The trench in Sussex remembering Shoreham's connection to World War One

Tap the video above to find out about the 25 metre trench created to remember Shoreham's connection to World War One

It's 25 metres long, five feet tall and was constructed with two and half thousand sandbags...

Shoreham Fort's ambition to create a World War One memorial trench is now complete.

The idea for a trench came seven years ago and is designed to reflect the town and surrounding area's involvement in the conflict.

Around 100,000 soldiers at a time would train in trenches like the one that has been recreated with Shoreham becoming a base for servicemen in 1914.

Soldiers digging a trench in World War One Credit: Friends of Shoreham Fort

This picture shows soldiers from the Royal Sussex Regiment digging a trench while under threat of enemy attack.

The once that's been built now was made against the backdrop of social distancing and the coronavirus.

Gary Baines, chairman of Friends of Shoreham Fort

"We obviously had to keep volunteer numbers down to a real minimum keeping the distance. It was supposed to be a huge community project that involved the whole community coming in laying their own sandbags."

How the trench was created:

2,500 sandbags were used Credit: Friends of Shoreham Fort

Shoreham Fort received around £20,000 of funding from organisations such as Heritage Lottery to make the dream a reality.

It required a huge amount of effort from a small number of volunteers, while pupils at Northbrook College in Worthing helped recreate some of the guns.

It's hoped many more children will be able to use the trench as a source of education on what happened in the past.

  • PCSO Daryl Holter, Sussex Police Heritage Crime officer

A visual reminder to the sacrifices made

Shoreham Fort's trench

While the project is a visual reminder of the sacrifice that was made Shoreham Fort of course could not replicate the muddy conditions which swamped the trenches on the battlefield.

Roger Craske is one of the volunteers at Shoreham Fort,

"Our trench is very clinical and it's clean and tidy. I can only imagine the horrors they had to endure and it's been a small price to pay to put this together to remember those who ultimately gave their lives for us.

"You can't forgot what people have sacrificed so we have what we have in our world today. It's all too easy to remember our comfortable lives."

The trench will have an official opening soon and members of the public are being asked to sponsor a sandbag to help continue the work of the fort.