Vital supply line for the trenches

However, the needs of war often cause these benefits to occur sooner and one little incident of this nature '“ the introduction of a humble roller loading ramp '“ occurred in the area of this picture.

We see the East Quay hosting about six First World War freighters, complete with their disguise camouflage.

In that war Newhaven was taken over entirely to supply the Western Front with its military needs. This could range from field guns to cattle fodder.

The quays '“ North, Railway and East, were packed with vessels. Inhabitants were issued with passport-like identity cards, complete with photo. All around was barbed wire and sentries.

A lot of labour from Brighton arrived daily on the train 'the Lousy Lou'.

The cranes in use were mainly hydraulic, as is the nearest, but this was fixed and could lift 10 tons.

Beyond it are two more modern steam cranes. These, plus two more, catered for the mail boats after this war until the arrival of the fine electrics which worked the mail boats from 1928 until pushed out of need by the arrival of car ferries.

To the right of these three cranes in the picture are the roofs of the transit sheds of Monkey Island at the very sea end of East Quay.

Here was great activity. The original of the name of this area is rather obscure. It had been a very swampy location. I believe there was an early French connection, with reference to 'un quai' (one quay) very quickly with Newhaven skill, becoming Monkey Island and so it remained.

Many years ago, at the seafront museum, a lady was thumbing through the albums and she called me to look at a picture of this area from a very different angle.

There, sure enough, was one of these loading ramps she had been telling me about.

A slight incline from the store or railway wagon and containers of all kinds would be helped along this line of rollers until they reached the crane, which when they were stacked up, would place them on the ship.

The good lady was very proud of her father, who was a major in the Army and whose idea it was, and sure enough she had a photo of him, in uniform, for me to copy there and then.

With regards to the examining of the picture's contents, I have the advantage of a magnifying glass. At the left of the photo is the little harbour dredger Hercules, forever at work, with all the deck timber and double chain of buckets.

Alongside her is the steam hopper Trident, built to lay the breakwater foundations from 1879 onwards and quite capable of towing out barges to empty.

The barge is already on its way and soon the hopper would be catching up with it.

The local tugs, Albert and Hauler, would have plenty to do with so many freighters to assist.

One other little story I liked: A dark night, the blackout, and a different skipper on the shift, a very God-fearing one. Having helped berth the freighter at the North Quay, a strange thud was heard on the deck as the tug departed from her resting place. They checked '“ a side of bacon.

Right tug, wrong skipper. After much teasing, a settlement was reached.

Picture No 2. 1930s cars at the Hope Inn, the two cottages and the Sea House beyond, at one time also a pub. At extreme left, the Black House seemed to be pitched all over for protection. Before the promenade was built it would have been close to the sea.