This website contains a photo gallery of over 5,400 men and women who lived in or had links to Hastings, St Leonards and the Rother area that served their country during World War One. The images and information about these individuals have been extracted from pdf copies of the Hastings and St Leonards Pictorial Advertiser.
Searching this website
In most cases each person listed on this website has an address, regiment or ship name and the name of the person that submitted the photo to the paper. Use the search function to find the person you are looking for. If you are a just browsing, view the individual records, or the ‘Regiments, Ships and Places‘ page.
About this website
The Pictorial Advertiser was a bi weekly publication. I have been provided with copies starting from August 1914 to March 1918. From the September 1914 editions, families of the men who volunteered to serve started sending photographs to the Advertiser. The paper published them, and soon this was a popular way for families to demonstrate how and where their sons, daughters, brothers and husbands were serving.
The photographs are often grainy and information scant and yet they are an important record of the people from the Hastings area that did their part in the war.
The copies of the paper are freely available from the East Sussex County Library Service. They have been scanned and you can search the archives, but the search function is limited.
I hope that by doing this work you will be able to find out more about a relative and maybe even see what they looked like for the first time.
View Comments (14)
Thank you for wonderful webpage!
Thank you June.
I already had copies of the actual newspaper pages showing my 3 great uncles's grainy photos, but to be able to print off the enlargements for two of them is absolutely fantastic. Many , many thanks for your wonderful effort. I hope to find the third one and will keep looking at your site.
Thanks Jo. There are a lot records to put up on this site, so hopefully your other uncle will be one of them.
I have info on a soldier who came from Hastings his mother was born here .also ...he emigrated to Australia so fought with the Australian forces in WW1 ....his mother also emigrated soon after taking 3 children with her....his name is George Redman Featherstone....I can give you more details but I haven't got a photo....he would have been my second cousin
Hi Chris. Yes, by all means let me know George's details and I'll add them to the site.It may be that as I work through the copies of the newspaper his photograph will turn up. There were a large number of men born in Hastings & St Leonards that moved to Australia. On the Anzac remembrance site you can view George Featherstone's enlistment book here: http://australiaremembers.net.au/anzacstories/anzac/?aid=321233&let=#book5/page2-page3
Fantastic – this is brilliant
Hi Chris,
I can’t thank you enough for all your hard work. My three great uncles AE Morfee, HJ Morfee & WG Morfee died in WW1 with only one of them being buried in a recognised grave (AE Morfee). However, we didn’t have any photographs of them until I found them on your web page.
Shame on whoever engraved their names on the Hastings War Memorial as “Morfer” but thanks for noting that it is wrongly spelled.
Thank you for your kind words Diane, I'm pleased that you were able to find these photographs of your great uncles. Kind Regards, Kieron.
I am looking for my great grandfather Edward Roberts who died on the SS Hollington. WW1 l would like to know where he was born and when and his mother and fathers names and occupations maybe with luke a photo.
Hi my husbands great grandfather is commemorated at Vis -En – Artois having died in world war one 29th Sept 1918 . We have his name his regiment and his number but never have we found a photograph of him . He was with the Royal Sussex Regiment . Can you point us in the right direction that we may be lucky enough to find a photo . We have visited Vis-En-Artois a few times and have found his name but a photo would be great . Thanking you in advance Jayne Hylands
Hi John. Thank you for taking the time to comment. Did Edward Roberts live in Hastings, St Leonards or the surrounding area? If so his photograph may appear on this website as I go through the papers I am working from. If not, unfortunately I won't be able to help with your enquiry. Kind Regards, Kieron.
Hi Jayne, if you search this website for the name and regiment of this soldier on the website you may find him here. The photographs are all from the same newspaper, focused mainly on Hastings, St Leonards and the surrounding area. Good luck with your search! Kind Regards. Kieron.