- Aug 8, 2005
- 27,237
From the Sussex Flag Facebook page.
I like this sixth verse:
“Born as a Saxon kingdom,
her ways that have thrived so old;
Brandish her ancient banner,
azure with the martlets gold;
Strong minds are set like Wealden trees, and great hills of the South Country;
Well ye may push and shove, but we wunt be druv in Sussex by the Sea!”
THE MISSING SIXTH VERSE OF ‘SUSSEX BY THE SEA’ DISCOVERED!
Sussex is one of the only counties in the U.K. to possess its own anthem. “Sussex by the Sea” is the county anthem of Sussex and was written by a Mr William Ward-Higgs in 1907. Many will be familiar with the tune and know the words to the chorus, refrain and first verse of our county song. The anthem also contains four subsequent verses which are lesser-known. There had, however, always been a theory that a sixth verse existed, a missing verse, as explained by a Mrs Ella Radinden, an accordionist from Singleton, in Volume XI of the Sussex County Magazine published in 1937.
“Thirty years ago this year, Sussex by the Sea was scribed. Its creator William Ward-Higgs stated in conversations with me some years after that he wished to capture the significance of the number six with Sussex by penning six verses within his work; six letter’s in the county’s name, six ancient subdivisions termed ‘rapes’, the badge of six golden martlets and the feast of the county’s patron saint falling within the sixth month of the year. The sixth verse of the Royal Sussex Regiment’s marching song is something of a mystery though, it was somehow omitted from the original publication and its character is unknown.”
In letters responding to Mrs Radinden’s claims in following editions of the Sussex County Magazine, many doubted her claim, with one reader from Petworth angrily describing her declaration as “a gurt trug o’ balderdash”.
Amazingly, some eighty-two years after Radinden’s assertion, the missing sixth verse has been discovered this week by Richard Belloc of the Sussex Archæological Society after the floorboards of Hollywood House in South Bersted were lifted.
Richard explains, “It was quite the discovery! The county archaeological society recently acquired Hollywood House, the six year home of William Ward-Higgs, the composer of ‘Sussex by the Sea’ with plans to turn the property into a museum showcasing the county’s cultural and musical heritage. Following routine checks, it was found that the flooring of the main bedroom was not suitable to stand the hundreds of visitors to the museum, so it was decided that the flooring would have to be replaced. On lifting the original floorboards, I unearthed an antique copper jewellery box. The only article within this box was this sheet containing the following lines;
“Born as a Saxon kingdom,
her ways that have thrived so old;
Brandish her ancient banner,
azure with the martlets gold;
Strong minds are set like Wealden trees, and great hills of the South Country;
Well ye may push and shove, but we wunt be druv in Sussex by the Sea!”
The society’s investigative co-ordinator has compared this sheet to the original publication of ‘Sussex by the Sea’ which the society possesses and has conclusively concluded using radiocarbon dating techniques that the document that was hidden within Hollywood House does indeed belong to Ward-Higgs’ original publication of the county anthem! We now believe that the publisher, Herman Darewski Music Publishing Company of Charing Cross, viewed the final verse as too patriotic and feared an independence movement and uprising from within the county so consequently removed this page. Herman Darewski had previously refused to publish the Buckinghamshire rebellion song of 1906 entitled ‘Anarchy in the M.K.’.
Richard concludes, “This final verse is incredible, it is a strong message that entirely encapsulates the character of the people of Sussex and stunningly includes the county motto ‘we wunt be druv’. The folk of Sussex stubbornly have minds of their own, and cannot be forced against their will. The verse explains the Saxon origins of the county, it’s geographical aspects and even describes the flag of Sussex, over a century before it was formally adopted! It’s just outstanding! The publisher Herman Darewski was wrong to omit these beautifully crafted words. The fear of an uprising was totally unfounded but highlighted the fear of unrest in Europe during this era.”
It is now hoped that this sixth and incredibly important verse will now finally be entrenched in the hearts and learnt by the people of Sussex as Ward-Higgs originally wished, during traditional bonfire processions, on football terraces and in pubs across the county.
In an effort to get this verse finally established, The Sussex Choral Society will now be giving full courses on this subject and be performing renditions of the sixth verse on the Eastbourne Bandstand from 12noon, every third Saturday of the month until the end of this year.
