(1) HOMEPAGE
INSTRUCTIONS
THIS IS THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE
OF THE
ROYAL SUSSEX REGIMENT
The 35th Regiment of Foot
(Nicknamed "The Orange Lillies")
INSTRUCTIONS FOR YOUR WEBSITE ORIENTATION....
1. CLICK ON THE 3 BARS AT THE TOP LEFT HAND CORNER OF THIS PAGE, TO SEE "WHAT`s ON".
2. THIS WILL OPEN THE MAIN MENU, SHOWING THE 40
LINKS.
3. THESE LINKS, WILL TAKE YOU, TO THE PAGES OF YOUR
CHOICE.
4. JUST CHOOSE A SUBJECT OR THEME & CLICK ON THE PAGE, TO
GO THERE.
5. BE SURE TO READ THE PAGES 4/4A/4B & 4C, FIRST !
"HAPPY HUNTING !"
the bat 2022
4th February 2024 : 1630 hrs.
Hi All !
Contrary to popular belief...........
This website is still live,.....still active......still reporting........and will continue to do so.
I will replace/revive the (Now missing) Page "M`s " on the Nominal Roll & missing News items, as soon as I find a Copy.
(For the second time, we have been under Cyber attack from jealous individuals).
KEEP MOVIN`, THE 35th of FOOT !
the bat
A POEM FROM "THE BAT" TO HIS VISITORS :
" The Young and Old
The Dead and Living
The Loud and Quiet
The Brave and Frightened
The Father and Son
The Short Service and Long
The Honest and Deceitful
The Loyal and Discredited
The Disgraced and Awarded
The Remembered and Forgotten
The Smart and Scruffy
The Genius and the Fool
The Sensible and Reckless
The Gentle and Brutal
The Humble and Conceited
The Lover and the Kind
Men of a Regiment
My brothers in Arms
Many of you are still there
Many have already gone
Here is my Tribute,
to my Regiment,
and to you all,
I salute you !
Devised & Written by "the bat"
Revised 2022.
"FOR ENGLAND AND SAINT GEORGE !"
The Royal Sussex Regiment.
THE HOMEPAGE
I extend a warm welcome to you all - from all around the world. Where
ever & who ever, you may be. - I hope you enjoy looking through the site, with its hundreds of catalogued photographs
covering over 100 years of Regimental life. There are many different pages to view, from the Battalion life, year for year, in timeline - (A
sand-bucket, sometimes a handkerchief & a little of your time are needed !)
So.....go on, go in, visit them all, and enjoy exploring them.
Look & read, laugh, cry and remember.
Les "the bat" Deacon - Webmaster.
L-S.Deacon@t-online.de
HALT !
WHO GOES THERE ?
(ARE YOU AUTHORIZED ?)
"THE MEN OF A REGIMENT"
A Pictorial & Historical, Regimental Story,
made up of Photos, Drawings & Written Articles
Including a unique NOMINAL ROLL
of many, many of the men & boys (and Ladies !)
of the
The Royal Sussex Regiment, the 35th Regiment of Foot,
from 1701 to 1966, and their successors
The 3rd Bn. The Queens Regiment,
from 1966 to 1992.
"The Orange Lillies"
Author & Webmaster
I am Les "the bat" Deacon, Aged 75, born in Hampden Park, Eastbourne in Sussex.
I live in Mühldorf, a market-Town in Southern Bavaria, Germany.
I served from 1961 to 1973 - A total of 12 Years Service (9 with the Colours).
My Army career began with the Army Apprentice School - Arborfield (Veh. Mech)
Later followed by the Infantry Junior Leaders Battalion - Oswestry (Infantry),
before joining my county regiment the Royal Sussex Regiment for 9 years.
Within the Royal Sussex Regiment, I served in "A" Company,
"SP" Company - Anti/Tank Pln, as Provost Sergeant & as a member of 14 Int.
I attained the rank of Sergeant, but decided to leave in 1973,
just as the Army started to become "Not that which I thought it used to be".
I miss my Regiment sorely since, but I have never regretted that decision..
I married a German national whilst serving in Lemgo, Germany in 1968,
I have been a civilian expat in Germany, since my demob from Cyprus in `1973.
After studying Psychology at University in Hamburg & Munich,
I have enjoyed a successful self-employed career
for over 25 years, teaching Communication, Personality-Development,
Adult-Counselling and Architecture & Design in 20 countries.
(I speak & write fluently in English, German & Italian).
I now enjoy my retirement in beautiful Southern Bavaria, near the Austrian Border, with my young wife
two teenage kids. - I also have two grown-up kids from the previous marriage.
For a decade I have done the Admin (Photos & Text) on our Regimental website with Bob "Jonah" Jones in Belize.
Bob Jones, the founder, sadly died of Lung Cancer in Belize in 2019.
Bob`s old website was then reduced to "Blog, Waffle & Haggle" since the 2010`s,
so I decided to go it alone, and get back to "The Regiment" !
I have since, specialised in digital-graphics, web-build, Regimental history and it`s research.
My data-bases & large Regimental Archive are unique on the web.
( Only a fraction of these resources are displayed online).
They are tended & continuously updated by myself & new items are posted daily on this website.
Most of all the resources that exist, are posted under their appropriate heading onsite,
The news & blog features are posted on our "The Orange Lily" Newspaper feature on Section 4.
Although the "Nominal Roll" is of leading importance on this website, there are many other subjects to explore,
Especially the Current-News, Anecdotes & "What`s New" Pages, which are updated daily.
