On Friday, February 17th, 2012, the Museum’s Exhibition on “Sporting Bexhill”, was formally opened by the Town Mayor, Councillor Stuart Wood at a gathering in the Egerton Road museum’s costume and social history gallery on Friday, February 17th, 2012.
Guests included museum supporters and donors who had generously loaned sports equipment from sailing dinghy and surf-board to cricket ball bowling machine and even an Edwardian swimming costume.
Guests such as Rother chief executive and former marathon runner Derek Stevens were featured among the local sporting heroes whose exploits are commemorated in a hall of fame. An entire display case was devoted to Derek’s running medals including those won in Japan and New York.
A team, led 
by Dr Paul Gilchrist (pictured left with Mayor Councillor Stuart Wood), worked for months to put together the special Olympics-year exhibition.
The Exhibition was designed to complement the London Olympics and to celebrate Bexhill’s own rich sporting heritage. – and what a heritage it is. From staging the country’s first motor race to providing the youngest ever crew to row across any ocean, the people of Bexhill have always had a keen interest in sport.
In addition to the more well known events and personalities, the exhibition shone a light on the lesser known – the greyhound track that never was, the wrestlers of Cooch Behar, the curate who played football for England. It, also, contrasted and compared the old with the new in the way of equipment and, especially, clothing.
This digital representation of the exhibition has been divided up into individual sections, with each section covering one of the sports. Make your selection and then click on the appropriate link below.
