Rye Castle Museum

by Jo Kirkham

Rye’s Participation in the Boer War and the First World War

1885-1899
Col. Brookfield became MP for the Borough of Rye in 1885 and took over command of the Cinque Ports Rifle Volunteers (1st  Battalion). He immediately formed a Rye company:  the E Company 1st Cinque Ports Rifle Volunteers (Brookfield’s Greys). This was commissioned in 1885 and about 20 members passed into the Regular Army each year, from its annual intake of about 110 men. Some of these (including Col. Brookfield), went to the Boer War in South Africa in 1899.  

•  In 1909 (to implement the Act of Parliament of 1907) these were re-organised as the ”Territorial” and served in World War 1. The Territorial was renamed E Company of the 5th Battalion (Cinque Ports) Royal Sussex Regiment, and became less ‘volunteer’ in nature.
• 3) In 1901 The Sussex Imperial Yeomanry was formed and a Troop was raised in Rye and District by Boer War veteran Capt. Cory. It maintained very close connections with Rye until 1904 and some men saw service in the First World War. It then became the Sussex Yeomanry and was converted to the Field Artillery and served in World War II.
• The 5th Battalion (Cinque Ports) Royal Sussex Regiment was interested in forming the Veteran Reserve in 1911 because of the threat from Germany. This later became the National Reserve, and was open to all Regular, Militia and Volunteer ex-servicemen, and 50 members joined the Rye branch. They were actually at camp at the Watlands Range on Udimore Road when the Great War broke out. They were recalled and sent to Dover Castle, and 40 men went to fight in World War 1. There were heavy losses from this Company in France and Italy.
•  Many volunteers went to fight from Rye, including the whole of the football team and most of the cricketers. The older men formed ‘Supernumerary Company of the Veteran Reserve’ and they defended many sites alone the coast from Dover to Hastings and in 1915, when some of these were sent to fight in India. Others went to defend the north Kent coast.)
• Hospitals were established in the Upper Room of the Monastery and at the convent in East Street. In March 1915 three bombs were dropped by the Germans at Rye Harbour. The Armistice was signed at 11am on 11th November 1918 and once more the Invasion Coast was quiet. Many local families lost men who were killed in the First World War.

The Second World War 1939-45

During the ‘Phoney War’ from September 1939, preparations were  made to enable Rye’s inhabitants to cope with invasion.   These included air raid drills; vehicles being requisitioned for war service; evening classes on Civil Defence; training houses for practice in such things as gas warfare; the appointment of air-raid wardens and a Civil Defence Controller; the organisation of the ambulance, demolition and fire services; the  setting up of a food office; identity cards; blackout arrangements for houses and vehicles; sirens, public and private shelters; water supply (piped and static tanks), and railings pulled down and used for scrap metal.

Children were  received from London for their safety from September 1939 until spring 1940.  In July 1940 Rye’s children were evacuated,  mainly to the Bedford area. Rye Grammar School relocated too.

Key events of the war as it affected the southeast coast included:

1. Dunkirk
   Several boats  and small ships  from Rye went to help in the evacuation of the troops from the Dunkirk beaches in June 1940.
2. The Battle of Britain
   In July, August and September 1940, the Battle of Britain was fought in the skies above this area. The ‘Few’ took off again and again from grass airfields on the edge of Romney Marsh such as Lympne and Hawkinge. Their aim was to stop the Luftwaffe destroying British airpower and bombing the cities, especially London. Several British and German aircraft crashed around here. The High Radar Station to the east of East Guldeford played an important part in this struggle. The Germans tried to bomb it but were unsuccessful. Rye was a heavily defended area, but suffered several fatal bomb attacks.
3. Operation  Sea Lion:     The German Invasion Plan to Defeat Britain

On 2 July 1940, the German troops were told a landing in England was being considered  if they had air superiority. Hitler regarded Britain as defeated by then. The German Navy had a narrow front invasion plan, whereas the Army had a wide front one, with 20 Divisions for defence and 30 for attack. The original Army plan involved 3 assault groups:   

• Calais assault group against Margate to Hastings by the 16th Army ‘A’.
• Le Havre group against Brighton to Portsmouth by the 9th Army ‘A’.
• Cherbourg group against Weymouth to Lyme Bay by the 6th Army ”B”.

 The Navy’s revised plan was to organise two groups, each with three (and later two  for the Calais Group) converted river barges  to cross at the narrowest point. The barges would be towed by motor boats and landed. Dunkirk Harbour was still out of action  this time.  In July the Navy realised that  two of the assault groups  were impracticable.

In August admirals and generals  meeting on a train to the Channel reached a compromise: the Calais Assault would proceed, together with a motor boat landing at Brighton.The Army estimated 2-3 days, while  the Navy estimated 10 days for the First Wave — a great discrepancy!

