Airfield’s varied history on record


MOST people in Kent will have visited the Kent County Show- ground. As an expansive open space,


it hosts some of the county’s biggest exhibitions and events. But it is only the older ones


who will remember its days as an important strategic airfield, which saw Britain fight through two world wars – and beyond. Now, thanks to a new book by


Kent author Anthony Moor, the full story of Detling Airfield can be told. ‘Detling Airfield: A History 1915-1959’ is the third in a se- ries of books on aviation history by the Ashford-based author. Anthony’s interest in writing


was sparked in 1983, when he joined the Kent Aviation Histor- ical Research Society, whose members are all fascinated by the history of flight in Kent. He went on to write ‘RAF Brenzett ALG 1944’ in 1999 and ‘Throwley Airfield 1917-1919’ in 2007, and is now researching a fourth book on flying at Lympne, fromwhere the first air mail delivery was made. ‘Detling Airfield:AHistory’ is


the first book to tell of Detling’s role in the defence of the realm and the history of flight. The then Directorate of Works selected Kent’sNorth Downs as a site for an airfield in 1915 and lev-


THE son of a Lieutenant Com- mander in the Royal Navy, origi- nally based in Chatham, Anthony was educated at the Royal Naval School in Malta, be- fore coming home to serve an en- gineering apprenticeship with De Havilland-Hawker Siddeley at Hatfield. “We lived near Rochester air-


field and my mother said my in- terest in aircraft began when she took me out in my pushchair,” said Anthony. He worked as a draughtsman


Anthony Moor, on a visit to Duxford and, below, his new book


elling of the fields was still un- derway when the first aircraft ar- rived in June that year. Initially, it was


home to the Royal Naval Air Service, butby1917ithad been taken over by the Royal Flying Corps. Hangars were erected and a variety of units were based there until after the FirstWorldWar. It was abandoned


in October 1919, but resurrected in the late 1930s. It went on to become a great strategic asset for the RAF dur-


Crime prevention morning after spate of shed burglaries


RESIDENTS of Vinters Park were invited to a crime prevention morning, hosted by officers from Kent Police, who are targeting garage and shed burglaries in the area. The event, which was held in the car park of the Vinters Park Community Centre in Hampton Road, was hosted by local police community support officer Matthew Farley. Officers set up amobile police station in the car park of the com- munity centre and spoke to visitors and offered crime prevention advice and explained the benefits of securituy products. They also offered free shed alarms to Vinters Park residents and displayed examples of products that deter thieves, including SmartWater forensic marking equipment. Neighbourhood Inspector GeoffWyatt, from Kent Police, said the purpose of the crime prevention morning was to ensure that residents were protected against thieves and did not become victims of crime. He said: “We have recently charged a 17-year-old boy with burglary and theft and an 18- year-old man remains on bail in connection with offences re- ported in Vinters Park. “Officers continue to patrolVin-


ters Park, both in uniform and plain clothes, and are carrying out stop checks to identify suspects.”


JOHN


MUNSON SHOW TIME


HOLLINGBOURNE Pantomime Group always gives us a “pre- mier league” show, and Drac- ula was no exception. Being premier league, the


group has to accept minor crit- icism. Whenever the curtains opened we were treated to


ing WWII, when it was home to Spitfires, Hurricanes and Mus- tangs. As a prime tar- get for Luftwaffe raids, it saw a num- ber of tragedies and loss of life. One of the worst


hits was on August 13, 1940, or ‘Eagle Day’ when the Luft- waffe targeted RAF airfields in the South East.


After the war, in 1945, grass airfields


became surplus to require- ments. Detling became home to Kent Gliding Club, and the book


and engineer and in the early ‘80s spent time on the old West Malling airfield, working for Metair Ltd.


recalls the time romantic novel- ist Barbara Cartland took off in a glider. The airfield was de-requisi-


tioned on October 1, 1959, when Kent County Council bought part of it for the showground. The author carried out exten-


sive research, spending hours at the Imperial War Museum, the RAF Museum, the Fleet Air Arm Museum and the archives at Kew. He also interviewed more than 20 people who served at Detling during WWII. He said: “It has been wonder-


ful to combine a career with my hobby. Everyone has an obses- sion – mine is aircraft!”


Alison is in line for national award


EVENTS manager AlisonWallington is fly- ing the flag for Kent after being shortlisted for a prestigious award that recognises the top performers in the UK exhibition indus- try.


Alison (44), who is events manager at the


Kent Event Centre, Detling, is the county’s only representative at the Exhibition News magazine annual awards 2012. She has made the shortlist in the “Best Venue Mar- keter” category. These awards are the “BAFTA’s” for the exhibition industry and attract entries from the biggest names in the business, including Earl’s Court, Olympia and Birmingham NEC. The awards will be presented at London’s Olympia on Thurs- day, March 29.


Landscape proviso CONSENT was granted to re- place the bungalow on the junction of The Street and Mallings Lane, Bearsted,with a four bedroom chalet bungalow. Maidstone Council allowed the redevelopment of Le Chalet


on the proviso of a landscaping scheme to include at least 1m deep planting along the south- ern boundary of the site and planting to the north-western corner of the site (alongside Mallings Lane), using indige- nous species.


DRACULA – the pantomime Hollingbourne Pantomime Group


great performances, but be- tween scences on the Friday night we sat watching closed curtains for some time. How- ever, it had a terrific script with clever songs, spoken and sung by a powerful and confident cast.


Gill Phelan as Boffie and


Juliet Parsons as Minor Parts both looked right, and with


Natasha Gudge as Lucy it gave us three strong female leads, not seen in many pantos. Lynn Bryan and Jo Head were equally entertaining as Gingivi- tis and Halitosis. They gave the witty script skilful timing and squashed hecklers. Colin Leggat as the Dame was wickedly top heavy. David Abson was very sinister


To contact Downs Mail just phone 01622 630330


Tourist barns A PLANNING application has been submitted to convert log cabins from light indus- trial use into tourist accommo- dation at Chegworth Mill Barn, Chegworth Road, Harri- etsham.


and could have transferred to “The Phantom of the Opera” or “Strictly Come Dancing”. Keith Harris and Sarah Theodorou as the police were delightfully ar- resting.


A gorgeous group of bats,


some incredibly tiny, was played by young Hollingbour- nians, who sang, spoke lines and danced for our delight. A large supporting cast and cho- rus plus a hard working back- stage crew all played their part.


East 31


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