NOSTALGIA: Exploring the history of Eastbourne's fishermen

Community Stuff’s artist Clare Hackney-Ring has been the artist in residence at Causeway School this term and been creating artwork inspired by the collection of local historian Ted Hide.

The paintings, including one of Ted’s Hide’s family in 1870, have created such excitement for the subject that Community Stuff is now applying for a Heritage grant to run a project with pupils of Causeway School and local fishing families.

Pupils involved with the Secret Catch project will be trained by staff from the Redoubt Fortress and Military Museum enabling them to interview and record local fishing families.

They will put the oral histories along with images onto a website they will create.

Ted Hide, who published two books, The Pleasure Boatmen of Eastbourne in 2007, and the Fishermen of Eastbourne in 2009, is a member of Eastbourne Local History Society.

Clare said Ted is delighted to have young people interested in their local fishing history.