Given the proximity to occupied France, Sussex was vital in the build up to D-Day. Americans and Canadians were camped here in their hundreds of thousands and towns and usually serene villages were swamped with tanks and heavy artillery. BY THE spring of 1944 whispers were spreading.
The South Downs resembled a mass army base, as half the Allied forces had set up camp. Cricket grounds had been taken over by Americans playing baseball, tanks rumbled through picture postcard villages and the top brass from both sides of the Atlantic had been spotted. Everyone knew something was about to happen but nobody knew where or when.
From the start of the year, troops began to arrive in Sussex. There were camps far and wide and headquarters set up at many of the country houses. The US Army 188th Field Artillery Group, 951st Battalion Field Artillery and 105th Medical Battalion were at Arundel, 15th Scottish Infantry at Cowfold, 3rd Battalion and 120th Light Infantry at Felpham and 51st Heavy Regiment at Rudgwick, to name a few.
Stanmer Park, Brighton , was one of the main camps with 2,800 men from the British 3rd Infantry Division. They left from Shoreham and Newhaven for Sword Beach. The Americans in particular caused quite a stir on their arrival.
While some found them brash, loud and obnoxious, most Sussex residents welcomed them. Residents were known to invite groups of soldiers in for cups of tea and cake (despite the stringent rationing) and elsewhere canteens were opened. Some eve.
