Drab photo's link to a great secret

The major highway is our Lewes Road about to take the climb up Folly Hill to join Upper High Street at the top.

An earlier picture shows a substantial barn on the other side of the boulder wall.

In its last years this was Webbers Farm. Into the 1920s several other barns were demolished and one ceased going there carrying the family milk jug for the day's requirements.

Things called dairies were coming into fashion and the valued liquid was even being brought to your very doorstep!

The farmhouse was at the top of Folly Hill and into the High Street. It was lastly the home of the Amy family, who ran the engineering garage opposite and a coal delivery service.

The house was demolished at the time of the northern ring road phase and the building which had housed the garage was destroyed by fire. Arrow Tyres occupies the rear of this site via Marshall Lane.

Let us return to the photo. The building, left, occupies the junction of Lewes Road with Elphick Road and the deep drop to the left led down to Essex Place and steep it was.

Here today we have one of the worst road junctions in our existing system '“ lack of good vision and a pathetic attempt at filtering on too short a road. We survive.

In my ignorance or lack of memory, I am not sure whether we see one or two houses on the left.

There, I believe, was a telephone exchange where I assume one or two ladies would cover our needs in the day time and then at night the service was maintained by the married couple who lived there. This was common procedure.

By the mid 1930s a purpose built exchange was erected in the High Street, right opposite Dees, but demolished in the 1960s. This I well remember for two doors from this site occupy either end of the porch I had built at the side of my home and despite the elements of winter, they have survived.

As I recollect the last family to run the night phone exchange were the Lacroix and they later moved up to First Avenue.

I think there were several boys; one was in my class at school, another was sadly drowned after an accident on the East Pier.

I was at the lifeboat slipway, not knowing of the drama, when a small motor boat arrived and the lad's body was handed over to the distressed father. That was my introduction to the sadder realities of life.

But this very French sounding name has an important mention in one of the great secrets of World War II '“ the German Enigma coding machines.

Our codebreakers at Bletchley Park had cracked it only for the Germans to extend it, which was tantamount to an entire new code. We now needed a new code book,

Ken Lacroix on his destroyer HMS Petard in the Med had depth charged U-559 to the surface, which was sinking and the crew wanted to be saved.

Two naval officers, followed by two sailors including our man, went aboard to find a new machine. The officers gave Ken the code book, who got out with the other man and back aboard his ship. The U-boat went down taking the two officers with it '“ they not knowing that, in fact, we already had a new type machine but were in desperate need of the code book which had now been secured.

A very courageous seaman, Lacroix, who was decorated for bravery by Kin g George VI. The full account is on the door of the museum, and it was he who was the hero, not the Yanks as you may have been led to believe.

PETER BAILEY

Peter Bailey is curator of the Newhaven Local and Maritime Museum based in its own fascinating premises in the grounds of Paradise Park in Avis Road, Newhaven. Summer opening hours are daily, 2-4pm or by arrangement. Admission 1 (accompanied children free). Contact the curator on 01273 514760. Log on to the website at www.newhavenmuseum.co.uk