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 1950s and 1960s that Southdown purchased many of the vehicle types most commonly associated with the company, notably the Leyland Titan PD3 'Queen Mary' vehicles. Southdown did not take any deliveries of rear engined double deck vehicles until 1970 when it purchased a batch of Daimler Fleetlines with Northern Counties bodywork similar to that on later PD3s for Brighton & Hove and a number of Bristol VRTs with Eastern Coach Works (ECW) bodies painted in green and cream livery. A further batch of Fleetlines with ECW bodywork was delivered in 1972. In 1964, Southdown moved into new headquarters in Freshfield