L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, lived at Saint Hill, to the south of the town, and the manor is the British headquarters of the Church of Scientology.

To the north of the town is the Mormon London England Temple.

Opus Dei and the Rosicrucians both own property in the town.

The strange co-incidence of such a number of religious organisations being headquartered in the town prompted a documentary in 1994, Why East Grinstead?, which was produced for Channel 4 by Zed Productions and directed by Ian Sellar. The documentary didn’t come to any definite conclusions: the explanations ranging from the fact that East Grinstead sat on the convergence of ley lines to the more prosaic idea that the various reglious inquirers had settled there because they liked the views.
One of the most impressive buildings in the town is St. Swithun’s church which has been on its present site since the 11th century. The building was struck by lightning in 1772 and rebuilt to designs by Wyatt. It was opened in 1789. There are also three other Anglican churches (St Barnabas, St Luke and St Mary); West Street Baptist chapel; Our Lady and St Peter Roman Catholic church; Trinity Methodist church; and a United Reformed Church in the town.

The Prime Meridian, also known as the International Meridian or Greenwich Meridian, is the meridian (line of longitude) passing through the Royal Greenwich Observatory, Greenwich, England — it is the meridian at which longitude is defined to be 0 degrees. The prime meridian, and the opposite 180th meridian (at 180° longitude), which the International Date Line generally follows, separates the eastern and western hemispheres.

Unlike the parallels of latitude, which are defined by the rotational axis of the Earth (the poles being 90° and the Equator, 0°), the prime meridian is arbitrary, and multiple meridians have been used through history as the prime meridians of various mapmaking systems. The Greenwich Meridian was agreed upon as the international standard in October 1884. At the behest of U.S. President Chester A. Arthur, 41 delegates from 25 nations met in Washington, D.C., USA, for the International Meridian Conference. France abstained when the vote was taken, and French maps continued to use the Paris Meridian for several decades.

Heading south from the North Pole, the Prime Meridian passes through the following countries:

• The United Kingdom (note London is in both the Western Hemisphere and Eastern Hemisphere due to the proximity of the Prime Meridian)
• France
• Spain
• Algeria
• Mali
• Burkina Faso
• Togo
• Ghana

and finally joins all other longitude lines in Antarctica at the South Pole.

The zero meridian used by satellite navigation systems (on the WGS84 datum) is 102.5 metres to the east of the line marked at Greenwich.[1] The plane of this geodetic meridian passes through the centre of the Earth, unlike the plane of the astronomical meridian which contains the direction of gravity (indicated by a plumb line) which points opposite to the direction of the zenith, to which astronomical instruments are aligned. The angle between these two meridian planes at the Royal Observatory, the east-west component of vertical deflection, is 5.31″. The WGS84 datum is an average of the various continental drifts. As a result, the astronomical meridian through Airy’s transit instrument drifts toward the east as it is carried by the European portion of the Eurasian tectonic plate, closer to the geodetic meridian, by about one centimetre per year.

The zero meridian used by the Ordnance Survey (OSGB36 datum) is about six metres to the west of the line marked at Greenwich. This was the standard meridian before 1851, and the Ordnance Survey simply continued to use it.

Universal Time is notionally based on the WGS84 meridian. However, the standard international time UTC can be discrepant from the observed time on the meridian by up to about one second, because of changes in the earth’s rotation. Leap seconds are inserted periodically to keep UTC in sync with the earth. One second theoretically corresponds to a variation in longitude of roughly 300 metres either way on the ground at Greenwich.

The Greenwich Meridian is now marked at night by a laser beam emitted from the observatory.

A walk along the historic High Street will take you back through 800 years of Sussex heritage, it boasts many historic half timbered buildings and open hall houses in the UK. Some buildings date from the 15th and 16th centuries and there are splendid examples from Georgian and Regency times too.

Other notable buildings in the town include Sackville College, the sandstone almshouse built in 1609 where the Christmas carol “Good King Wenceslas” was written.

On the outskirts of the town is Standen, a country house containing one of the best collections of Arts and Crafts movement furnishings and fabrics.

Local attractions include Ashdown Forest (where the Winnie the Pooh stories are set) and the Bluebell Railway, a preserved heritage line with steam locomotives.

