- Type of Memorial
- Stone of remembrance
- WMR Reference Number
- 65899
- Description
- A stone of remembrance composed of flint stones shaped to a pyramid. A metal plaque is affixed to the face of the stone.
- Inscription
- This plaque commemorates the soldiers who died in this area and specifically in this field during / World War II. Their numbers are unknown but their memory lives on. //
The following is a personal testimony from Corporal LESLIE EDWARDS 1920-2004, a local man / who served in the area and laid poppies on this spot every Remembrance Day until his death. //
"I will never forget the day in 1940 when a Canadian company came to Cuckmere and pitched their / tents in this field. I was stationed here and knew that bombers regularly used this valley for / navigation purposes. I tried to tell the commanding officer but he was not interested in what I had to / say. Two mornings later the Messerschmitts arrived. Just as the sun was rising they came skimming / over the water and up the valley. Around Alfriston they banked hard and came back. Bearing down / on the tents they opened fire. Steam, soil and grass rose in front of them as bullets and bombs / entered the ground. All the young men in the marquees and bell tents were killed. The commanding / officer, who was shaving at the time in the middle coastguard cottage, died instantly when a shell / went through the wall that held his mirror." //
Remember me when I am gone away. / Gone far away into the silent land. / Christina Rossetti //