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  • 'Crusha' Bottle

    'Crusha' Bottle

  • 'Friendly Fire' for 402 Squadron

    'Friendly Fire' for 402 Squadron

    On 23rd May, 1942, two pilots were injured, as well as one precious Spitfire lost and another damaged in an awful friendly fire incident involving Kenley's Canadian 402 Squadron and 91 Squadron from Hawkinge.
  • 'Hipsy' Bottle

    'Hipsy' Bottle

  • 'Kenley Airport?'

    'Kenley Airport?'

    On 16th February, 1936, RAF Kenley was an 'airport' for a few hours!
  • 'The Hardest Day' - 9th Staffel, KG76, Low Level Raid on Kenley.

    'The Hardest Day' - 9th Staffel, KG76, Low Level Raid on Kenley.

    Nine Dornier Do17 bombers of the 9th Staffel took off from Cormeilles-En-Vexin, North of Paris, shortly before Midday on 18th August, 1940. RAF Kenley was their target. A summary of the crews and their fates.
  • 'The Mitchley Avenue Dakota' - KG439.

    'The Mitchley Avenue Dakota' - KG439.

    On 19th October, 1945, No.435 squadron, RCAF, had only been at Croydon for a few days when one of their Dakotas (KG439) stalled and dived into the front garden of a house in Mitchley Avenue, Sanderstead, not long after take-off.
  • "Buck" McNair and the Injury He Tried to Hide

    "Buck" McNair and the Injury He Tried to Hide

    On 28th July, 1943, Squadron Leader 'Buck' McNair of 421 squadron, RCAF, escaped with his life when the engine of his Spitfire failed, forcing him to ditch in Channel. However, the injury he sustained that day eventually ended his flying career, though he kept it secret and returned to flying in combat within a month...
  • "Chum" - Purley's Canine Hero

    "Chum" - Purley's Canine Hero

    On the evening of 27th November, 1940, Mrs. Marjorie French sat alone in the air raid shelter at her home in Glenn Avenue, Purley. Warmed by an electric fire she was awaiting the return of her husband, John, a toolmaker by trade. As she listened for the sound of his car, the drone of an aircraft caught her attention...and then a bomb dropped.
  • "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 ...
  • #WomensHistoryMonth 2019

    #WomensHistoryMonth 2019

    Throughout March 2019, to celebrate Women’s History Month, the Kenley Revival Project will be posting an article or photo everyday, ...
  • 10 November 2019 - RAF Kenley Remembers

    10 November 2019 - RAF Kenley Remembers

    10 November 2019 – In a ceremony to mark the 101st anniversary of the end of the First World War, ...
  • 1923 Blank bullet shell

    1923 Blank bullet shell

  • 1937 Empire Air Day Programme

    1937 Empire Air Day Programme

  • 2nd Lieutenant Charles Henry Albert Godfrey

    2nd Lieutenant Charles Henry Albert Godfrey

    2nd Lieutenant Charles Henry Albert Godfrey, was a local lad whose family lived at No.5 Norfolk Terrace, Godstone Rd (the row of shops next to The Kenley Hotel). As far as we know, he never flew from RAF Kenley. 
  • 403 Squadron Church Service - 21st March 1943

    403 Squadron Church Service - 21st March 1943

    On 21st March, 1943, No.403 squadron, RCAF, attended a short church service in their dispersal hut at RAF Kenley.
  • 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 Double Funeral for Redhill's Canadians

    A Double Funeral for Redhill's Canadians

    401 squadron RCAF were stationed at RAF Redhill at the end of July 1943, when they lost two pilots in unrelated accidents only a couple of days apart.
  • A Flying Fortress at Kenley? "Thumper Again" and the Schweinfurt Raid

    A Flying Fortress at Kenley? "Thumper Again" and the Schweinfurt Raid

    Kenley was never set up to accommodate large aircraft but we know from the Station diary, that there was the odd occasion when damaged bombers did land there in desperation as they limped home from raids over the Continent.
  • A Letter from "Dutch"

    A Letter from "Dutch"

    This letter dated 20th July 1945, was sent to Flight Sergeant "Pat" Glover by Petrus "Dutch" Hugo, who had risen up the ranks since the two had been stationed together at Kenley during the Battle of Britain.
  • A Long Affair...

    A Long Affair...

    A love letter with a difference from Kenley's best-known Wing Leader - James Edgar 'Johnnie' Johnson - the RAF's top-scoring fighter pilot of World War II.
  • A Puss Moth with a Past..

    A Puss Moth with a Past..

    on 4th September, 1941, G-AAVB, a de Havilland DH80a Puss Moth attempted to land in a crosswind at Kenley. It swung on landing and was damaged beyond repair, although the pilot escaped unhurt. This little aircraft had an interesting history.
  • A Reflection on the Life of Pilot Officer J. Kenneth G. Clifton

    A Reflection on the Life of Pilot Officer J. Kenneth G. Clifton

    On 1st September 2020, Daphne and John Clifton visited the memorial near the spot where their Uncle, Pilot Officer John Kenneth Grahame Clifton, lost his life at the height of The Battle of Britain.
  • A Suffragette Takes to the Sky

    A Suffragette Takes to the Sky

    Australian Suffragette, Muriel Mathers made headlines around the world with her daring plan to grab the attention of the public during the opening of parliament by King Edward VII, in February, 1909.
  • AC2 Leslie Victor Knights of No.615 Squadron - 'The Only Way Out'

    AC2 Leslie Victor Knights of No.615 Squadron - 'The Only Way Out'

    On Friday 14th October, 1939, Leslie Victor Knights (30), his wife Queenie Hilda Mary Knights (28),and their two children John (5)  and Doris Jeanette (14 months),  were found dead from gas poisoning at their home at Parkway, Addington. The chain of events which led to this tragedy had begun with the seemingly trivial matter of a wrongly addressed letter..
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