The town is also the site of Queen Victoria Hospital, where famed plastic surgeon Archibald McIndoe treated burn victims of World War II and formed the Guinea Pig Club.

‘The above photograph depicts the “aeroplane” without engines, made by members of the 1st East Grinstead Troop of Boy Scouts’

It should be remembered that the inscribed slabs in the churchyard of St. Swithun’s are only a memorial and that the ashes of the martyrs do not lie underneath. It is not known where the actual remains are although it is thought that they are somewhere in the churchyard. There are some ashes under the slabs but these were in fact dug up in the High Street early this century.. People had been finding ashes as far back as the beginning of the 19th Century and each find give rise to the claim that these were the remains of the martyrs.

Clearly this was not so and Lady Musgrave, who was somewhat more pious, arranged for the memorial slabs to be laid and inscribed. (Date not known)

It should also be remembered that they were burned as heretics, not witches. As far as the three having any other common link is concerned, there may possibly have been some inter-connection through marriage links but we do not know for certain of any other connection apart from the obvious one that they were all significant in their single-minded adherence to their faith.

We do not know if there are any descendants of Anne Tree, or John Forman but there are, today, ‘Dunngates’ who, in tracing their genealogy, are believe to have established a link with Thomas Dunngate.

There is no doubt, however, that the exact spot of the burning was in the High Street, outside of what is now Broadley Brothers and that there were three separate stakes.

The Latin inscription on the Memorial in St. Swithun’s Churchyard records that they were “Faithful unto death”.

Source: St. Swithun’s

The first recruitment meeting in East Grinstead took place at St. Swithun’s Church on the 30th August, 1914. The East Grinstead Recruiting Committee organised several meetings during the next two weeks and on 12th September and on 12th September the East Grinstead Observer announced that ninety-four people in the town had joined the army.

Sermon given by Rev. W. Youard at St. Swithun’s Church, East Grinstead (30th August, 1914)

I would say to every able-bodied young man in East Grinstead… to offer yourself without a moment’s delay in the service of your country… War, horrible as it is, is capable under God of doing much good… 500,000 have been asked for, 100,000 have been almost secured in a fortnight. They should have been secured in two days. Go straight to the recruiting officer and offer yourself. That is the plain duty of every able-bodied young man today.

W. J. Chalk, letter in the East Grinstead Observer (5th September,1914)

I condemn those who do not immediately join… The sooner men join the sooner they will be trained and the sooner they will have the honour and credit of fighting and striking that blow for England and freedom which must in the end prevail.

Training camps rarely had enough huts for men. Most of the recruits had to sleep in tents. Conditions in these tents in winter were appalling and there were several examples of soldiers going on strike. Eventually it was decided to billet the men in local towns and villages. This also created serious problems. One soldier, Charles Cain, admitted later that the recruits sometimes took advantage of their hosts: “ten soldiers were billeted to one women who had three teenage daughters, and the mother and all the daughters finished up the family way.”

People in East Grinstead became very concerned about the activities of the soldiers in the town. In 1915 a Women’s Patrol was set up in an effort to stop local women from becoming too friendly with the soldiers. However, an increasing number of single women became pregnant. Between 1914 and 1918 the illegitimacy rate increased by 30%.

Ronald McNeill, a Conservative M.P. advocated that the State should adopt these ‘war babies’. McNeill argued that these children should be put into institutions and prevented from getting married. Mrs. Godwin of Melrose House was the main supporter of this campaign in East Grinstead,

Chris Swanson and James Smith (Sackville School)

London Rifle Brigade marching up London Road
in East Grinstead on 10th September 1914 Past what is now Lloyds TSB

The campaign to obtain a more significant war trophy continued for the next six months. Eventually, in November, 1919, Lord Leconfield wrote to the East Grinstead Urban Council with the news that the War Office had agreed to present the town with a captured German 77mm Field Gun.

When the gun arrived on 19th April, 1920, it was placed in the High Street. However, some local men who had served in the army during the war, objected to a German gun being on display in the town. On the 24th April, a group of men took the gun and pushed it into the pond at Dunnings Mill. The gun remained in the pond until August 1920 when the council gave permission to the owner of Dunnings Mill, Arthur Musgrave, to dispose of it.