I like this sixth verse:
“Born as a Saxon kingdom,
her ways that have thrived so old;
Brandish her ancient banner,
azure with the martlets gold;
Strong minds are set like Wealden trees, and great hills of the South Country;
Well ye may push and shove, but we wunt be druv in Sussex by the Sea!”
THE MISSING SIXTH VERSE OF ‘SUSSEX BY THE SEA’ DISCOVERED!
Sussex is one of the only counties in the U.K. to possess its own anthem. “Sussex by the Sea” is the county anthem of Sussex and was written by a Mr William Ward-Higgs in 1907. Many will be familiar with the tune and know the words to the chorus, refrain and first verse of our county song. The anthem also contains four subsequent verses which are lesser-known. There had, however, always been a theory that a sixth verse existed, a missing verse, as explained by a Mrs Ella Radinden, an accordionist from Singleton, in Volume XI of the Sussex County Magazine published in 1937.
“Thirty years ago this year, Sussex by the Sea was scribed. Its creator William Ward-Higgs stated in conversations with me some years after that he wished to capture the significance of the number six with Sussex by penning six verses within his work; six letter’s in the county’s name, six ancient subdivisions termed ‘rapes’, the badge of six golden martlets and the feast of the county’s patron saint falling within the sixth month of the year. The sixth verse of the Royal Sussex Regiment’s marching song is something of a mystery though, it was somehow omitted from the original publication and its character is unknown.”
In letters responding to Mrs Radinden’s claims in following editions of the Sussex County Magazine, many doubted her claim, with one reader from Petworth angrily describing her declaration as “a gurt trug o’ balderdash”.
Amazingly, some eighty-two years after Radinden’s assertion, the missing sixth verse has been discovered this week by Richard Belloc of the Sussex Archæological Society after the floorboards of Hollywood House in South Bersted were lifted.
Richard explains, “It was quite the discovery! The county archaeological society recently acquired Hollywood House, the six year home of William Ward-Higgs, the composer of ‘Sussex by the Sea’ with plans to turn the property into a museum showcasing the county’s cultural and musical heritage. Following routine checks, it was found that the flooring of the main bedroom was not suitable to stand the hundreds of visitors to the museum, so it was decided that the flooring would have to be replaced. On lifting the original floorboards, I unearthed an antique copper jewellery box. The only article within this box was this sheet containing the following lines;
“Born as a Saxon kingdom,
her ways that have thrived so old;
Brandish her ancient banner,
azure with the martlets gold;
Strong minds are set like Wealden trees, and great hills of the South Country;
Well ye may push and shove, but we wunt be druv in Sussex by the Sea!”
The society’s investigative co-ordinator has compared this sheet to the original publication of ‘Sussex by the Sea’ which the society possesses and has conclusively concluded using radiocarbon dating techniques that the document that was hidden within Hollywood House does indeed belong to Ward-Higgs’ original publication of the county anthem! We now believe that the publisher, Herman Darewski Music Publishing Company of Charing Cross, viewed the final verse as too patriotic and feared an independence movement and uprising from within the county so consequently removed this page. Herman Darewski had previously refused to publish the Buckinghamshire rebellion song of 1906 entitled ‘Anarchy in the M.K.’.
Richard concludes, “This final verse is incredible, it is a strong message that entirely encapsulates the character of the people of Sussex and stunningly includes the county motto ‘we wunt be druv’. The folk of Sussex stubbornly have minds of their own, and cannot be forced against their will. The verse explains the Saxon origins of the county, it’s geographical aspects and even describes the flag of Sussex, over a century before it was formally adopted! It’s just outstanding! The publisher Herman Darewski was wrong to omit these beautifully crafted words. The fear of an uprising was totally unfounded but highlighted the fear of unrest in Europe during this era.”
It is now hoped that this sixth and incredibly important verse will now finally be entrenched in the hearts and learnt by the people of Sussex as Ward-Higgs originally wished, during traditional bonfire processions, on football terraces and in pubs across the county.
In an effort to get this verse finally established, The Sussex Choral Society will now be giving full courses on this subject and be performing renditions of the sixth verse on the Eastbourne Bandstand from 12noon, every third Saturday of the month until the end of this year.
