THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE —  created by Valerie Martin, contains scenes from her home village of Findon, West Sussex, U.K.

THE CHALK PIT TUNNEL ON THE DOWNLAND ABOVE FINDON

Copyright Valerie Martin

click each image to enlarge.

Printed in Sussex Local, November 2008

This is the top secret entrance to the Chalk Pit Tunnel where the nearby Worthing Museum was said to have stored its precious artefacts for safety during the Second World War.   The location, which was hush-hush at the time, was reputed to have been at High Salvington and the date of the photograph was around 1939.

It was this photograph that sparked off a few puzzles that I was hoping to solve. 

(1) Where exactly was Chalk Pit Tunnel?   This was a complete mystery to me..... and I wondered if the chalky cliff side depicted was now overgrown woodland and hardly recognisable.   

(2) Was the tunnel still there after all of these years?  

(3) Was the entrance now bricked up?   

(4) Whether this photograph depicted Nancy Price, as suggested to me by John Greves (one time resident of Findon Village and now of Walton on Thames in Surrey), is debatable.   No one has confirmed or otherwise as yet.  It certainly does appear to look a little bit like the famous author and actress to me.

I did not have to wait long for some further answers to my questions.

Suddenly a bell rang in my head and I recalled mention of a chalk pit at High Salvington in connection with another story some 68 years old.  

This was to do with the Heinkel that crashed at High Salvington on 16th August 1940.   The enemy aircraft was supposedly heading towards a chalk pit at the top of Cote Street near Honeysuckle Lane.  Could this be the very same Chalk Pit as in my photograph?  

John Greves added a bit of information.....

Next I received an email from Colin Daniels in Southwick....

 Peter Brown of Worthing later emailed ....

I met up with Peter Brown cycling across the summit of Cissbury Ring at the end of August 2008 (he was the one on the bicycle and wearing the helmet).... and later he emailed.....

"Hello Valerie..... Chalk Pit Tunnel....Just been reading through a local newspaper  this morning and spotted this story It is about a Jack Gardiner who was an artist and I quote .......

"I do not know what happened to his paintings, one owned by the Worthing art gallery was damaged by damp when the collection was stored in a chalk pit during the second world war"        Peter B"

Peter Brown has also related to me another little story that I will share with you.   During the grim days of the hostilities (when he was a young lad) he discovered a mortar bomb and carried it proudly home to his mother.    This fearless lady promptly popped it in a pram for safety and wheeled it off and it was promptly delivered to the nearest cop shop.

Here is another story regarding a local chalk pit.   Jim Dixon now living on Hayling Island, Hampshire emailed in October 2008 to say...." There is a chalk-pit on the downs just above Hollingbury Gardens and we decided to dig our own tunnel to see if we could find any fossils.  After a day or so digging we had gone about 3 feet in when suddenly the whole thing caved in sending the 3 of us tumbling down the chalk face about 20-30feet.  Ian Seale and I were only shaken up.   But John Watson had a nasty gash from the corner of his eye up his forehead, and blood was pouring out of a 2" gash.

He ran home to his Mother in Hollingbury Gardens and Ian and I both ran to our homes.John went to Hospital and had 7 stitches to close up the wound.

Later on reporters from the Worthing Gazette turned up and we made headlines in the next edition and the placard outside the Post Office bore the headlines-CHALKPIT TUNNEL COLLAPSES ON 3 BOYS.

Needless to say respective parents were not best amused at our antics and the Chalk Pit became out of bounds.

As one of our Mothers said to the Reporter - 'Boys will be Boys' ..."

In October 2008, I was delighted to hear another first hand email account from John Miles..."Dear Valerie.    I can almost certainly confirm that the tunnel mentioned in your Sussex Local article was/is at the Foxley Lane and Mill Lane chalk pit, I lived with my parents in Cotswold Rd during the war, and after,so the First Downs, as we kids called that chalk pit area, became our play ground after it became safe after the war.

The area was quite different from what you see today. The chalk was extracted by digging it out 3or4ft deep and gradually working towards the cliff face in your picture. But they had stopped the workings in a rough line from north to south leaving a 3or4ft cliff edge winding in and out of this line leaving the western half lower than the eastern side. The top was covered with downland turf so this made an ideal area for all kinds of games i.e cowboys and Indians ect.

At some time in the 60s or 70s the council were installing a new sewer in Heane Rd and,despite protests, dumped a lot of the spoil over the whole area lifting it by at least 3 or 4 meters so this would have covered the tunnel entrance.

The entrance as shown in the photo had a heavy grill in front of it through this you went down about 6or more steps then turned right to a steel door. I didn't get any further than that but some friends did gain access and went in.

I had at some time previously been sheltering with some friends in the cave that is visible in the photo. It was by this time a lot larger than shown,with kids having picked away over the years it was probably about 10ft high and deep. anyway while waiting for the rain to stop we picked away at the roof until some fell down,at witch point I said this is a bit dodge I'm getting out and had just cleared the entrance when a much bigger fall took place catching one of my companions and breaking his leg , we were all very lucky to get away with just that, although he probably didn't think so.

I was also in the same area when the plane came down at High Salvington. I was 5 years old and my Grandfather was down from Ely in Cambridge and we, my Brother, Mum ,Granddad and I had gone for a walk to the said "First Downs" when the siren went and a Arial battle ensued high over Cissbury .

I can still recall the circle of con trails and the burps of gunfire from the planes above and my granddad pushing us into some small bushes [for protection?].

After the all clear we stated to walk into Mill Lane when a police car stopped us and asked what we were doing out, having given them the reason they told us that a plane had crashed at High Salvington.

So off we went and arrived when there were only about half a doz people were there including one chap in the cockpit pulling things off and asking "anybody want this, when he offered up a Perspex window my grabbed it .  We had that window for years,until I wanted to make some rings with it at school, how I wish we had hung on to it.

I do hope this is of interest to you and thanks for the article in Sussex Local.   Yours Faithfully.  John Miles."

What absolutely fascinating revelations from everyone.

In January 2009 I came across yet another photograph.....

click to enlarge all images

This depicts a chalk cliff on Salvington Hill looking across towards Cissbury Ring in the background.    The houses down below are Findon Valley.

I think there is part of brick reinforcement in the foreground.... could this be the possible site where the valuables from the Worthing Museum and Art Gallery were stored for safety during the Second World War.   The photograph is c. 1944.

Note the Second World War defence workings encircling Cissbury Ring.   You can see them again here....

In October 2009 I went to find the Chalk Pit Tunnel site... .....the view over Findon Valley was very much the same...... and the chalk face had not altered much...

Above is an aerial view of the area in July 2009 and X roughly marks the spot where the tunnel in the chalk face is hidden off the junction of Foxley Lane and Mill Lane.   

Another mystery has been solved.

Continue if you would like to read 1940 In Findon

THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE — www.findonvillage.com is a continually growing record created by Valerie Martin exclusively for documenting life in Findon.