Site of former First World War training camp in Bexhill unearthed

Cooden Camp in Bexhill was used as a training base for troops sent to the front line during the First World War. Among those trained there were soldiers of the Royal Sussex Regiment which suffered devastating casualties on the Western Front on 30 June 1916 – known as The Day Sussex Died.

Housing company Bellway, which has planning permission to build 70 homes off Clavering Walk, on land which was part of the former camp, has commissioned the dig as part of the planning conditions for the new development.

The housebuilder has teamed up with Archaeology South-East – part of the UCL Institute of Archaeology – and the County Archaeologist at East Sussex County Council on the project, which will involve a two-week excavation with local volunteers later this month.

An exhibition day will be held once the dig is complete to give people an opportunity to find out more about the archaeological and historical significance of the site.

It is hoped that the study will shed new light on the role the camp played in the training of troops (Image: Paul Reed) Archaeology South-East will also work with local schools to deliver outreach sessions, and an expert from the team is set to give public lectures about the excavation.

It is hoped that the study will shed new light on the role the camp played in the training of troops and the living conditions they experienced.

Opened in 1914, Cooden Camp was used throughout the First World War, originally housing men who would form the 11th, 12th and 13th Battalions of the Royal Sussex Regiment.

The Sussex men who trained at the camp were involved in The Battle of the Boar’s Head at Richebourg-I’Avoué in France on June 30, 1916, when the three battalions suffered 1,100 casualties.

The camp was subsequently used as the temporary home of men in training from as far afield as South Africa and Australia, later becoming the site of a Princess Patricia’s Canadian Red Cross Hospital in 1918, before closing the following year.

Bathing parade at Gooden Camp (Image: Paul Reed) The excavation is taking place on the northern part of the site and is due to finish by December. It follows archaeological trial trench evaluations conducted in two phases between 2019 and 2021. This identified the extensive remains of features relating to the training camp and hospital.

Simon Stevens, project officer at Archaeology South-East who is leading the excavation, has a personal connection.

He said: “'My interest in The First World War originally stemmed from the service of my maternal grandfather, Charles Curl, 6th Battalion, East Kent Regiment, wounded twice, taken prisoner, a man who suffered both physically and mentally for the rest of his life.

“I have had the privilege to research the experiences of men from the Sussex village of Newick who served in the First World War over many years, some of whom trained at the camp and died at the Boar’s Head.

“I'm proud to be leading the archaeological team that will help to shed light on the sometimes all-too-short lives of the men who trained at Cooden.”