The general manager of the Grand at the time was Mr S. T. Smith. His daughter, Lady Pamela, has indeed written a book about her life and her experience growing up in the Grand Hotel where she was born and raised. I have had the opportunity to read a proof of the book and it is of great interest.  It is titled "Home was a Grand Hotel" and will be launched on October 16th 2008 at the Grand Hotel. Her publishers are the Book Guild Publishing.
This is an amazing picture. Do you have the original or is this a copy?

Yes a great photo. The Sussex County Hospital in Eastern Road was the usual hospital for that type of injury. Does anyone remember large guns being installed in the Kemp Town undercliff walk area in case of invasion?

The larger guns were anti-aircraft, positioned on the Pitch & Putt at Roedean. They could have fired out to sea if required as they were on the higher ground with no obstructions. On one occasion, a mortar company came down to the cliff top opposite, and practised lobbing mortars out to sea. There were also some large guns placed on the coast road at the bottom of Sussex Square and traffic along the coast was diverted via Chesham Road and Roedean Road for the time they were there -only a matter of months as far as I can recall.

Considering that we are told that enemy fighters regularly strafed the Brighton/Hove promenade (my Father, as a lad, was on the receiving end of one of these strafing runs) - they must have been kamikaze Luftwaffe pilots or had a death wish... This gun in the picture above was NOT the only one along the prom - there was at least one on top of the Embassy Court near Waterloo Street, and there may well have been others ....

There was in fact a Bofors and a Lewis gun emplacement every 50 yards along the top road from Rock Gardens to Black Rock. The steps from the lower prom to the top were all cut in half. As an independent child, myself and a cousin were able to wander safely all over Brighton. My memories of wartime Brighton are very strong. We once followed a drifting mine past the pier as far as Black Rock before we were noticed. The soldiers were always very friendly and never seemed to mind us playing all over their tanks, most were Canadian. I could write pages but do not have the time. Cheers all.