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You are here: Home>History>Timeline of RAF Kenley>1917-1930

1917-1930

  • "Stunt Flying" over Wallington?

    "Stunt Flying" over Wallington?

    On 7th November, 1929, Sergeant Francis Lawrence White and Flying Officer Reginald Stradling Collins, both of No.23 squadron based at ...
  • 1923 - Kenley Pilot Crashes in Catford

    1923 - Kenley Pilot Crashes in Catford

    On the morning of 20th January, 1923, witnesses in Lewisham noted an RAF aircraft flying very low as it approached Ladywell Recreation Ground in Catford, from a south-westerly direction...
  • A Car Chase Through Croydon!

    A Car Chase Through Croydon!

    At midday on 22nd August, 1919, Corporal Charles H. Greagsbey, a 36-year-old Driver/Mechanic, was on his way to lunch at RAF Kenley when he noticed a suspicious man driving a six-seater Crossley motor car out of the garage.
  • A Permanent Airfield on Kenley Common

    A Permanent Airfield on Kenley Common

    On 17th November, 1921, an agreement was finally reached between the Air Council and the City of London, allowing the RAF to acquire part of the Common Land that constituted the aerodrome.
  • Air Acceptance Park Photographs

    Air Acceptance Park Photographs

    We are very grateful to Roger Packham, from The Bourne Society, for his permission to show these postcards from his ...
  • Calvey and Hollier of No.23 squadron.

    Calvey and Hollier of No.23 squadron.

    On 1st July, 1928, the RAF lost one of it’s brightest stars in a freak accident at Clifton, Bedfordshire. Flight Lieutenant Harold ...
  • Charles Lindbergh at Kenley.

    Charles Lindbergh at Kenley.

    On 3rd June, 1927, twelve days after becoming the first person to fly solo across the Atlantic, and having completed his brief tour of England, Charles Lindbergh took off from RAF Kenley...
  • Christmas Capers at Tower Bridge

    Christmas Capers at Tower Bridge

    On Christmas Day in 1926, Pilot Officer Arthur Leslie Holden and Pilot Officer Griffiths of No.32 squadron, RAF Kenley, set off ...
  • Clarence Tinker - An American Hero

    Clarence Tinker - An American Hero

    On 21st September, 1926.. Major Clarence L. Tinker, Assistant Military Attache for Aviation at the U.S. Embassy and Commander Robert Andrew ...
  • Crown Prince Hirohito's visit to Kenley

    Crown Prince Hirohito's visit to Kenley

    On the 16th May, 1921, RAF Kenley was visited by Crown Prince (soon to be Emperor) Hirohito of Japan.
  • David D'Arcy Greig's Lucky Escape.

    David D'Arcy Greig's Lucky Escape.

    On the 22nd April, 1927, David D'Arcy Greig DFC, an experienced pilot on the staff of Headquarters Fighting Area, had a close shave which nearly cost him his life, whilst carrying out a spin test on a Gloster Gamecock.
  • Douglas Bader at Kenley

    Douglas Bader at Kenley

    On 25th August 1930, a promising young graduate from the RAF College at Cranwell arrived at Kenley to join his first squadron, No.23, flying the Gloster Gamecock.
  • Henri Farman Bends the Rules

    Henri Farman Bends the Rules

    On 8th February 1919, pilot Lieutenant Lucien Bossoutrot  flew from Toussus-le-Noble to Kenley in a Farman F60 Goliath, with thirteen ...
  • Japanese Pioneers Depart from Croydon Aerodrome - 1925

    Japanese Pioneers Depart from Croydon Aerodrome - 1925

    On 19th October, 1925, two Breguet 19 bi-planes took off from Croydon aerodrome flown by four intrepid Japanese airmen on an epic journey from Japan to Europe.
  • Jones-Williams and Jenkins Fly Non-Stop to India.

    Jones-Williams and Jenkins Fly Non-Stop to India.

    On 24th April, 1929, Squadron Leader Arthur Jones-Williams Croix de Guerre, MC and Bar (then serving with 23 squadron at ...
  • Kenley to Cairo - Lawrence of Arabia and the Forgotten Record Breakers

    Kenley to Cairo - Lawrence of Arabia and the Forgotten Record Breakers

    On 21st June, 1919, two Canadian Flight Lieutenant's from No.1 (Communications) Squadron set off to deliver a diplomat to the Middle East, narrowly avoiding disaster along the way and gaining a charismatic passenger, Colonel T. E. Lawrence - later known as "Lawrence of Arabia."
  • Peril for the Public on Hayes Lane

    Peril for the Public on Hayes Lane

    From it's earliest days as an Air Acceptance Park, there had been anxiety about public access to Hayes Lane, which at the time ran in a straight line from the end of Buxton Lane through to the junction with Old Lodge Lane.
  • Pride Comes Before a Fall - Flying Officer Montgomery and the death of Dora Ball

    Pride Comes Before a Fall - Flying Officer Montgomery and the death of Dora Ball

    A routine practice flight took a disastrous turn for F/O Montgomery and the pupils of Locksheath Council School.
  • Questions in Parliament - June 1917

    Questions in Parliament - June 1917

    On 5th June 1917, Sir F. Banbury, M.P. asked the Under Secretary for War, Mr. Macpherson, in Parliament, whether he was aware that the Royal Flying Corps had taken possession of 81 acres of Kenley Common and were felling trees on land that the City of London was under statutory obligation to maintain for the use of the public.
  • RAF Kenley and the General Strike.

    RAF Kenley and the General Strike.

    At 2pm on the 3rd May, 1926, Kenley’s Station Commander addressed all airmen on their duties for the period of ...
  • The Banker, the Bomber Pilot, and the Crash that caused Questions in the House of Commons

    The Banker, the Bomber Pilot, and the Crash that caused Questions in the House of Commons

    On 11th December, 1919, an Airco DH.4A, owned and operated by 'Air Transport and Travel Ltd.' crashed in an open field near the Guards' Depot at Caterham.
  • The Royal Tournament, 1919

    The Royal Tournament, 1919

    Why was this strange photo of a tipped-up bi-plane considered important enough to be printed in the Daily Mail, one of the most successful papers of the day?
  • W. D. Beatty's Flight to Madrid in 1919

    W. D. Beatty's Flight to Madrid in 1919

    On 12th May, 1919, two intrepid flyers arrived at Kenley after a trip to Madrid. Here is the story from ...
  • Zeppelin Attack!

    Zeppelin Attack!

    On the night of 23rd September, in 1916 three Zeppelins targeted London. The last one to come inland, L31, commanded ...
Timeline of RAF Kenley
  • 1917-1930
  • 1917-present
  • 1931 - Outbreak of World War II
  • Battle of Britain
  • Historic Maps of RAF Kenley
  • World War II
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