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Recruiting Office

Harold Place
Hastings WW1 Recruiting Station

This is a then and now image of the Recruiting Office for the Royal Naval Division (RND) and 5th Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment (RSR), situated on Harold Place in Hastings Town Centre.

The paper reported; “The window displayed a number of war souvenirs including Belgian and French cartridges, a German bullet, shrapnel and a mess tin that saved the life of Sergeant Major T Smith of the 2/5th Royal Sussex. Another relic is a piece of tattered kharki, a momento of the 9th May when the ‘Fearless Fifth’ gave such a good account of themselves. They now appeal to all able men to come forward and help them add to the glory already won by the regiment.

There are also models of torpedo boats and a waterplane and a number of large and small shells. In the present crisis the British Navy has proved its supremacy of the sea and the Royal Naval Division appeal to young men to step in and see that the supremacy is never broken.

Standing fifth from left is Able Seaman Holdren who has just completed forty years regular and voluntary service in the Navy. He is in charge of the Recruiting Office for the RND. Third from left is Sergeant Sullivan in charge of the Recruiting Office for the RSR”.

The original image is from the Hastings & St Leonards Pictorial Advertiser dated 21st October 1915.

The two photographs used to create the image, and the final combined 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 continuing series of Then and Now images I’ve created for East Sussex Council’s World War 1 commemoration website. The website is focused on the contribution that the men and women of East Sussex made towards the war effort.

Hastings WW1 Recruiting Station

Harold Place

Harold Place

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