The German gun in Dunnings Mill Pond in April, 1920.

East Grinstead Urban Council minutes (3rd February, 1919)

A small German machine-gun has been sent to the town as a souvenir and in recognition of its highly successful efforts on behalf of the War Loans. It was proposed by Mr. Rice and seconded by Mr. Burt that the gun be returned and the opinion expressed that the town desired something that could be placed on public exhibition in the street. The proposal was carried unanimously.

East Grinstead Urban Council minutes (19th April, 1920)

The Surveyor reported a captured German field gun had been presented to the town and asked for instructions as to where it had to be placed. It was resolved that it be left to the Roads and Bridges Committee to find a suitable temporary position for the gun.

East Grinstead Urban Council minutes (26th April, 1920)

The Surveyor reported that the captured German gun which had been placed in the High Street was removed on the 24th April by some persons unknown and thrown into the stream at Dunnings Mill, and that the fence alongside the stream had been damaged. The Roads and Bridges Committee recommended that the Surveyor communicate to the Police with a view to obtaining the names of some of the persons concerned so that they may be prosecuted.

On 30th August 1914, the Rev. W. Youard gave a sermon at St. Swithun’s Church, East Grinstead, where he urged local young men to join what were now called ‘pals battalions’. He suggested that the local sports clubs should close down so that young men would not be tempted to stay behind. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who was living at neighbouring Crowborough at the time, joined the campaigned and told local men that: “If the cricketer had a straight eye let him look along the barrel of a rifle. If a footballer had strength of limb let them serve and march in the field of battle.”

In September Mrs. E. Cunliffe-Owen gained permission from Lord Kitchener to raise a sportsman’s battalion. This battalion included two famous cricketers and the Lightweight boxing champion of England. Later, a group of friends in London formed a footballers’ battalion. Several members of the East Grinstead football team joined the Middlesex Regiment’s Football Battalion.

Pals battalions made up a significant proportion of Kitchener’s army. Between September 1914 and June 1916, a total of 351 infantry battalions were raised by the War Office through the traditional channels whereas 643 battalions were raised locally.

Michael Freshwater & Stuart Aitchison (Sackville School)

Sermon given by Rev. W. Youard at St. Swithun’s Church, East Grinstead (30th August, 1914).

I would say to every able-bodied young man in East Grinstead to offer yourself without delay in the service of your country. The Welsh Rugby Union Committee has passed a resolution declaring it the duty of all football players to join immediately. Blackheath Rugby Football Club has cancelled all its matches for the same reason. That is the right spirit. I hope it will be imitated by our own clubs. Go straight to the recruiting officer and offer yourself. That is the plain duty of every able-bodied young man today.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, recruiting speech made on 6th September, 1914.

There was a time for all things in the world. There was a time for games, there was a time for business, there was a time for domestic life. There was a time for everything, but there is only time for one thing now, and that thing is war. If the cricketer had a straight eye let him look along the barrel of a rifle. If a footballer had strength of limb let them serve and march in the field of battle.

The East Grinstead Observer (19th August, 1916)

Casualties among East Grinstead men reported this week includes Lance Corporal A. J. Tyler of the Middlesex Regiment (Footballers’ Battalion) has been wounded in the leg and shoulder. He is widely known as the one of our best local football players and very many will join in the sincere wish for his speedy and complete recovery.

The East Grinstead Observer (20th April, 1918)

Private A. E. Joseph has been killed in action. He was the son of Rev. F. and Mrs. Joseph of Dormandsland. He was the third son they have lost in the war. Private Joseph was formerly in the employ of Young & Sons, 43-49 High Street, East Grinstead, and was the captain of the football team. He was a young fellow who had many friends, and his sad end has caused a general feeling of reject.

The East Grinstead Observer (11th May, 1918)

Private A. Ellis, formerly one of our best known football players, is now at the Royal Pavilion Hospital at Brighton. He has lost both legs and has been in Roehampton and fitted with artificial limbs.

At 5.10 PM one pilot became separated from the other planes and decided that he would find another target before he returned home. A few minutes later he saw a train entering East Grinstead Station. He circled the town twice before dropping his bombs on the High Street.

