Photos and articles about Brighton and Hove in the time of coronavirus. See our collection and add your own!

Who was Sergeant S. Elliott?

I doubt whether residents of Goldstone Street and Clarendon Road have witnessed such an occasion before, or since, as the final journey of  Sergeant S Elliott on April 18th 1908.

Whilst the uniformed men’s uniforms appear police like, the presence of the Gun Carriage, together with rifles for the final salute at the committal, indicate the answer lies in military records.

Do you know the history of Sargeant S Elliott? If you can help, please leave a comment below.  

Click on the photographs to open a large version in a new window. 

The Funeral of Sergeant S Elliott 1908
From the private collection of Graham Muggeridge
The Funeral of Sergeant S Elliott 1908
From the private collection of Graham Muggeridge

Comments about this page

  • Extraordinary photos–not least because of the preponderance of flat caps, or cheese-cutters as they became known in my day! Can’t help with Sergeant Elliott, though.

    By Stefan Bremner-Morris (23/06/2012)
  • I would say that photo was taken in Livingstone Rd, Hove. The shops on the corner are no longer there.

    By Colin Webb (24/06/2012)
  • In the first photo, the funeral procession is making its way from east to west along Clarendon Road, as the road sign below the Nestles Milk advert states. It has reached the junction with Goldstone Street. Clearly Sergeant S Elliott must have been well respected for his funeral to have generated such support. Unfortunately I have no idea who he was.

    By Alan Hobden (25/06/2012)
  • Stefan: Lovely to read your comment but surely the ‘cheesecutter’ cap you mention is more as worn by cads in the 50s, (our era?) as per Terry Thomas in one or another of his films, not to be confused with the working man’s cap. As I haven’t been down that road for over fifty years, I wouldn’t know about the shops there but I am intrigued by the sign which reads: “Furniture removed in covered vans”! Free BMDs tells us that a Samuel Elliott died June qr 1908 Regn District Steyning (Hove). Perhaps this was he? Surely the local rag would have covered this important event? Is it Hove cemetery? Looks like the Downs behind in photo 2, all built over in the 30s and where the A27 trunk road is now. As a b/w photographer, I am always amazed by the detail in these old historical photos, it is often not the subject of the photograph which interests us so much today, but what is in the background.

    By Tim Sargeant (26/06/2012)
  • I believe this was the funeral of Sergeant Samuel Elliott of the 46th Regiment of Foot, who joined the army in 1854 at the age of 18 and fought in the Crimea and India. When he retired from the army in 1875, he became a publican, running the ‘Brewer’s Arms’ in Carlton Hill and the ‘Highbury Barn’ in Sussex Street. However, by the mid 1890’s he was working as an Auctioneer’s Porter. He died in Hove in 1908, aged 73. Regards Andy

    By Andy Grant (26/06/2012)
  • Thanks Andy, quite a funeral for an ‘old soldier’; there is another photo I’ve seen showing the cortège preceded by a brass band. I wonder if he received any bravery awards?

    By Gordon Muggeridge (26/06/2012)
  • The photo shows the funeral of Sergeant Samuel Elliott a veteran of the Crimea war who died in April 1908. The cortege left Samuel’s residence in Ellen Street Hove.   He was carried on a gun carriage to Brighton cemetery. The Rifle Volunteer Band led the cortege.

    By Jennie (17/01/2018)

Add a comment about this page

Your email address will not be published.