Southwick’s Miraculous Escape

We are delighted to announce that the Southwick
Society has published a new book – Southwick’s
Miraculous Escape, The day a Valiant jet crashed.
Written by Mary Candy the book looks at the events of
11th May 1956 when a Valiant jet bomber crashed. The
plane was flying east along the coast towards Southwick
when the crash occurred. It hit the railway
embankment just south of Croft Avenue, then exploded
and disintegrated, with the burnt wreckage flung almost
half a mile from the point of impact. Most of the
wreckage came to rest along the railway embankment
and on Southwick Recreation ground but there was also
considerable damage to nearby houses. The once secret
investigation documents are now accessible, shedding
light on what the plane was doing over Southwick and
why it crashed. In this book Mary pieces together what
happened and looks at its impact on the local
community.
The book will be on sale in the Manor Cottage Heritage
Centre when it is open, at monthly Heritage Talks or by
emailing southwicksociety@gmail.com. It will be sold at
the discounted price of £8 at these events, or can be posted to you for £10.