During the First World War, tens of thousands of wounded soldiers came to Eastbourne to recover. They came to Summerdown Camp — the first and largest convalescent camp of its kind in Britain — and their blue-uniformed figures, the “Blue Boys”, became one of the most poignant sights the town has ever known.
A camp for the wounded
Summerdown Camp opened in April 1915, on rising ground on the edge of the South Downs to the north-west of the town. It was the first — and at the time the largest — of three purpose-built military convalescent camps created to rehabilitate the vast numbers of soldiers wounded in the horrific fighting of the First World War. Once a man’s most serious injuries had been treated, he might be sent somewhere like Summerdown to recover his strength before returning to duty or civilian life.
The scale was staggering. At its height the camp held up to 3,500 men at a time, a small town in its own right, and by 1919 it had cared for around 150,000 soldiers from across Britain and the wider Empire. For a few years, Eastbourne was one of the great centres of recovery for the wounded of the Western Front.
The Blue Boys
The soldiers at Summerdown became known throughout the town as the “Blue Boys”, after the distinctive blue convalescent uniforms they were required to wear — often, by all accounts, rather ill-fitting. The bright uniform served a practical purpose: the men were still under military discipline and curfew, and the blue made them instantly recognisable when they were out and about. Allowed into town in the afternoons, they became a familiar sight in Eastbourne’s streets, tea rooms and along the seafront.
Please note: The Blue Boys brought the grim realities of the war home to Eastbourne’s residents in the most direct way — but they also brought a good deal of soldierly cheer, and were warmly embraced by the townspeople during those difficult years.
Pioneering care
Summerdown was more than a place to rest. It became a centre for some genuinely pioneering rehabilitation, most notably the work of the Almeric Paget Military Massage Corps — teams of trained women who pioneered the use of massage and physical therapy to help wounded soldiers recover. This was early physiotherapy in action, and the woman who led the corps at Summerdown became affectionately known as “the Angel of Summerdown”. Alongside them, cooks of the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps and many other staff kept the huge camp running.
Life at the camp
For all the suffering it existed to ease, Summerdown had a surprisingly lively spirit. The men put on their own theatrical shows — one troupe rejoiced in the name the “Knuts Camp Komedy Kompany” — and a camp band would march recovering soldiers down to the railway station as they left. There was a camp club, murals painted on the huts, and even a camp newspaper, the Summerdown Journal.
Did you know? The renowned sculptor Jacob Epstein was among the wounded soldiers who convalesced at Summerdown, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle — creator of Sherlock Holmes and a man with his own local connections — once watched one of the Blue Boys’ drama productions.
What remains today
Summerdown Camp was dismantled around 1920, and its huts and land were sold off and gradually swallowed up by housing; part of the site is now occupied by the playing fields of Eastbourne College. Today, almost nothing of the camp survives above ground — its memory preserved mainly in the street names Summerdown Road and Old Camp Road. In 2015, a major exhibition marked the camp’s centenary and rescued many of its stories from obscurity. It remains one of the most remarkable and least-known chapters in Eastbourne’s history: the years when this quiet resort became a place of healing for the wounded of a world war.
Summerdown Camp: FAQs
What was Summerdown Camp?
It was a large military convalescent camp in Eastbourne during the First World War, opened in 1915 to help wounded soldiers recover. It was the first and largest of three such purpose-built camps in Britain, and treated around 150,000 men.
Who were the “Blue Boys”?
The recovering soldiers at Summerdown, nicknamed for the distinctive blue convalescent uniforms they wore. The uniform made them easily recognisable in town, and they became a familiar sight around wartime Eastbourne.
Where was Summerdown Camp in Eastbourne?
On the edge of the Downs to the north-west of the town. Most of the site was later redeveloped as housing, with part now forming the playing fields of Eastbourne College. The street names Summerdown Road and Old Camp Road recall it.
Is there anything left to see?
Very little survives above ground. The camp was dismantled around 1920, and today its main traces are the local street names and the records preserved by Eastbourne’s heritage service.
Explore more Eastbourne history: the story of Nelson Carter VC, Eastbourne in World War Two, and the wider history of Eastbourne.