Find your ancestors in Sussex, Lancing College Register 1901-1954

Did your ancestor study at Lancing College in Sussex between 1901 and 1954? Explore pages of names of pupils and masters from Lancing College. Discover your ancestor’s birth year, address, and employment and achievements after finishing at Lancing.

Each record includes a transcript and image. The short transcripts are created from the original registers and will include

  • Name
  • Birth year
  • Appointment year
  • Position at school – Pupil or Master
  • County and country

The images will provide even further information. Each entry varies in size, but many will include

  • Address
  • Employment or achievements after college
  • Death year

Discover more about these records

Reverend Nathaniel Woodard founded Lancing College in 1848. It was the first of fourteen schools Reverend Woodard would establish. He was desirous for Lancing College to provide an education that was firmly rooted in principles, knowledge and faith. The foundation for the college’s chapel was laid in 1868.

The Lancing College Register was published in 1955 and many of those included in the register fought in either the First or Second World Wars. During the Second World War, the school was evacuated and HMS King Alfred, the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Officer training establishment, occupied the College.

In the register, each entry includes biographical information about the individual. For example, on page 273, we can find David Ives Bosanquet, M.M. born 25 October 1914 to the late G A I Bosanquet of Brook’s Green. He was a choral scholar, house captain, prefect, football captain, and member of the squash team. When he left Lancing, he went on to Wye Agricultural College in 1933 and received a diploma in Agriculture three years later. During the Second World War, he fought with the Hong Kong Volunteer Defense Corps and was captured at the fall of Hong Kong in 1941. He escaped in 1942 and returned to the United Kingdom. The entry also notes that he is the cousin of three other pupils within the register. From the information given, we can use the Prisoners of War 1715-1945 records to discover Bosanquet’s Japanese index card from his time as a prisoner of war in Hong Kong.