Home > Sussex > Chichester > The Unicorn The Unicorn

Picture source: David Fisher

The Unicorn was situated at 8 Eastgate Square. The original pub was demolished in the 1930s and replaced by the building in the above photo. This pub in turn closed in 1960 to become the Minerva studios, which where reconstructed internally as offices in 1982.

I am reading a book about an American fighter pilot who started in England in WWII and was also an Ace in Vietnam. He loved England and this quote is from his book FIGHTER PILOT by Robin Olds. You could look him up on the net if interested. In 1946 he was on an exchange program with the RAF. They took him to the Unicorn Pub in Chichester, Sussex. I understand from your site that it closed in 1960. They entered "the town of Chichester and finally arrived in front of a two-story structure with a sign proclaiming it to be the Unicorn. Putting aside all thought of the return trip, I unfolded myself, stretched my cramped legs as unobtrusively as possible, and entered the "Ol Uni" behind my two new friends. It turned out the old pub had been a favorite hangout for the Battle of Britain pilots flying out of Sussex. The walls of the upstairs bar held photographs and marvelous drawings of young faces with dates and names. These men were already legends when I entered the war in 1944. I saw Sailor Malan, Cocky Dundas, Douglas Bader, Ginger Lacey, Stanford Tuck, and others, all heroes to me as a young cadet back in 1940. I had to admit, I still held them in awe."

Lanny Giorgi (August 2016)

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