One hit the Whitehall Cinema and others landed on several shops in the High Street and the London Road. As a result of the raid 108 people were killed and 235 were seriously injured. It was the largest loss of life in any air raid in Sussex.

Mrs. Pope lived in London Road, East Grinstead, during the raid. Her account appeared in the local newspaper a week after the incident.

I was standing in front of my door when the plane came over the house-tops. I saw the bombs drop and I shouted out, ‘he’s bombing the cinema’. Then there was an explosion and I saw the cinema had been hit. The plane went away, circled round the town and came back straight towards me. It opened up with its machine-guns. My husband fell flat on the garden path. Bullets went over his head and knocked chips off the opposite wall.

In 1945, T. P. Peters, an Air Raid Warden in East Grinstead, wrote about his experiences during the Second World War in his book, Reminiscences (1945).

I was in Norton House when the alert went. I said to Mr. Towler, Head Warden, ‘I will just check up on the shelters.’ I had just left the back of the Scotch Wool Shop and got to Bridgland’s when the bombs dropped. I was blown across the road into the building opposite. My mind soon cleared. I looked around - people were lying all round me terribly injured, blown from I do not know where. I was the only uninjured person present. Bullets were flying round as the raider had returned and was machine-gunning the town.

Mrs. C. Putterick was working at the East Grinstead Post Office during the raid. She was interviewed about her experiences in 1993.

We were working in the telephone exchange when the air raid warnings were given out. Scarcely had it been passed than we heard the sound of the plane diving down on us. There was a sound of an explosion, windows rattled and the whole room shook. Every light on the switchboard suddenly started flashing and it was impossible at that time to know exactly what had happened. We were scarcely able to breathe because of our anxiety.

East Grinstead Courier (16th July, 1943)

Death dealing blows were struck at the heart of a quiet South-East town soon after 5 o’clock on Friday, when one of about ten enemy raiders swept in from the coast to cause havoc in the shopping centre, and a large number of casualties among men, women and children. The majority of the casualties were in a cinema, where a bomb scored a direct hit. It was there that the death toll was heavy.

Within a few minutes of this ruthless attack on an open town, Civil Defence workers, including police and the N.F.S. as well as troops and members of the Home Guard, were on the scene effecting rescues. Members of the public also helped in the heroic task. The combined services accomplished many feats of skill and daring, and worked feverishly throughout the late afternoon and night.

There were many harrowing scenes as children and women were recovered from the debris. A newspaper office was used for a mortuary, and later the bodies were taken to a garage where they were left for identification purposes. Not half of the victims had been identified by Sunday.

The attack on this quiet little country town will long be remembered for the manner in which defenceless women and children were massacred, and the viciousness of the attack by the Nazi raider on a locality which had no military pretensions. The one high explosive which caused the greater number of casualties was that which penetrated the roof of the attractive cinema. It actually dropped among the cheaper seats, which were mainly occupied by women and children. The cinema, which had a seating accommodation for 400, was fairly full at the time. Most of the children in the audience had gone to the cinema straight from school, a regular Friday night ‘habit’ among them.

One by one, and two by two, pale faced and lifeless children were brought out of the ruins. Some were found almost naked with their clothes blasted from them. It was a sickening scene, one which brought tears even to the stoutest hearts among the gallant lot of rescuers who toiled on through the night.

One man was told it was time to rest. The rescuer looked up, inwardly moved, but not betraying a sign of emotion, replied: “No, I work on. Under this rubble is my wife. I must find her.” And so he went on toiling. Also under the brick and dust was a worker’s sister-in-law. He dug her out and went on looking for her child.

Load after load of broken glass was swept up by soldiers and other Civil Defence workers and carted away out of sight. By Saturday morning those hard workers had cleared much of the debris. And while many worked on to make the road less like a shambles, there were several shopkeepers who were actually doing business with customers on the pavements instead of their damaged shops. One young woman was taking orders for delivery of groceries that morning. The order included cheese and streaky bacon. This had to be served up from the bombed shop. In the afternoon there was a sad queuing up of relatives at the garage

John Parsons, aged 13, was in Whitehall Cinema during the air raid. He was interviewed about the raid in the local newspaper a week after the incident.