I wish you all, a "Good Browse", happy hunting and please come again soon.
Les "the bat" Deacon
"Nothing Succeeds, like Sussex" - Keep Movin` the 35th !
revised : Bavaria - Jan. 2022
Ex 23868882 Sgt. Leslie A. Deacon - 1st Bn. Royal Sussex Regiment 1961-1973
Here with my good friend, BOB LOOKER (Sussex), in Continuation Training on the ranges at St.Andrews Bks., Malta 1964. - We had just arrived in the Regiment after continuation training, as we are both "Ex-Boys". - Basic training was done in St. Andrews Barracks, Malta in "D" (Trg.) Company under Major Hyde. - Later we were posted permanent to "A" Company under Major Stephenson in Tahuna, Libya. - We flew there together, in a DC3 "Dakota". - By 1965, we were both, already on active service in Aden.
RULES of ENGAGEMENT
Although I have no issues with challenging the "official" viewpoint, I do not wish to bring the wrath of the authorities down upon this website. - I also wish to avoid attracting those with extremist views, personal agendas, spite campaigns, jealousy or pulling Rank/Position, etc,
FOR THEY ARE NOT WELCOME HERE !
Any visitor or member who feels that a posted message is objectionable or another user is behaving inappropriately, or against the etiquette/traditions of the Regiment,
is encouraged to contact me immediately by email.
I have the ability to remove or edit objectionable messages and will do so, immediately if it is determined that removal is necessary. - Any minor spats that can occasionally occur, as in any family or unit, should be reconciled by personal E-mail, rather than continued on the message-board.
Common sense and a respect for all visitors, members & webmaster alike is all that’s needed.
1. You agree, through your use of the site, that you will not use it to post any material which is knowingly false and/or defamatory, inaccurate, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, profane, threatening,
invasive of a person's privacy, or otherwise vocative of any law.
If you cannot type something nice about a topic, it probably isn’t worth posting it in the first place.
2. Debate and discussion is ok, but insulting posts, personal attacks, rudeness or random inflammatory posts will not be tolerated.
Politics and Religion are allowed, but are highly inadvisable for public military domains,
and should be avoided.
Rules revised & effective wef: 21st October 2023.
The New Privacy Laws are now in place, we must adjust the site content accordingly - (July 2018)
The Webmaster
The photos are sorted from left to right alphabetically.
One single letter is displayed per page, except XYZ
Browse the thumbnails for a face or click on one, to enlarge or open the slide-show.
A click on the slide-show brings you back to sitemap.
A click outside the slide-show photo, returns you to the collection.
A mouse-hover over a thumbnail, will give you a name for orientation.
This collection does not profess to be complete and probably never will be !
There are now over 10.000 faces, so take your time !
THERE IS A SEARCH
BOX at the top of this page.
If your profile is not shown here, or those of a relative and it should be,
don` t hesitate to let me know; per Email, Skype, Facebook, WhatsApp, etc.
YOUR FEEDBACK IS OF EXTREME IMPORTANCE TO THE WEBMASTER !
(It is is even difficult to work the website without It ! )
I am happy to receive any feedback or questions, that you may have,
(PERHAPS YOU MAY ALSO HAVE SOME GEMS OF YOUR OWN THAT WE COULD POST)
Info, photos, etc, -- concerning this project. - It is the only one of it`s kind on the worldwide web.
No other Regiment has this depth of coverage, but it`s service requires a little assistance from us all !)
My Email : L-S.Deacon@t-online.de .............best regards - Leslie Deacon - Webmaster.
STILL SERVING THE REGIMENT -- IN YOUR NAME
(Revised SEPT 2025)
PLEASE VISIT SECTION 12,
"The Anonymous Ones"
for over 1000 unnamed soldiers
of the Royal Sussex Regiment, who found their death in battle,
but were never found or never identified.
I have collected & catalogued them.
Maybe, somebody will recognise someone, one day ?
They remain anonymous to date.
Sadly, all that remains for us, of their tremendous hardships, suffering, fright, skills, or sometimes, maybe even valour,
.....is an unnamed Photograph.
Spare a moment to look, a moment for them, for they gave all for us !
Les
A brilliant drawing of a rifleman of the Heavy Company,
35th Regiment of Foot, in battle - 1766
An
unknown
(...and very young !)
Royal Sussex soldier. - 1914.
"A child - so wasted and so white,
He told a lie to get his way,
To march, a man with men, and fight,
While other boys are still at play.
A gallant lie your heart will say."
from "Pluck" by Eva Dobell.
"THE CLERK"
“ Eventually, All things decline
Everything falters,
dies and ends,
Towers cave in,
walls collapse
Roses wither, horses stumble
Cloth grows old, men expire
Iron rusts and timber rots away
Nothing made by hand will survive.
At last, I understand the truth
That all must die,
both clerk and lay,
And the fame of men now dead
Will quickly be forgotten
Unless the clerk takes up his pen
& brings their deeds to life again”
(Wace, ‘Roman de Rou’, c.1170)
A MODERN REGIMENTAL TIMELINE
from 1944 to DISBANDMENT
(FOR YOUR QUICK REFERENCE)
WEBSITE VISITOR STATISTIC
FOR APRIL/MARCH 2023
(for 30 days)
Archived as part of the British Library Archive at :
Also within the US National Archive at the :
NOTE - The digital artwork & graphic of "the bat"(Leslie Albert Deacon),
is copyrighted privately
Please do not copy without permission....Thanks