by Victoria
One of the hidden gems of our collections here at The
Redoubt comes in the form of our library; where we house an extensive
collection of books, newspapers, diaries and journals, among various other
documents. As a history fanatic, history graduate and book lover,
this is a room where I feel very much at home; nestled amidst the fascinating range of
documents and the comforting smell of old books (which certainly isn’t to
everyone’s taste!).
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| A glimpse at the many books in the Redoubt's library |
The contents of the library vary in style, date, language
and authorship, and in terms of conservation, sadly also differ in their
condition. At a brief glance, subjects covered in the collection include; First
World War, Second World War and the Crimean War, histories of Eastbourne, different defences
and weaponry and biographies of
prominent figures such as Winston Churchill and Horatio Nelson. They include
personal accounts, regimental stories, national reports, photographs and
pamphlets and could provide endless hours of entertainment and intrigue – if only
I had the time to sit and read them all!
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| A selection of books on defensive methods and weaponry |
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| Some of our biographical works |
One of the pieces I have had a chance to look at was a
small book entitled Front Line
Eastbourne, published by T. R. Beckett Ltd. in March 1945. The book is an
illustrated work showing some of the effects and damage caused to Eastbourne
during the Second World War when it suffered enemy bombing on numerous occasions,
destroying many of the town’s buildings and streets.
On one day alone, May 11th 1941 around 60 bombs were dropped on Old Town causing numerous devastating fires. Similarly, on October 26th 1942, more than 50 houses were damaged and records say 14 died and 22 were injured after bombs were dropped across Eastbourne.
On one day alone, May 11th 1941 around 60 bombs were dropped on Old Town causing numerous devastating fires. Similarly, on October 26th 1942, more than 50 houses were damaged and records say 14 died and 22 were injured after bombs were dropped across Eastbourne.
The author of this book writes that it is a “tribute to the stout-hearted residents who kept the flag flying” during these raids and the others like it.
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| Front Line Eastbourne |
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| Photographs showing some of the damage to Eastbourne's homes and buildings |
Another interesting piece which I was lucky enough to
find is a set of cartoons which were compiled into the book Fragments from France. This book
contains 7 volumes of images created by Captain Bruce Bairnsfather during his
time in the First World War. His cartoons were meant to boost the
morale of his fellow soldiers and those still at home, and were originally
published in the weekly magazine The
Bystander, starting in March 1915. Looking back on these cartoons now, it
is of course difficult to comprehend how it would have felt to see them at the
time, but reactions to these witty and intelligent images seem to have for the
most part been positive and thankfully Bairnsfather’s work has lived on. Perhaps
his most famous piece adorns the first page of this book and can be seen below…
“Well, if you knows of a better ‘ole, Go to it.”
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| One of Bairnsfather's most iconic cartoons, depicting life in the trenches. |
Due to the delicacy of these books and documents, the library is only for the museum's private use and storage, but for now I hope this has provided a small insight into what is hidden away in our library, and I personally hope to be able to continue discovering and studying more of these works to share with you as the season goes on.
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