University features
VE Day event sparked memories and myths at The Keep
By: Jacqui Bealing
Last updated: Thursday, 29 May 2025
As bombs were dropping all over Brighton and Hove during the Second World War, the Royal Pavilion was spared. Was this because Hitler had designs on making it his personal residence?
Absolutely not, says the city’s Deputy Mayor and Armed Forces Champion, Cllr Amanda Grimshaw. “It is an urban myth that still comes up, even though we know a bomb was dropped on Pavilion Gardens.”
Cllr Grimshaw was among those giving short talks at a special event at The Keep in Falmer on 9 May to commemorate 80 years since Victory in Europe Day (VE Day).
The packed audience heard Cllr Grimshaw deliver a fascinating presentation, which included descriptions and photographs of the destruction in central parts of Brighton caused by bombing raids.
They also heard from Kevin Bacon, Collections Senior Manager at the University of Sussex, who drew on photographic evidence in The Keep to talk about barricaded beaches, secret meetings between French and British government ministers in Hove, and how Brighton's piers had sections removed to prevent enemy landings.
And they learned about the thoughts and emotions of British people during the war years as gathered by the Mass Observation Archive (MOA), part of the University’s Special Collections.MOA archivist Jessica Scantlebury read excerpts by Nella Last, a prolific contributor during the war years, whose diaries were dramatised by the late Victoria Wood for the BBC.
During a Q&A chaired by Director of MOA Fiona Courage,several audience members gave their own recollections or recounted family stories, including experiences of being shot at by Luftwaffe fighter pilots in the streets of Brighton.
On display were documents, hand-written diaries, photographs and magazines from the archives of Mass Observation, Brighton and Hove Museums, and the East Sussex and Brighton and Hove Record Office. Completing the wartime experience, staff at the Keep had recreated a 1940s sitting room.
Introducing the event, Professor Robin Bannerjee, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Global and Civic Engagement at the University, saidThe Keep was a remarkable facility for bringing people from all walks of life together, and the VE event was a reminder of the importance of that togetherness.
“Eighty years ago, we saw hope and resilience coming through, and that is so important. Resilience is what brings people together.”