Award winning visitor attraction Newhaven Fort will be re-opening its doors for 2009, on Sunday 1st March, with the launch of a new display ‘From Declaration to Disaster’.

The new display is designed to mark the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of WWII.  Featuring uniforms, equipment, photographs and ephemera the display traces the start of the war in France/Belgium from 1939, through the "Phoney war" to the evacuation of Dunkirk.

‘From Declaration to Disaster’ offers a unique opportunity for visitors to see rare artefacts many of which have never been on public display.  The exhibition case dedicated to the Maginot Line is a prime example, forming the largest single exhibition dedicated to this subject outside of France.

The exhibition presents original artefacts, from the period of 1939-1940, along with stunning photographs highlighting the human story of this period of history.  Guided through the exhibition chronologically, the visitor gains an understanding of the main phases of this period, from to the Declaration of War in September 1939 to the ultimate defeat of France in June 1940.

Members of the 20th Century Warfare and Living History Society will be on hand at the launch of the exhibition, on Sunday 1st March, to guide visitors through the new display and to answer questions.

ENDS

Notes to Editor:

Newhaven Fort is an award-winning visitor attraction, open to the public from March to October. The fort is owned and operated by Lewes District Council and offers visitors the opportunity to experience a day out with a difference, as they step into wartime Britain and follow in the footsteps of people who lived through the first and second World Wars. The massive walls, ramparts, tunnels and gun emplacements all fire the imagination, and the clifftop location offers stunning, far-reaching views across Seaford Bay, Newhaven Port and the English Channel.

Newhaven Fort is open daily March - September from 10.30am until 6pm and October from 10.30am until 5pm (last admissions 1 hour before closing)