MWHG Newsletter: 14th July 2025
- MWHG Team
- Jul 13
- 13 min read
Dear Volunteers and Supporters,
In this July edition of the newsletter, we share details of our new sub-group focusing on dormouse conservation, opportunities for young people to get creative through the Eileen Savill Award, and other inspiring updates from our projects.
This issue begins on a heartfelt note as we remember John Hiscock, a long-standing member and dedicated volunteer of the Group.
John Hiscock
It is with great sadness that we have to report the death of John Hiscock on the 9th of May 2025.
John was an active volunteer during the FLOW project and also a very effective and organised secretary of MWHG for many years.
He was a great character, always cheerful and even prepared to dress up as a water vole (quite a large one compared with our resident population!) to advertise the cause.
He moved to Selsey when he retired and he and his wife Pat settled into the town and got involved in many activities here.
He bought his experience of the wider world to our team, acting as Health and Safety Officer for many years and keeping the organisational paperwork up to scratch.
He was a very good friend of MWHG, of the FLOW project and of the water voles.
We would like to send our condolences to Pat and the family and all his friends at MWHG through the years.
Lesley Bromley
Chair MWHG
Jill Sutcliffe, who knew John and Pat well, has penned this tribute:
J | Joyous, Jovial, Gentle man
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O | ‘onorable oversight of group
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H | Health and Safety Officer, MWHG
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N | Nous and knowledge about many things
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H | Happy Go lucky, Helpful
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I | Integrity; Insults flowed from him
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S | Supportive of Pat + family who were the best decisions he ever made
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C | Chair of Vice and Cook – prepared Eclairs for my Chairal visits; Cleaning beach organiser |
O | Orchid meadow and recorder
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C | Charitable disposition opposed to too much bureaucracy
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K | Kind
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New Project: Dormouse Conservation Group
By Jill Sutcliffe | Dormouse Conservation Group
A first record for dormice has been recorded on the Manhood Peninsula. A dormouse reintroduction programme was established by the PTES which started as part of the English Nature Species Recovery Programme. The first reintroduction took place in 1993 and a reintroduction now takes place approximately every year.
Dormice have become extinct in 17 counties within their historical range. They disperse slowly so even when woodland and hedgerow management improves, they’re highly unlikely to naturally recolonise. One has been recorded on the Manhood Peninsula for the first time and we wish set up a reintroduction programme to help dormice locally. The MWHG is currently engaged in a hedging replanting programme which is a habitat much used by dormice.
The aim of the programme is to restore dormice to counties and areas where they have gone extinct. The aim will be to carry out a survey in the South Mundham Parish, using a small volunteer group to establish the where abouts of the dormouse and to provide educational materials via the website.
The best time to survey dormice is between April and November, during their active season. Hazelnuts opened by dormice can be looked for between September and December.
The Dormouse group will act as a subgroup of the MWHG and contains a suitably qualified and licensed member. Three volunteers have already offered to form a group and would start by carrying out a survey.
If anyone would like to join us please contact us.
New from Old: Eileen Savill Award 2025
For Young People under 25 years
Nature and the climate need our help now. One simple, sure thing that we can all do is to waste less and that’s what this year’s award is all about.
We simply want you to give a new life to something that you might have recycled or thrown away. Here are a few ideas to get you thinking:
A plastic bottle > a bird feeder
Worn out wellies > a planter
An unwanted item of clothing > a new bag
A plastic container > a mini wildlife pond
Past their best fruit and veg > a delicious smoothie
Waste packaging > a piece of art
Or give something a makeover, for example clothing or furniture
Work with a partner or in a group if you like.
Once you’ve finished, send a photo of your creation with a short description of it, your name(s) and age(s) to eileensavillaward@mwhg.org.uk . [Do submit a before and after photo if you wish]. Parents/Guardians/Teachers/Leaders can of course help submit entries for younger children.
Prizes will be awarded in the following categories: 5-7yrs, 8-11yrs, 12-16yrs and 17-24yrs. And overall award winner chosen.
As this is a local award, all entrants must live, work, study or be involved in activities on the Manhood Peninsula.
Deadline for entries is September 30th, 2025.
