Learning more about Hastings in the 1940s...
Victoria Seymour is a long-time resident of Hastings.
Mrs Seymour has published three books to date: Letters from Lavender Cottage, Letters to Hannah and Court in the Act.
Inspired by an inquiry through a message board, Letters from Lavender Cottage is a collection of real letters written between 1942 and 1955. "They were an interesting account of history and certainly worthy of publication, so I did some research and added some background to the letters plus some material from my own life," said Mrs Seymour.
The book tells of the domestic hardships inflicted on the Hastings populace as a result of war, along with personal comment, biographical detail and pictures.Canadian relatives come to the rescue of Lavender Cottage occupants, sending food and comforts to the household during harsh and austere times. The story of the three elderly ladies, who live in the cottage and cope with post war shortages is heart-warming, funny and touching.
Letters from Lavender Cottage is now also available as an audio book. The narrative is read by the book’s author, Victoria Seymour and its main character, Emilie Crane, is brought to life by Hastings actress and singer, Maxine Roach. Sound editing, production and musical interludes are by Tim White. The three CDs run for 3 hours 40 minutes.
Letters to Hannah visits the lives of ordinary people, who endured extraordinary times. Among many others is the account of a Battle lad, born in a cottage beside the famous 1066 battlefield. Aged fifteen he enlisted as a Home Guard, the youngest member in the country at that time, a Hastings, wartime milk delivery girl details her working and family life under fire and a young first aid volunteer highlights the horrors of bomb and machine gun attacks on civilians.
Letters to Hannah is rich in anecdotes and information on food rationing and shortages, the blackout, air raids, population evacuation and civil defence. The book provides a moving and factual account of wartime Hastings.
Extracts from Letters to Hannah were included in the BBC Radio 4 history series, The Archive Hour, in July 2003.
Court in the Act, which completes the trilogy, concentrates on the work of the police force, the magistrates' and other courts in WWII Hastings. As the effects of war took hold, there was hardly any aspect of home front life that was not controlled by some Government Act, Regulation or Order, putting even more pressure on already overworked police officers.
There passed before the magistrates' courts a parade of 'spies', aliens, pacifists, looters, wartime racketeers and small-time criminals. Added to these were hundreds of usually law-abiding people, who found themselves in court for flouting often not properly understood laws. Sentences were handed down that sounded like something out of 19th Century history: A fine for stealing one onion from an allotment, a few apples from a tree or vegetable peelings from a dustbin or a month in prison for allowing light to escape from behind a curtain.
Meanwhile, the formidable Government Enforcers stalked the land incognito, seeking to trap unwary traders and citizens and bring them to justice. Police Court reports from the period 1939 to 1945 give an insight into a little discussed aspect of the locality in WWII. “Vigilant”, The Hastings and St Leonards Observer's 1940s columnist, provides background, with comment on the foibles and morals of a seaside town under fire.
If you haven't already done so, you should also visit Mrs Seymour's site to read an account of filming Foyle's War in Hastings in 2002 as well as a very interesting article detailing the bombing of Hastings in WWII.