HISTORIANS are calling for greater understanding and recognition of one of the defining moments in Sussex history.

The plea comes on the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Boar's Head, a First World War offensive which devastated the county.

More commonly known as the Day Sussex Died, 366 died in just a matter of hours as the men of the Southdowns Battalions stormed the German line.

More than 1,000 others were injured or taken prisoner.

The Southdowns Battalions were the county's pals battalions, which were recruited from the same towns, villages, workplaces and sports teams.

As such whole communities were left devastated following the battle on June 30 1916.

But the battle has been largely forgotten, largely because the Battle of the Somme took place the following day.

Military historian, Paul Reed, who has been researching the battle for since the 1980s.

He said: "It is more important than ever to remember the Day Sussex Died. We need to make sense of their sacrifice. These were young volunteers, nobody forced them to go. But they believed in something greater than themselves and felt that duty to fight for king and country. They were patriotic and they went to defend Europe against oppression and many made the ultimate sacrifice."

Following the war, the Government's official history did not even document the battle and even now many in Sussex have never heard of it.

Rebecca Cox, 48, from Brighton, is the great-granddaughter of Herbert Lockyer Martin who fought at Boar's Head.

She said: "I had been researching the battalion but I didn't know anything about the battle until a few months ago. It is incredible really when you think about how many men from Sussex died."

The battle was a diversionary assault ahead of the Somme 24 hours later in which there were 60,000 casualties in the first day alone.

But back in Sussex in the days that followed, all the local newspapers were interested in was Boar's Head.

Stories from the front filled the paper and there were pages and pages of names of the missing.

Even in the 1980s when the veterans were still alive the battle was little know, and there was limited interest.

Mr Reed said: "It is difficult to think of now but back then nobody was really interested in the First World War. The survivors I spoke to referred to themselves as the forgotten men.

"I remember one of them once said to me 'when we are gone, nobody will remember us or what we did'."

BATTLE MARKED DAY THE COUNTY ‘DIED’

THE Battle of Boar’s Head is known as The Day Sussex Died.

It is sadly fitting given the huge numbers of casualties from towns and villages across the county. But little is known of the name’s origin. 

Veterans later referred to the attack as the “butcher’s shop”. It was not until the 1980s that it became known as The Day Sussex Died.

Historian Paul Reed interviewed battle veterans and became a friend of Albert Banfield from Hove.

Mr Reed said: “He would write to me and on one occasion finished the letter with the words: ‘Truly, this was the day Sussex died’. I used it in a newspaper article in 1986 and it has been used ever since.”