Eastbournethroughthewars

05/06/2026

This gas mark and handgrenade are among the exhibits in the interactive exhibition in the Tower of St John’s Church in St John’s Road, Meads BN20 7ND. The exhibition is open 2-4pm on Saturdays and includes five specially-made short films about the men from Meads who are named on the war memorial in the Tower as well as films about Eastbourne in the Second World War. The memorabilia is on loan from the Royal Sussex Regiment.

15/05/2026

This silk handkerchief was embroidered in the First World War from parachute silk. It is one of the exhibits on loan from the Royal Sussex Regiment in the interactive exhibition in the Tower of St John’s Church in St John’s Road, Meads BN20 7ND. The exhibition opens 2-4pm on Saturdays and includes five specially-made short films about the men from Meads who are named on the war memorial in the Tower and films about Eastbourne in the Second World War.

08/05/2026

This war memorial in the tower at St John's Church, Meads names the 69 local men who died in the First World War. The small exhibition includes 5 specially made short films with details of the men’s lives and the story of Eastbourne in WWII. There’s an interactive map - if you live locally you can see if one of the men lived in your house or the site of your flat. There are child-size replica uniforms to try on and wartime memorabilia on loan from the Royal Sussex Regiment. This free exhibition is run by volunteers and is open 2-4pm on Saturdays - the entrance is on the St John’s Road side of the building.

25/04/2026

25/04/2026

Did you know that the tower at St John's Church, Meads once had a small spire? A short film on show in the Eastbourne Through the Wars exhibition tells the story of what happened in May 1942 when the church was destroyed. The tower and its war memorial are all that remain of the original building, though the faith that sustained the congregation then and now is undiminished. Every Saturday 2-4pm, you can visit the tower and watch five short films telling the story of the events of 1942 and the men of Meads who died in WW1.

18/04/2026