Wittering Area Community Conservation Project
By Jane Reeve | Wittering Area Community Conservation Project
We have had a busy period between May and July with a variety of activities including four family engagement events at different sites, species surveying and moth trapping. We have had great volunteer help with all of this so huge thanks to everyone. Also, thanks to the Co-Op whose Community Fund has helped to finance the engagement events and given the children the chance to find out more about the natural world around them.
A special shout out needs to go to Graham who has helped us so much over the last couple of months. He made over 100 bird boxes out of reclaimed wood for the engagement events and about 50 bug houses for children to fill up with bamboo, sticks and leaves. His creativity turned these into castles and cottages and they have been much sought after. Graham has also been making modifications to our large storage container so that there is a place for everything and it is much more accessible. Graham commutes from Alton and also has been working free of charge at a wine merchants so that he can source the wood for the bird boxes. So an all-round star!! Thank you so much 😊.
We have carried out floral surveys of many of the sites we manage over the spring period and this is always a bit of a memory test. It is very satisfying to correctly identify a plant and to know that deep in the recesses of our memories that information is there. We are now also using some of the phone Apps that are available as these save us from carrying around heavy books. We use them to get us started sometimes or to confirm an identification we are not 100% sure about. I tend to use Picture This for plants, ObsIdentify for insects but there is also Seek and iNaturalist. Another useful App is Merlin which identifies bird song and is pretty accurate.
We put in a wildflower strip at the bus stop area in West Wittering in March and it was hard work as we has to remove the turf. With the extremely dry weather we have had low expectations about how successful this would be. However, when we visited the areas to recently cut back some of the cow parsley and taller growth to expose this newly sown area, it looked amazing. The flowers might not be as tall as they could be but they are dense and colourful and worth a visit.
One of our favourite activities has started again and we are moth trapping across the area. We are covering more of the Manhood Peninsula as getting lots of information about these often seldom seen species is really important for monitoring insect population trends and declines. All this data goes to the Sussex Biodiversity Records Centre (SxBRC) and lends more weight to the fact that this area is rich in biodiversity and needs protecting from inappropriate development.
I can honestly say that this is one of my favourite activities as you never know what you are going to catch and the variety of shape, size and colour is always a joy to see. The size range is quite amazing with chunking hawkmoths and large yellow underwings so obvious to see, down to the micro moths that are tiny, but beautiful and which looks like specks of dust in the pots.
As the season progresses, we get a bit more confident about the obvious ones and Felicity, often our scribe, can be seen speedily listing the names of moths that are shouted out to her as pots are passed from the unknown to the done trays. We seem to have good numbers this year due to the dry weather but later in the summer with little moisture that may change.
Tony takes hundreds of photos of the moths at our session so that he can verify our identification efforts and he is an amazing source of knowledge about food pants and flying times. He is our first check and then the list and photos get submitted to SxBRC via iRecord where an expert, Colin Pratt, goes through everything again and either accepts the record or bounces it back with a different moth identified, or a request for a better photograph!
We will be having a bit of a break from mid-July until the start of August and then we will re-start moth trapping across the area, at least twice a week and maybe some Saturday mornings. I also hope to take my Xmas present, an Echo Meter Touch, to one of our sites to look for bats so do keep an eye out for dates. I am currently receiving some training on this technology!
Thank you to everyone that helps with our project, either on the front line with physical or surveying tasks, or behind the scenes with desk-based work. Also, to the Woodger Trust who make our work possible though their financial support.
News from the Verges
By Lesley Bromley | Pollinator Highway Project
The Selsey branch of the Pollinator Highway continues to flourish. The Verge in West Street was used in the winter as a storage area for building materials for highway works, but was reseeded with an annual wildflower mix, which looks beautiful. However when we surveyed this and the verge next to it, we found that the untouched verge had the greater biodiversity, with more than 20 species of perennial wildflowers. Our survey also showed honey bees, bumble bees, hover flies and other fly species visiting the flowers.
With the co-operation of Hyde ltd who manage the housing association at Denshare Road, we have bee able to include the large open area with restricted mowing and we have been rewarded with a fine crop of buttercups and wild grasses. This brings our managed verge areas in Selsey to 5. Surveying of this new site will take place in early July.
