A special service was held at Trinity Church, Hastings on in February 1915. The colours of the 5th (Cinque Ports) Battalion of the Royal Sussex Brigade were temporarily laid up at the church. This ceremony occurred a few days before the battalion was shipped to France. The image above shows the parade through town after the ceremony was complete.

In France they were made part of the 48th (South Midland) Division and turned into a Pioneer Battalion. Pioneers, addition to their fighting duties,were required to dig trenches, put up barbed wire and move supplies. The 48th took part in several major battles including Auber’s Ridge, the Somme and the Third Battle of Ypres. More information about their service can be read here.

The two photographs used to create the image are below. You can view the top image full size on my Flickr page by clicking on it.

This image is part of a series of Then and Now images I’ve created for East Sussex Council’s World War 1 commemoration website. The website is focussed on the contribution that the men and women of East Sussex made towards the war effort.