Military history events for the Autumn - Mid Sussex Red

By Matt Taylor

**CHANGE OF DATE**

Please note the public event on 15th September is no longer taking place! 

The public event will now be held on FRIDAY 20th OCTOBER at CLAIR HALL, Perrymount Road, (opposite new Waitrose), HAYWARDS HEATH. Doors open at 1000, first presentation at 1030, doors close at 1600. £2 for 18’s & over, Under 18’s FREE.

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We are a volunteer community group promoting Mid Sussex Military History & Education for residents of all ages. The Mid Sussex RED Military History Event 2017 has been designed to Remember, Educate and Develop knowledge and understanding of the roles people and places in Mid Sussex performed in World Wars I & II. The will be an exhibition, a museum and presentations.

• The Somme 1916 – Remembering Mid Sussex
• The Centenary of Passchendaele 1917-2017 – ‘Mud, Blood & Devastation’
• (1940) The Battle of Britain, The Blitz and Evacuee Story
• (1942) El Alamein - 75thAnniversary – Life in Mid Sussex
• Numerous Exhibitors, Mini Museum of Genuine Artefacts
• Guest speaker presentations on WWI and WWII topics

We will deliver one public event in October. There will also be three SCHOOLS ONLY events (on separate days), for over 1,500 Mid Sussex school children to attend. 

Across the six events there will be more than 25 groups displaying artefacts, exhibiting, delivering 20-45 minute presentations relating to the topics.

Please check our website - www.midsussexred.co.uk - for details of confirmed exhibitors and presentations for each event.

The delivery of these events has been made possible due to funding received from Mid Sussex District Council and Haywards Heath Town Council.

Anyone for tennis? Cuckfield Tennis Club

By Simon Yeend

This time last year Cuckfield Tennis Club was preparing for the upsurge in interest in the sport that Wimbledon brings, but with a touch of apprehension. The courts were in disrepair and the clubhouse was in danger of collapse.

Now, thanks to the generosity of the Mayor, the District Council and community of Cuckfield and some hard work by the committee, the club has newly laid courts and a revamped clubhouse. More than £30,000 has been spent on the refurbishment programme, money that has made a dramatic difference.

Membership Secretary Gerry Canning says the results are remarkable. “The resurfacing cost around £28,000,” he said. “There is a vast difference. The previous surfaces had not been maintained for several years and were uneven with loose tarmac and the bounce was inconsistent. I would go so far as to say they were unsafe for play.

“The new surface on the three courts is all-weather tarmacadam, the same as before, but they are now pristine. Everyone who has played on them has been very complimentary – the bounce is true and, yes, we love them!

“The clubhouse has been structurally secured with new foundations. It was being undermined by damp and wood rot. The rotten rear cladding was renewed to protect the building, plumbing was repaired to stop the ingress of water. A retaining wall has been built behind the clubhouse to protect the building, and new floor tiles were installed throughout the public area which are a marked improvement to the interior.”

The club took over the running of the club from the council in 2015 and members have worked tirelessly to raise money and to get it to the impressive state it is now in. The new courts were officially opened by Mayor Wilf Knighton at a ceremony on Cuckoo Fayre Day and the publicity from that day has helped boost membership, with eight people joining in the weeks after that.

Gerry adds that the club is always looking for new members. “We are a friendly club situated in the delightful surroundings of the Recreation Ground, behind the Queens Hall in Cuckfield,” he said. “We welcome all tennis abilities, young and old. We now have two coaches working mostly with the juniors, but also offering adult coaching for players new to the game or returning after a break.

“We have three sessions of social tennis each week for adults during the summer (Tuesday and Friday evenings and Saturday afternoons). No need to book – just come along and try us out. Junior coaching is on Wednesdays and Saturday mornings. Other times are available free to members. See the club website for details – www.cuckfieldtennisclub.org.uk – on how to join. There is a court booking system for casual tennis outside club session times.

“For the more energetic among you, we have several teams playing in local leagues and a club tournament each year. There are social tennis events throughout the year and, of course, the bar is open at every opportunity.

So, whether you are a new or returning player, you will be assured of a warm welcome at Cuckfield. It’s the next best thing to playing at Wimbledon SW19!”

The next social tennis event and BBQ, for adult members, is on Saturday 22nd July starting at 2pm.

Village People: Roy Vicarri

Roy is a man full of stories! Born in Streatham in 1931, Roy Viccari was just a boy during the Blitz of the Second World War. He’s been a photographer, carpenter, hairdresser and is a prolific artist to this day. Roy moved to Cuckfield with his wife Rosemary in 1960 and has been involved in dozens of aspects of the community since then, not least starting Cuckfield Bowmen (now revived as Cuckfield Archers) in 1967.

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By David Tingley

There are so many anecdotes to tell that Roy is in the process of writing a book. In the meantime, let me share just a few from the Cuckfield legend here…

Roy Viccari, as his name suggests, has strong Italian roots. His father’s family were big farmers in the Monte Cassino region of Italy and moved, with two of his brothers, to London in 1900 to make a new and more prosperous life. Together the three brothers built three hairdressing businesses that started small in Brixton, but Roy’s father, Pietro, went on to be based in Piccadilly and had an impressive clientele which included Agatha Christie, Prime Ministers’ wives and many other famous names of the 20s and 30s.

Pietro Viccari was arrested at his door as part of the controversial internment of nearly 19,000 Italians living in Britain in 1940. “A policeman was standing at the door,” Roy said, “and he simply asked for my father, saying he was being arrested! That was the last time we saw him.” It is thought he was taken to a camp in Bury, Lancashire, before boarding the ill-fated Arandora Star liner which was torpedoed, resulting in the deaths of half of the 1,500 passengers and crew.

Unbelievably, some years later a gentleman walked into the Piccadilly hair salon and returned Pietro’s wedding ring! Knowing he couldn’t swim, and fearing certain death, he had put it on the finger of a fellow Italian and asked him to return it to his family in London if he made it through the ordeal alive.

[Read the rest of the article on page 20 of July 2017's Cuckfield Life magazine]