         The final plan  involved the 16th ARMY which was to secure the bridgeheads ready for Waves 2 and  3

Wave 1: XIII Corps; 17th Infantry Division; 35th Infantry Division;- VII Corps; 7th Infantry Division; 1st Mountain Division; 9th Army

Wave 2 (to secure the bridgeheads for wave 3):  – XXXVII Corps; 26th Infantry Division; 34th Infantry Division; VIII Corps; 8th Infantry Division; 28th Infantry Division;  X Corps; 6th Mountain Division;  XV Corps; 4th Panzer Division; 7th Panzer Division; 20th Infantry Division (Motorised)

Wave 3:  XXIV Corps; 15th Infantry Division: 78th Infantry Division

The Landing Force was:

Transport Fleet B-Tow Formation 1 from Dunkirk – 75 tows.
Tow Formation 2 from Ostend – 25 tows.
Convoy 1 from Ostend – 8 transports.
Convoy 2 from Rotterdam – 49 transports, 98 barges.
Transport Fleet C feom Calais – 100 tows
Convoy 3 from Antwerp – 57 transports, 114 barges. 14 pusher boats.

The Luftwaffe

The Luftwaffe was asked to defend the transports from British Naval attacks. The German Navy only felt it possible to do minelaying, having only a small defensive force and submarines. They were to mount an extensive decoy operation in the North Sea – Code ”Herbstreise”.  

 The Luftwaffe decided to bring Britain down by itself, but by September it realised it had failed . The Battle of Britain, For Britain, had been won by ‘The Few’. 

The German plans had been  made in great detail — even to the names of the officers in charge of various objectives.

The Fuhrer was to decide the start of the operation. Day 1 of the landing was S Day; time of landing S Hours. The operation was to be prepared in such a way that its start could be called off with 24 hours notice. Earliest S Day: 24 September, thus earliest embarkation day was 23 September.’ There were many Special Orders, e.g. all vessels ‘should fly the Reich service flag, artificial smoke was to be used before landing, and all ships  painted: fo’c’s’le upper decks red and the after sector of the ship yellow.

         The Plan of Action for after a Successful Landing on the Beaches:  On to Rye!

After the initial landings, the bridgeheads were to be repaired; communications were to be secured by laying cables underwater from St. Mary’s Bay to Calais; and the first landing would see 138,000 men landed, followed by 300,000. 

The Germans had overestimated the British Forces ready to oppose them. On 24th July Britain had a total of 29 divisions and 8 independent brigades, 6 of which were armoured,  all under strength. Germany thought we had 39, of which 19 were fully operationa1, and 17 partly ready…!

A Commando Unit, under Oberleutnant Dr. Hartmann, with 2 officers, 15 NCO’S and 114 men with 50 motorbikes, was to ”neutralise” bases along the coast and along the Royal Military Canal.  When the troops were landed, tanks were to join them, to be based at Winchelsea. The 1st wave, when it had secured the bridgeheads, was to push to the south bank of the River Rother  A force was also to land in Rye Bay and push across the Rother to the hills NW of Hawkhurst — a rapid assault along the ridges of Udimore, Broad Oak and Beckley, penetrating British resistance. Dungeness was to be taken later. The 1st Mountain Division was to scale Cliff End and penetrate via Hastings to Robertsbridge.  Manoeuvres were held in August 1940 near Bosum, in Heligoland and Halligen Islands,

4.  British Preparations

The British reinforced the coastal defences with mines in the sea, barriers, tank traps and dragon’s teeth (concrete road blocks), and scaffold poles, on the shore and for a distance inland. Hop poles with wires strung between them were erected on the Marsh to stop gliders landing. Plans were made to set the sea on fire at Camber, after successful trials with ‘Greek Fire’. Heavy gun emplacements and pill boxes were built and mobile Army Reserves were assembled behind the line. Stockpiles of poison (mustard) gas were ready and Royal Navy ships shelled the French Channel ports. The whole area had military sentries patrolling as well as the Home Guard, This was called ”Q” Company and was then sub-divided into platoons.

(Further details are given in Wings Over Rye,  a Rye Memories booklet edited by Jo Kirkham).

5.  The end of Operation Sea Lion

By 16th September 1940 the Germans realised the RAF were not defeated and Hitler put the scheme ‘on ice’. He was still talking about it, however, on 24 January 1944! The Plan was finally officially stopped on 19th September, (remember S Day was 24 September) and Hitler turned his attention to Russia.
 

 

 

 

 

The Rest of the War

 Rye, Camber and Winchelsea Beach were ‘Restricted Areas’, accessible only with a pass, throughout the war. Camber was completely evacuated and mine fields laid there. The whole area was ringed with tank traps, guns and troops.

 

 

 The Royal Navy took over the Senior School in New Road as HMS Haig. Throughout the War there were visits by many Regiments, including Newfoundlanders and other Canadians. The area was affected by ‘Hit and Run’ raids in 1943. ‘Flying Bombs or Doodle Bugs’ bombed Rye in 1944. This area had many troops and acted as a ‘Decoy’ to mislead the Germans as to the embarkation and landing places before the ‘D Day Landings’ in Normandy in 1944.