I went to the cinema straight after school with a friend. We saw the news and while a cowboy film was showing the bombs fell. I was sitting in the front row - in the ‘tenpennies’. The first thing I knew was a sort of crackling which ran along the ceiling. The exit lights and the film went out at the same moment and the place was in complete darkness. Bits of debris started flying about I got on the floor in less than a second. I crawled along in front of the seats, jumped up and ran to the exit. Just as I was going up the steps there was an explosion. Then I felt a pain in my face and found I had been cut. When I came out I heard machine-gun fire and I stepped back inside again. When the firing stopped I left the cinema.

East Grinstead Observer (17th July, 1943)

Late on Friday afternoon a small number of enemy aircraft crossed the Southeast Coast. Bombs were dropped at different places. Two enemy bombers were brought down - one near Caterham and one near Sittingbourne - and both exploded, the crews being killed. A county town in the Southeast area was attacked, and a cinema was hit, causing a large number of casualties, including many children.

Suddenly the roar of a plane approaching the town from the north was heard. It swooped down out of the low-lying clouds and it was then that shoppers and other people realised that the twin-engined bomber was a German. It roared over the town, circled twice and then dropped several bombs. One made a direct hit on a cinema, another on an ironmonger’s shop higher up the road, another on a builder’s and ladies’ outfitters and one fell near a factory.

In the cinema was an audience of 184 - the majority being children - who were trapped when the bomb fell. Following the
news came a cowboy film, during which the usual notice of an air raid being in progress was displayed, so that anybody who wished to leave might do so. Few people left, but among them was one schoolboy.

Suddenly there was a terrific crash, and to use the words of one survivor, the whole building seemed to collapse like a pack of cards, trapping most of the audience.

Molly Stiller, daughter of an officer in the Home Guard, was the only member of the cinema staff to be killed. She worked in the cinema as an usherette. Mr. Herbert Brackpool was busy in his bakehouse making jam tarts. Suddenly the roof split open and through the opening fell the bodies of four women. All four were dead. Mr. Brackpool, knowing that his son was at the cinema rushed to join the rescue workers. Presently one of Mr. Brackpool’s colleagues came across the boy’s dead body.

A little further up the road from the cinema, a large ironmonger’s shop received a direct hit and a fire spread rapidly. The company secretary had a miraculous escape. He was near the top of the building which was four stories high when he suddenly felt himself falling. He went through two floors before coming to a rest. He was able to cling to a ledge - behind him another room was blazing - until rescued by ladders.

The fire spread rapidly to the adjoining premises on the south-side, a cycle shop and the jeweller’s, which, like the ironmonger’s was gutted by nightfall. Further destruction was wrought in another street where some old buildings stood. A small millinery shop received a direct hit and collapsed killing the manageress. A builder’s premises next door was burnt to the ground and a ladies’ gown shop was wrecked. A number of members of staff were killed or injured.

Another bomb dropped to the rear of a stationer’s shop - one of the oldest buildings in the town. The proprietor and his wife have since died from their injuries.

The work of all branches of the Civil Defence was magnificent. Shortly after the bombs fell the N.F.S. were on the scene pumping water on the burning buildings. They managed to save a public house and a warehouse from total demolition and by nightfall they had the fires under control. Rescue squads, assisted by soldiers, members of the Home Guard, Special Police, and many ordinary citizens went straight to their task and worked grimly throughout the night. Mr. Frederick Whales, a railwayman who is also an air raid warden, unearthed the body of his niece, Molly Stiller.

E.G. Outsell, a sergeant of the special police, reported for duty despite the fact that he suffered injury by a machine-gun bullet. He was outside his shop when the plane machine-gunned the town and received a graze across his stomach from a bullet. After treatment he went on duty. Special Constable Golding was in a train that was machine-gunned and on his arrival home he found that his daughter had gone to the cinema for the first time for many months. Despite his great anxiety he reported for duty and later was relieved to hear that his daughter, except for cuts and bruises, was safe. Special Constable Prodger was on duty throughout the night knowing, too, that his daughter was in the cinema. She was among the killed.

Eric Parsons escaped from this ordeal because of his interest in rabbits. “I go to the cinema every Friday evening” he said. “This was the first Friday I have missed for months. Instead of spending my money on the pictures I saved it in order to enter my two rabbits in our school rabbit show.”

