Some surprising facts about Brighton & Hove’s experience in WW2.
- The first air raid warning in Brighton sounded at 11:17am on 3 September 1939
- The first raid actually happened on 15 July 1940
- There were 56 raids in total
- The last raid happened on 22 March 1944
- 381 high explosive bombs were dropped over Brighton and Hove, plus many, many incendiary bombs
- The air sirens sounded 1058
- 198 civilians were killed; 357 seriously injured; 433 slightly injured (988 total)
- Over 5,000 houses were damaged and approximately 200 completely destroyed
- Brighton’s Air Raid Precautions (A.R.P.) service led the way in Britain in their response to raids. They were the first to place observers on high points in the town to quickly identify the position of incidents, a practice that was soon copied elsewhere.
- The town also pioneered setting up liaison centres near new bomb sites rather than making displaced people go to a central office.
- The Headquarters of the Women’s Land Army was in Balcombe, Sussex. Find out more in our blog ‘Lady Denman, Woman of Action’