We have started to rewild a verge in Sidlesham on the Western side of the B2145 on what is called the Paddock Straight near the Petrol station. We have started this year with one verge area at the southern end. Some plug plants of oxeye daisy, yellow rattle ladies bedstraw and meadow buttercups have been added to the verge. We will survey this and 2 other Selsey b-verges in July.
Heritage News
By Bill Martin | Selsey Tramway Project, Sidlesham Heritage Project
A History of Sidlesham
In June 100 people came to a presentation on ‘A History of Sidlesham’ at the Memorial Hall in Sidlesham. For those who couldn't make the presentation:
Pronounced Siddlesham, but spelt Sidlesham. Dating back to the Bronze Age, the Romans, the Saxons and the Doomsday Book. 67 listed properties from the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. The oldest house depends on which estate agent’s description you want to believe! 6 pubs, an ale house, 38 farms, 3 dairies and far more commerce than there is today. The Selsey Tram had stations at Sidlesham, Chalder and Mill Pond Halt.
The arrival of the Land Settlement Association in 1936 brought unemployed miners from the north-east of England who increased the population by 500 and four additional classrooms were built at the school. World War Two saw aircraft gunnery practice at Pagham harbour, a bombing range at Ham and the home guard based at Keynor hut. Housing developments included Shotford (1926), Manhood Lane (1946) and Beremere Lane (2004) and more recently converted LSA piggeries and chicken batteries, and traveller sites.
The powerpoint presentation was shown again at the Village Day on 5th July.
Land Settlement Association Project (LSA)
Most recently I have been contacted via the LSA website by the family of John Pescod, an original LSA tenant at No 24 (Chalk Lane). John had been a miner at Marley Hill Colliery, County Durham and came to Sidlesham in December 1938.
One of several families whose children were recorded in Sidlesham’s School Attendance Register as ‘returned north’. A term which anecdotally referred to the families who could not adapt to their new way of life as in the case of Purcell (No 35) whose grandmother couldn’t put up with the pig coming into the house! The Pescod family's reason however, was different as they left in February 1940 through John’s ill-health, not surprising given that he had been a stamperman (crushing coal) and compressor man (drilling holes for explosives). The family returned to Byermoor and John passed away of acute bronchitis in 1945 at the age of 49.
John's grand-daughter visited the area in June this year, saw the house where John was a tenant and met Norman Dixon (No 50) a fellow Geordie, now aged 96.
The current Director of the Weald and Downland Museum is about to leave. If and when a replacement is found in early 2026 s/he will be the fifth person I have had discussions with regarding the rebuild of the LSA house.
Sidlesham Heritage Centre
Based in Sidlesham's Memorial Hall the heritage centre and photo gallery have recently been updated with displays of The Selsey Tram, The Land Settlement and Houses with a Story to Tell as well as more photos of former tenants and staff on the LSA.
Norman Dixon came to Sidlesham in 1939, aged 9. He has written his life history - A Life on the Land - A Geordie in Sussex. Copies are available for £5.00 - please email Bill Martin for more information.
Selsey Tram Project
The Selsey Tramway exhibition continues at the Novium until March 2026. Discussions are on-going with the Church Commissioners regarding permission to restore the platform at Chalder. The weed control matting which was put down in February has considerably improved the view and overall appearance of the platform.
The anniversary walk to 'celebrate' the first train back in August 1897 will be held on Saturday 30th August, meeting at East Beach car park in Selsey at 10.00am, walking to RSPB Pagham Harbour, passing the sites of 5 stations en route. Please email Bill Martin if you would like to join us.
Wildlife Survey Results and Wetland Walks
By Nikki Timney | Find Wildlife From Home Survey
During the months of May and June, our survey received 46 wildlife records, consisting of 63 individuals, bringing the total number of records submitted for this survey to 1,807! See a selection of these survey results further below.
If you're looking for a way to get out into nature during this glorious spell of hot weather, why not follow a walking trail from our Wetlands Trail Guide (click the link to open the PDF in a new tab). At this time of year, wetland vegetation is very abundant which attracts lots of wildlife. If you're lucky, you might even spot a water vole during this peak time in their active season!
