Southdown sheep wool and cereals due to rising volumes of imports from the British Empire was accompanied by the Wet Years - a six-year period of cold, wet weather with little sun. In the Second World War, the South Downs were commandeered for military training, only fringe farms being left to produce milk for the towns. Sheep farming declined further after the war, although it is now being encouraged again through the designation of the downland as an environmentally sensitive area, and the restoration of arable land to sheepwalk. The Southdown has been placed on a watch list by the Rare Breeds
Southdown Motor Services Southern Glideway and Chapman & Sons. Regular express services began in 1924, initially between Brighton and London (Lupus Street). It was a Southdown coach which was the first vehicle to enter Victoria Coach Station on 10 March 1932 (fleet number 202 - a Tilling-Stevens). Southdown turned to Hove coach builder Harrington for coach bodies, an arrangement that continued until the 1960s. In 1929 the company started a coastal express service between Bournemouth and Margate, joint with East Kent Road Car Company and Hants & Dorset in competition with an existing Royal Blue service. This service later known as the South