West Sussex County Council: Military History (Royal Sussex Regiment)

The archives deposited in the West Sussex Record Office since 1979 consist of documents, photographs, audio-visual records and printed works derived from both official and private sources covering the history of the Regiment from its establishment in 1701 as the 35th Regiment of Foot to its amalgamation in The Queen's Regiment in 1966.

To date the collection comprises some 200 boxes of documents, 40,000 photographs, 1,250 printed books and 50 films.

Of particular interest are Lieutenant John Hildebrand's detailed recollections of the Napoleonic Wars; the illustrated diary of Captain Lionel Trafford of the ill-fated expedition to relieve General Gordon at Khartoum in 1884-85; and 600 photographs taken in South Africa by 2^nd Lieutenant Rowland Paget during the Boer War.

The collection is particularly rich for the First World War and includes:

• Official series of Nominal Rolls
• Casualty Lists
• Unit War Diaries 
• Battalion Orders
• Diaries and Service Papers of officers and other ranks 

The Record Office also offers free access to the Ancestry.com website which includes databases for World War One Medal cards, Service and Pension Papers. The Record Office also has CD-ROM versions of Soldiers Died in the Great War and the Second World War.

The County Archivist would welcome the donation of any records relating to the Regiment for preservation in the archives.

The Catalogue

The archives are listed in The Royal Sussex Regiment. A Catalogue of Records by A.E. Readman Price £9 including p&p.  An online catalogue of The Royal Sussex Regiment is now available via our Search Online facility.

A video on the history of the regiment was produced in 2001 to mark the centenary of the regiment and is avaialable price £13.20 (including p&p). A DVD version will be available in 2011.

The Research Service

The Record Office offers a research service for those unable to visit the Record Office. Further details are available on the Research Service page.