Worthing's wartime past

CF Harriss compiled his diary with religious dedication.

Now in the hands of West Sussex Library Service, it charts in intimate detail the daily lives of ordinary people during turbulent times.

Mr Harriss hoped his words, split into two volumes, would assist future historians when they tried to understand what had happened.

As well as describing events in wartime Worthing, his dairy offers what is almost certainly an accurate commentary on civilian morale as news of the progress of the war reaches a seaside town.

Journalist Paul Holden, who lives in Worthing, has edited the diary for publication as Worthing At War: The Diary Of CF Harriss.

As Paul suggests, the daily entries are a pleasure and an education to read.

"May 28, 1940. The Anglo-French army is retreating to the coast. It is fighting with extreme gallantry but the impression remains that its situation is almost desperate. England's turn is expected to come next by means of parachutists and bombing aircraft, then perhaps invasion. Last evening we watched Corporation employees erecting the barricades across Montague Place and South Street and other thoroughfares giving access to the sea. These consisted of bathing machines placed side by side and partially filled with shingle."

As Paul says, "CF Harriss witnessed dramatic incidents such as Battle of Britain dogfights and devastating German bombing raids on the town.

"He also chronicled the arrival of child evacuees from London, the sometimes unsavoury antics of Worthing's boisterous Canadian garrison, the build-up to D-Day, and VE and VJ Day celebrations."

Mr Harriss had an acute eye for detail and saved from oblivion casual conversations in Worthing's cafes and food queues.

He wrote: "It was written at the time and supplies an exact and vivid record of wartime life, a true and intimate example, in the colour of the moment, of what ordinary citizens felt, thought and said."

Brought up in the late 19th century, Mr Harriss retained a Victorian outlook on life and could be somewhat snobbish, Paul says.

"He and his wife Florence were undoubtedly curtain-twitchers who looked down on many of their neighbours.

"Mr Harriss hated the sight of women smoking, wearing trousers, or painting their lips red. He admired the Germans for their fighting skills and tenacity, but also despised them for their cruelty. His cutting but often poetical observations of everyday survival were set against a running commentary on epic global events."

A particularly glorious diary entry, written in October 1943, noted:

"The sky last night was wonderfully alight with stars. It seemed to glow and flash with a glorious riot of scintillating constellations '“ a spectacle of serene unfathomable loveliness and mystery."

Mr Harriss also captured the wartime atmosphere in places such as Brighton, Chichester and Bosham, which he visited despite travel restrictions imposed by the military.

The book is complemented by dozens of wartime photographs from the Walter Gardiner Collection, held by West Sussex Local Studies Library in Worthing.

"The unique set of images depicts concrete blocks on the seafront forming a barrier to German invasion, gun emplacements, air raid shelters, and Worthing Home Guard's last parade on Broadwater Green.

"It's an astonishing legacy of the war from the perspective of a civilian observer who wrote beautifully, with flair, fluency and an exquisite turn of phrase."

The book, costing 14.99, has been published by Phillimore and is available from local bookshops. It can also be ordered online by visiting www.phillimore.co.uk.