|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
 |
|||||||||
 |
|||||||||
 |
|||||||||
 |
|||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||
|
The main threat to the British Mainland was from Zeppelin raiders who used the River Thames, Crouch and Blackwater as navigational aids on reaching the coast. To combat this risk two airfields were established within the Dengie 100 to guard against Zeppelins. Burnham on Crouch The airfield at Burnham was established as a night flight station in 1915 at Wick Road an land adjoining Wick Farm. Initially the airfield was used by RNAS with two Bristol TB8 biplanes but in 1916 the airfield was taken over the the RFC who extended the site. The airfield was the base for No 37 (HD) Squadron in 50th Wing. Life at the base was hard as no buildings were erected which meant that the staff were billeted in tents which must have been difficult given the cold winds sweeping in from the North Sea. The most exciting events occurred when aircraft from other stations used the site for emergency night landings. At the end of the war the site was returned to agricultural use. A neighbouring site, to the rear of the existing Silver Road Caravan Site, was converted for use as a civil airfield in 1932 and was in regular use until the start of WW2 when it was obstructed to prevent its use by an invading army. During the war the site of the original airfield was surveyed for possible use as an airfield for American bombers but the site was never developed. Since the war neither airfield has never been developed. Stow Maries Stow Maries airfield was established in 1916 when the BE 12sB flight of no 37( Home Defence) Squadron moved in from their base at Suffolk. The Squadron HQ was established at The Grange, Woodham Mortimer. By 1917 A Flight also moved into the airfield . Sopwith Pups and Sopwith Snipes replaced the BE12's in 1918 and later C flight moves to Stow Maries to unite the Squadron. By late 1919 the need for air defence had lowered and the use of the airfield was discontinued. The airfield reverted to farming although the buildings and runways were left intact.
Stow Maries airfield as it appears today At the start of WW2 the site was evaluated to see if it could be used for modern aircraft but it was decided that the heavy clay could not take increased use of modern planes. The airfield did attract the attention of the Germans who bombed the airfield, it also proved useful in 1940 when a Hurricane was able to crash land after damage during a dog fight. As a coincidence the author Katherine Peyton ( K M Peyton) visited the area and was stimulated by the name of Flambards Farm to write a novel, which was later televised, about the RFC called Flambards. Katherine Peyton was amazed to later find that a real airfield existed as described in her literary invention.
Air Defences The Crouch Valley line became a vital network to bring material and men to the Dengie 100 to deal with the threat of German invasion and the Zeppelin raids. Southminster railway yards became the marshalling centre for troop trains requiring the services of an Army Major to control. By the end of 1914 there were 15 anti aircraft emplacements in the Dengie 100 mostly sited in Southminster marshes. One success was the shooting down of a German Gotha near the mouth of the Crouch. |
||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
War Memorials Many residents paid the ultimate sacrifice for their country as is proved by tombs such as the below in Stow Maries Church.
Photographs of local war memorials and details of residents who died on world war one can be accessed via the below links.
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||
v 
