Data copyright © Sussex Archaeological Society unless otherwise stated
This work is licensed under the ADS Terms of Use and Access.
Jaime
Kaminski
Sussex Archaeological Society
Barbican House
169 High Street
Lewes
BN8 1YE
In the aftermath of the First World War the League of Help for the Devastated Areas of France was formed. Its aim was to encourage the adoption of French communities by British towns. The purpose of these adoptions was to provide clothes, tools and other aid to the parts of France that had been battlefields during the war. The founders of the League believed that not only did the British owe a debt of gratitude to the French, but also that such links were the best way to avoid future wars. Worthing was among the many towns that took up the challenge. Led by its formidable Mayor, Mrs Ellen Chapman, it adopted the community of Richebourg l'Avoué in the Pas de Calais which had been virtually destroyed during the war. Links between the two towns persisted for a few years and were then forgotten.