The Trail Guide was created by our Fixing and Linking Our Wetlands project and includes nine different wetland and pond trails on the Manhood Peninsula, with optional short walking routes. Along the way, you’ll also uncover fascinating local heritage features and experience the rich biodiversity of these special landscapes.
Survey Results for May and June
2 Red Foxes | 1 Rose Beetle | 6 Red Admirals |
15 Dunnocks | 2 Large White Butterflies | 11 Starlings |
Tell us about the wildlife you've seen in your garden, neighbourhood and surrounding local area and we will also submit your records to the National Biological Records Centre on your behalf.
To take part in our wildlife survey, click on the button below.
Pond Power Project
By Jane Reeve | Pond Power Project
The Portsmouth Water funded Pond Power project has had a quiet couple of months as we have been focussed on species surveying. We carried out a couple of session looking at the flora of the ponds and literally had to cut our way in as they were so overgrown. In May there was still water in all the ponds and three of them has water vole signs which always gives me a boost.
In June we contracted a brilliant entomologist, Dr Alison Barker, to carry out Dragonfly and Damselfly surveys, and to carry out pond dipping. We covered 2 ponds one week and 2 the next as, ideally, sunny but not windy days are required. However, the dry and very windy weather has made this extremely challenging. One of the ponds had no water in it at all so that was a bit of a bust. I shall do follow up visits to check for dragonflies and damselflies, and Alison will be back in the autumn / winter to do more pond dipping as hopefully water levels will be better.
A reminder of the ponds we are working on:
Church Lane pond, Hunston
Florence pond, Church Farm Lane, Sidlesham
Sheepwash Pond, Ham Road, Ham
Willow Glen, B2145, Selsey Road, Sidlesham
Unfortunately, 2 of the chosen ponds have Azolla Fern on them and this Invasive Non-Native Species (INNS) can spread really easily and has a very significant impact on biodiversity. Removing it is very difficult which means that any work carried out on these ponds will have to be on the banks only, all equipment and boots washed to prevent cross contamination, and careful monitoring put in pace to prevent spread.
The ponds that don’t have Azolla Fern are significantly covered in reed mace and have no open water so that is something to address in the next work season. Water voles, as well as dragonflies and damselflies, I am learning, like open water so this habitat needs to created and maintained to ensure their presence long term.
Selsey Photo Archive Project
By Joe Savill | Selsey Photo Archive Project
On behalf of the project team, I would like to invite you to a ‘Selsey at War’ exhibition that we are putting on in the Selsey Pavilion, in association with The Selsey Pavilion Trust, from the 15th to the 17th of August, to recognise the 80th anniversary of VE/VJ Day. There will be the opportunity to view many photos from the archive, some not yet on the website, and learn about the stories behind them. I hope you will join us if you can.
I would also like to take this opportunity to ask for more help with the project. We are a committed team of six who are carrying out the many tasks that the project involves including the following:
Scanning photos as they are donated or loaned to us.
Cataloguing the photos
Replying to requests for information via the website
Promoting the website, and Selsey’s heritage in general, via displays, exhibitions, talks etc.
Uploading photos and other information to the website
It would be great to have some extra help with any of these tasks, but we are particularly looking for help with cataloguing and scanning photos. The advantage of both these tasks for a volunteer is that they can be done anytime and anywhere. Any equipment and training required will be provided, although the cataloguing does require some knowledge of Selsey. Having done both, I can assure you that they are fascinating activities as you get to see some intriguing photos. Do think about it and help us make Selsey’s heritage more accessible. If you'd like to volunteer, please get in touch with Joe Savill at jsavill@mwhg.org.uk
Finally, one more request for help.
The Selsey Society: Selsey’s longstanding, now disbanded, local history group, compiled a considerable archive of documents, photos and research and this has been added to through the Selsey Photo Archive Project. Much of this has been passed on to the West Sussex Record Office for safekeeping but there are a lot of important materials that require storing as a Selsey Archive.
The place where these are presently stored is not suitable for storage long term because of changing environmental conditions so we are looking for a better solution. So, I’d be really grateful if anyone knows of a suitable storage location in Selsey or has ideas for one. It will need to be accessible so part of a private residence may not be suitable, but I’d be happy to discuss any proposals. Thanks! If you have any ideas, please get in touch with Joe Savill at jsavill@mwhg.org.uk
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