The Peace Garden

King Edwards Parade, BN21 4EE

THE DRY MOAT OF THE WISH TOWER BETWEEN KING EDWARDS PARADE AND THE LOWER PARADE NEXT TO THE WESTERN LAWNS WAS ORIGINALLY the grounds of the Wish Tower cafe and sun lounge built in 1961 as a memorial to the 180 civilians who lost their lives when the town was heavily bombed in WWII. Sadly it fell into disrepair and in 2012 the council demolished it. However, a small but determined group of residents were so concerned about the loss of the memorial that in 2016 they formed the Eastbourne civilian war memorial trust.

The plan was to transform the much neglected dry moat into a place of reflection and of thanksgiving for more than 70 years free of conflict together with a memorial to those that lost their lives and that it should be named the Peace Garden. The garden was laid out and a stone boulder of Welsh granite was winched into place and a steel plaque bearing the names of those who died was added. The garden was opened in 2018 and planting continued for the next two years. Their work done, the Trust was closed at the end of June 2020 and the Peace Garden was adopted by Eastbourne Borough Council as a public park, making it the fourth park to fall within the remit of the Friends of Meads Parks and Gardens.