SAM BOURNE: BEST POACHER IN SUSSEX

Sam Bourne got married at the age of 21(at that time his wife was expecting their first Child, my father). My father was born on Christmas Day 1899. Over the next two decades Sam fathered 11 more children, 10 boys and one girl. In the first half of the twentieth century a farm worker’s wages were hardly enough to support a family, especially one the size of his. In what little spare time he had he resorted to hunting and trapping wild game such as rabbits, pheasants, partridges, ducks and geese. All of his hunting was done without a gun. They made too much noise and would have attracted the Gamekeeper at the times he was on private land without permission. Yes he was a poacher! And a very good one- in my opinion my grandfather was the best poacher in Sussex. Here are some of the stories about Sam Bourne that I think will give you a good idea what it was like for manual workers in the periods before, and after, the two World Wars. There are several stories about smugglers, murders, fishing, and strange events in the villages around Haywards Heath. These include, Cuckfield, Lindfield, Walstead and Wivelsfield Green and, of course Ditchling Common, with an account of the murders at the Royal Oak Inn. Sussex has a very interesting and diverse history and here you have some which has never been written about, and will hopefully bring you a few smiles and maybe an understanding of the problems that existed between some of the less well-off and the landed gentry who owned vast areas of land. If you are interested in the local history of Mid-Sussex, poaching, fishing, smugglers and interesting facts about wildlife, then click on the button to download this book to your Kindle device.