Robert Jack, an agricultural worker, was in Whitehall Cinema during the air raid. He was interviewed about the raid in the local newspaper a week after the incident.

I had been given permission to take the afternoon off after completing certain errands, and for want of something better to do I went to the cinema. I took a seat at the rear of the hall. I had missed the opening of the film and was wondering what the picture was all about when I heard the crash of a bomb which fell nearby. The audience became restive, though not in any way panicky, but the majority, including myself, decided things were getting a little hot and we got up from our seats. It was all very orderly and the gangways were filled with people making their way casually to the street. I suppose about half the audience were on their feet and half had decided to remain. I had just reached the door and had my hand on it when there was an awful crash and I had a glimpse of the whole cinema filled with smoke and flames. Then something hit me on the head. When I came to I was lying in a heap in a seat ten rows away from the door. My head was bleeding and I heard groans. I was able to drag myself away and collapsed in the arms of one of the rescue workers.

William Roy Henn, projectionist, Whitehall Cinema, interviewed in 1993.

It was a terrible, terrible day. The auditorium of the cinema was the most awful sight I ever wish to see. It is still as vivid in my mind as ever. You never forget something like that Everything was on the move, walls were collapsing around me. I remember standing there shaking myself and wondering what was happening. I was completely blinded by dust but I could hear screams coming from the audience. People were crying and moans were coming from beneath the debris right under your feet. Bullets were ricocheting off the walls around me like something out of a Western film. I took cover in a hairdresser’s shop and flung myself to the floor. The main shopping area along London Road was like a battlefield, half a dozen bodies were lying in the road.

My childhood memories:-
I was about 9 years old, when, in East Grinstead, a Bomb was dropped on the Cinema, and the film that was being shown was “Random Harvest”. A carnage ensued.I sat with Granny, watching the bodies being taken to the mortuary and the little church next to the cemetery.
We used to run under the stairs to shelter from the Doodlebugs. When at School, and the Siren went, we had to go to the Shelters, where we sang songs like “Mares eat Oats”.
One Bomb went into the chicken run and the chickens escaped into the old ladies’ home!
I also remember the V.E.Day parties. - © Patricia Owen

Chronology of events in East Grinstead on 9th July, 1943.

4.00: Children leave East Grinstead Secondary School. Some of the children go to the Whitehall Cinema.

5.00: Ten German bombers approach Sussex coast. R.A.F. send up 16 fighters to intercept them.

5.05: Air Raid Sirens sounded in East Grinstead. Air Raid warnings flashed on the screen of the Whitehall Cinema. Tom Peters, Air Raid Warden, leaves Norton House in London Road to inspect shelters.

5.10: One of the German bombers becomes separated from the other nine planes. Flies at low level over Coleman’s Hatch.

5.14: German bomber machine-guns a train just outside East Grinstead.

5.16: German bomber at 100 feet over East Grinstead.

5.17: German plane drops: (1) 500k bomb on Whitehall Cinema: blast damages Sainsbury Grocery Store; (2) 50k bomb on Bridgland’s Ironmongers; (3) 50k bomb on Rice Brothers; (4) 500k by the side of Methodist Church; (5) 50k bomb on Brooker Brothers; (6) 500k bomb on Tooths Stationers; (7) 50k bomb at the back of National Provincial Bank

5.18: German plane machine-guns people in Queen’s Road, Railway Approach and London Road.

5.19: Fire Brigade informed of fires at Brooker Brothers and Bridglands. A.R.P. and local people arrive at the cinema to help rescue the people inside.

5.25: First ambulances arrive and start taking injured and dead to Queen Victoria Hospital.

5.30: Canadian troops arrive to help rescue the people inside the Whitehall Cinema. 12 ambulances arrive from Forest Row.

5.48: ‘All Clear’ sounds. Raging fires at Brooker Brothers, Pauline’s Gowns, Bridglands, Rice Brothers, Hobson Wright, Cruttenden and Stage Stores. Fire Brigade draws water from Moat Pond.

6.15: Forster’s Garage in London Road taken over as a temporary mortuary.

7.10: Last of the live casualties brought out of the Whitehall Cinema.

7.30: All fires in East Grinstead under control.

Parts of this page are from: The People’s War by Angus Calder