Kevin Gordon – författare

The Sussex seaside town of Eastbourne was developed as a resort from a collection of villages in the nineteenth century by the Duke of Devonshire. The new town grew rapidly and by the end of the nineteenth century Eastbourne was a large borough, attracting new residents and visitors. Eastbourne’s proximity to occupied France during the Second World War forced many away from the town, which suffered from repeated air raids and heavy loss of life and buildings. Recent decades have seen further significant changes to Eastbourne. It has become a conference centre and built a new marina on a shingle bank at the edge of the town and still continues to attract many, including to its beach, pier, parks and gardens, theatres and Beachy Head nearby. Over the years many notable characters have been associated with the town, including champion swimmers, racing drivers, scientists, air-aces and authors.Illustrated throughout, this fascinating book offers a marvellous and refreshingly positive insight into Eastbourne’s rich heritage, its special events and important moments. Celebrating Eastbourne will be a valuable contribution to the history of the town and provide a source of many memories to those who have known it well over the years.

For much of Eastbourne’s history it was a collection of small settlements on the Sussex coast. In the eighteenth century select visitors came to enjoy the sea air and the coast became fortified against the threat of invasion by Napoleon. The arrival of the railways in the Victorian era brought large numbers of people to the area and the town of Eastbourne grew rapidly. Despite its reputation as a sedate and somewhat classy seaside resort, Eastbourne has had its fair share of murders and other criminal activity. A strict Victorian schoolteacher beat one of his pupils to death, a bigamist tried to murder his two families and in 1912 Police Inspector Arthur Walls was shot dead as he tried to arrest a burglar. In the 1920s there were two shocking crimes committed on the Crumbles, a lonely stretch of beach. The subsequent sensational trial of Patrick Mahon made headlines around the world and was described by Alfred Hitchcock as ‘his favourite crime’. In the 1950s the trial of local doctor Bodkin Adams shocked the country when he was accused of murdering his rich elderly patients. Perhaps the strangest story is why the local constabulary was established. This was a result of a series of riots in the town caused by the Salvation Army!This collection of true-life crime stories gives a vivid insight into life in Eastbourne in the past. This book will fascinate anyone with an interest in the history of crime as well as those who want to know more about the history of Eastbourne.

For much of Eastbourne's history it was a collection of small settlements on the Sussex coast. In the eighteenth century select visitors came to enjoy the sea air and the coast became fortified against the threat of invasion by Napoleon. The arrival of the railways in the Victorian era brought large numbers of people to the area and the town of Eastbourne grew rapidly. Despite its reputation as a sedate and somewhat classy seaside resort, Eastbourne has had its fair share of murders and other criminal activity. A strict Victorian schoolteacher beat one of his pupils to death, a bigamist tried to murder his two families and in 1912 Police Inspector Arthur Walls was shot dead as he tried to arrest a burglar. In the 1920s there were two shocking crimes committed on the Crumbles, a lonely stretch of beach. The subsequent sensational trial of Patrick Mahon made headlines around the world and was described by Alfred Hitchcock as 'his favourite crime'. In the 1950s the trial of local doctor Bodkin Adams shocked the country when he was accused of murdering his rich elderly patients. Perhaps the strangest story is why the local constabulary was established. This was a result of a series of riots in the town caused by the Salvation Army!This collection of true-life crime stories gives a vivid insight into life in Eastbourne in the past. This book will fascinate anyone with an interest in the history of crime as well as those who want to know more about the history of Eastbourne.

Eastbourne’s long history from a medieval farming community to a fishing village and then a respected Victorian seaside resort is reflected in many buildings that still stand today. Until the nineteenth century the town was a collection of small settlements, at the heart of which was the town’s ancient parish church, and also a site of coastal fortifications. It begun to attract famous visitors as a resort in the Georgian era and then wealthy landowners developed the town following the arrival of the railways in the Victorian era, including building the grandest of Grand Hotels. The many prominent buildings in Eastbourne today are reminders of its history, from the pier, Martello tower and the iconic Beachy Head lighthouse to other lesser known but equally important buildings such as chapels, cinemas, schools, working-men’s clubs and even public toilets!Eastbourne in 50 Buildings explores the history of this town in East Sussex through a selection of its most interesting buildings and structures, showing the changes that have taken place over the years. The book will appeal to all those who live in Eastbourne or who have an interest in the area.

The elegant Victorian and Edwardian seaside resort of Eastbourne has a long and fascinating history. Local author and historian Kevin Gordon takes the reader on an enlightening and entertaining journey through the town’s past, delving beneath the surface to reveal dark deeds and strange tales with long-forgotten facts and amusing stories. Here you’ll meet royalty, abusive flower sellers and a bored saint, discover the murderous exploits of a teacher and even rioting salvationists. Secret Eastbourne lifts the lid on the hidden secrets that even many local people don’t know.

How the experience of war impacted on the town, from the initial enthusiasm for sorting out the German kaiser in time for Christmas 1914, to the gradual realization of the enormity of human sacrifice the families of Seaforth and Eastbourne were committed to as the war stretched out over the next four years. A record of the growing disillusion of the people, their tragedies and hardships and a determination to see it through. 

The Sussex seaside towns of Seaford and Eastbourne were closer to the action than most places; the sound of naval battles could be heard from the coast (and sometimes witnessed by those with a good pair of binoculars). When the wind was in the right direction the rumble of artillery from France bought the frontline into the streets. 

At the start of the Great War, Eastbourne was an elegant and blossoming resort and did its best to maintain its tourist trade despite the arrival of soldiers, aeroplanes, refugees and the wounded. Seaford was a much smaller resort with a population of under 4,000 however thousands of troops from all over the Empire were billeted in the area either at private homes or in two massive camps. The Seaford camps were the venue for training, parades, fighting, murder and even rioting. 

Nearby Newhaven became an important port in which provisions were transported to the front. Conscientious Objectors, some under threat of the death penalty worked on the docks and the nearby roads. 

In his book “Seaford and Eastbourne in the Great War” local historian, Kevin Gordon tells the story of how the conflict affected, not only these seaside towns but also of the soldiers (many of them teenagers) who answered the call to battle. It is a story of spies, schoolchildren and sacrifice; a story that, for many, ended in the cemetery at Seaford which today is one of the largest Commonwealth War Graves in the South of England.