Sussex's Art Deco monuments and their fiery past

Saltdean's two Art Deco buildings, the Lido and the Ocean Hotel, hold a key place in the wartime development of the fire service

A stone's throw away from Brighton city centre, two large, white Art Deco buildings dominate the seaside skyline.

Saltdean Lido and the Ocean Hotel in the coastal suburb are both key parts of the area's architecture and heritage.

And, while both have a long and storied history, they each play a key but little-known wartime role – training Britain's firefighters.

Bruce Hoad, a retired principal fire officer, told Secret Sussex: "Prior to World War Two there were 1676 individual fire brigades – and all of those services had to be trained."

He added: "It would have been difficult to sit down and design facilities that lend themselves more perfectly to the fire service than what they had at Saltdean.

"If the Germans had got an inkling of what was going on here, it would have become a target. It's only a matter of good fortune that Saltdean didn't fall prey to that."

Built in the 1930s, Saltdean Lido and the Ocean Hotel were requisitioned during the war by the Auxiliary Fire Service.

Instead of entertaining swimmers and providing luxury accommodation for holidaymakers, both became key to teaching firefighters how to work at the height of the Blitz.

About 300 students at any one time would descend on Saltdean, with current and prospective junior fire officers learning the ropes. The lido was then repurposed as a water tank for training exercises.

'Revolutionary'

The facilities were also used to teach fire service instructors to share their knowledge with hundreds of thousands of fire service members across the UK.

Mr Hoad added: "It was quite revolutionary in its day. It did things in training circles that had never been done before.

"After the war there was still a need for a Fire Service College. In 1948 East Sussex Fire Brigade still used it as a headquarters until a new HQ was purchased in Lewes."

Following the war, the college moved to Surrey, and Saltdean and its grand buildings slipped back into their regular use.

The Ocean Hotel was eventually converted into flats, while the Grade-II* Listed Lido opened once again in 2017, and restoration works finished in July 2024.

In 2023, firefighters returned to the Lido for further training – the first time in more than half a century.

And, in 2024, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service celebrated its 50th anniversary at the Lido, marking the contribution the building itself made to its history.

While firefighting has long moved on since Saltdean was in regular use, the fire service and the Lido are deeply rooted in each other's history.

What now sits as a reminder of the opulence of Art Deco also holds a prominent position in making the emergency service what it is today.