The First World War may have been fought a century ago, but its effects can be seen and felt today. Our collections show the impact of WW1 in Brighton and Hove, from everyday life through to the Royal Pavilion’s unusual use as a military hospital.

Digital collections

WW1 collections from our catalogue

Recruitment poster, c1915
Recruitment poster, c1915

The images and data in this catalogue are all free to re-use for non-commercial purposes. The images are mostly sized at 1000 pixels on the longest side.

Downloadable resources

  • Photographs, including images of the famous Indian military hospital in the Royal Pavilion
  • Posters, such as recruitment posters issued by the British government
  • Newspapers and periodicals, including the Brighton and Hove South Sussex Graphic, a rare illustrated local newspaper
  • Books and scrapbooks, which document local stories of the war such as the work of the Belgian Relief Fund
Wounded Indian Army soldiers in the grounds of the Royal Pavilion hospital, 1915. Bears caption: 'A Pathan, A Gahrwali, and Two Young Gurkhas, Bal and Pim Bahadur'. Taken from guide book to the Royal Pavilion Indian Military Hospital, issued in 1915.
Wounded Indian Army soldiers in the grounds of the Royal Pavilion hospital, 1915.

Stories

Blogs

  • War Stories Tumblr: a daily bite-sized blog about the First World War, what it meant to Brighton & Hove, and our work behind the scenes to mark the centenary in 2014-2018.
  • WW1 on our main blog
Gun in Action on WW1 Western Front
Gun in Action on WW1 Western Front

Tales of the Pavilion Hospital

A virtual tour of the Royal Pavilion Estate featuring creative writing by young people inspired by the WW1 Pavilion Hospital.

Story Drop

Our free Story Drop app contains a guided walking tour of some of the buildings and sites used as hospitals in First World War Brighton & Hove. Called Dr Brighton’s War, it accompanied an exhibition held on Brighton seafront in July-Aug 2014.