the outpouring of grief of those affected by the Shoreham Airshow disaster.

We may never know who made the pilgrimage to the Shoreham Toll Bridge that day to pay their respects and leave the tribute.

But now it is one of 1,900 messages painstakingly preserved by archivists after being collected from the bridge.

Many were wet, crumpled, distorted or even mouldy. But after a year of restoring, drying and cataloguing, the entire collection can be viewed mostly in its original state by the public either online or in the West Sussex County Records Office in Chichester.

As the shock of the tragedy sank in, the community rallied together. Friends, families, emergency service personnel and strangers all needed a place of solace to reflect and remember. The bridge became that place. They flocked there to leave thousands of tributes, bouquets and gifts.

Volunteers, who spent months helping staff document the messages, said traditional sympathy cards and notes attached to flowers were joined by more unusual messages – left on scraps of brown paper, the back of a supermarket receipt and even on the lid of an ice cream tub. This was a testament to how passers-by were using anything they could find in order to pay their respects, they said.

The words in red felt tip pen and covered by sellotape on the back of the lid read: “Rest in peace. Heaven has gained more angels. Sleep in perfect peace.”

The enormous amount of material captures a moment in time – it represents a community in mourning at those events of August 22 last year. It will provide future historians a vivid yet sombre picture of how the crash affected not just Sussex but the entire nation. In our lifetime, it will be a chance to reflect, remember and take comfort in the words of others.

One message which particularly summed up the mood a year ago said: “I cannot believe this is happening to our beautiful Shoreham. Let’s be strong for each other,” while another said: “Shoreham will never forget you all.”

A note from Yvonne and Nick illustrated the sentiments of many: “We didn’t know you, but now we do. We will never forget you.”

Another explained the heartache now associated with that stretch of road and the much-loved surrounding area when it said: “We always walk here on Saturdays. It will never be the same again.”

It was joined by a tribute saying: “A community left numb. Our thoughts and prayers are with those that have died and the families and friends they leave behind. So very sad.”

Cath, Mitch and Ty Perks, of Hailsham, wrote a card which said: “Shoreham 11, may you live on forever in the hearts of those who love you and miss you. Rest in peace.”

It wasn’t only messages that were left but many poems and personal prayers too were also written on the cards, includingThis included one penned anonymously with love from “Shoreham-by-Sea” which read: “Your loving families will wonder why “This machine fell from the sky “To rob them from above “Of the ones they dearly love.

“While our stunned village grieves for you “There’s little else we can do “But share the terrible shock and pain “Of this tragedy, which will remain “Forever in our memory.”

Another simply said: “God rest all your brave people.”

Stored among the notes and messages lie six copies of The Argus. There is one edition from every day of the week after the crash which were donated to the community archive last year.

They chart the incident and the very early stages of the investigation but, most of all, pay tribute to the victims as they were identified.

Six books of condolence which were left in churches and buildings around the area for the weeks in the wake of the tragedy are also being stored.

In one left at Centenary House in Durrington, Lucy Hornby left a message which said: “What should have been a memorable event turned into a memorable disaster.”

Andrew and Claire Stobbs relayed the thoughts of many when they wrote: “Gone but never forgotten. Your memories will live on for ever.”