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.
These are 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 2nd 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; and
- 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 who 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 through 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 available 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.