Dover Air Force Memorials
Hidden in plain site at the side of the road, we only noticed these three memorials as we were desperately looking out for signs of Wanstone Battery.
Us being us however, we pulled over to get a proper look, as the whole point of a memorial is to be looked at so someone is remembered. We paid our respects for sure.
Now the three here sort of correspond to the same place and time, but are erected in order to remember different aspects of war. The first is the airfield itself and the people who were based here during its time.
Swingate airfield, aerodrome, and also known as Swingate Down was initially established in 1910 by none other than Charles Rolls of Rolls-Royce fame. As the likelihood of war became apparent, the site was expanded from just an aerodrome and became a military airfield in 1913. Dover (St Margarets) Aerodrome, while still being affectionately referred to as Swingate, launched into action in 1914 by sending 53 aircraft over the channel to France. From that point onward its purpose in the war was as a training centre and stop over for aircraft heading to France.
When WWII came in the site was again called to action, this time as a Chain Home Low Radar Station. The purpose of the CH was to detect aircraft and act as an early warning system, RAF Dover was made into the main CH site whereas Swingate Down's landing grounds to the East of RAF Dover was the Low Radar Station.
The site to this day is a transmitting station, but long gone are the remnants of war within this field. We think it was the right thing to have a memorial here reminding people of the importance of this site all those years ago.
The next memorial is dedicated to The Royal Flying Corps who flew to France from the site in 1914 as mentioned above. The 1914 British Expeditionary Force, squadrons 2, 3, 4, and 5 flew to Amiens in August 1914. These men were sent to France in order to help resist the German forces and it is rumoured that Emperor Wilhelm II issued an order regarding the BEF, to 'exterminate...the treacherous English and walk over General French's contemptible little army'. No evidence has been found to support this quote, but word of mouth is a powerful thing and it certainly set the tone of the war to come.
The third memorial is a WWII dedication. It is for 'the memory of all ranks of the Royal Regiment of Artillery and of the 127 AAA Gun BN United States Army who served in the Dover Area'. This one has a smaller plaque saying it was dedicated in 1986 and looks about as old as the one for the BEF. The one for the airfield was unveiled in 2023 so we are pleased to see history progressively being recognised.
While these monuments are quite morbid due to the fact that most of the men remembered for service here died overseas, it is something that requires thought and to be remembered. Without things like this the generations to come would be oblivious of the sacrifices made here and would only look out at what they thought was a field, but this used to be so much more, and it is about time that places like this were brought to our attention.
Haunted? Without a doubt. We drove past fairly early on a vaguely dry day but this corner on a lonely country lane was slightly foggy. This of course leads to the eerie atmosphere which carries the supernatural assumption, but regarding the war, what area isnt haunted by the ghosts of those who gave their lives to save us? Even if there is no physical spirit, time loops and memories trapped here are enough. We dont rule anything out, but we wouldn't like to be at this roadside after dark.
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