AIR TRAVEL AND CHIDDINGSTONE
At first sight, there seems to be no relationship between Tudor Chiddingstone and the Airplane. In fact there are three links between this historic village and the 20th Century's triumpant invention, and in each encounter the village has come off worst.
In the First World War, Chiddingstone Causeway was an airfield. The large fields between St.Lukes Church and Charcott hosted a fighter squadron of bi-planes, with Knotley Hall used to house the oficers. It was used as an emergency airfield in the Second World War, and even the cold war period has left its ghostly touch in a nuclear fall out shelter in the corner of the field.
In the Second World War, Chiddingstone suffered during the Blitz. Though not a major target, the village was bombed by accident; either through poor navigation or planes dumping their surplus payload on their return journey from London to Germany. One bomb famously fell on the cowshed of Larkins Farm. A German Fighter plane was downed in the fields near Vexour. Two of the aircrew survived - but not for long. Hop pickers down from the East End of London who had suffered much in the Blitz took their vengeance.
Today, the growth of Gatwick Airport has meant ever increasing noise pollution. Particularly in the summer holiday season, charter flights grind overhead with annoying regularity on their way to the Airport. Pilots are rumoured to use Five Oasts, replendant on its hill top, as a marker for their left turn on the final approach to Gatwick. Next time you are up there, look out the window ten minutes before touchdown as the plane banks over - you might just see the castle.
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