"The Airman", Kings Hill
Introduction
The photograph on this page of "The Airman", Kings Hill by Marathon as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
There are currently over 7.5m images from over 14,400 individuals and you can help contribute to the project by visiting https://www.geograph.org.uk
"The Airman", Kings Hill
Image: © Marathon Taken: 13 Oct 2015
Kings Hill was developed from 1969 on the site of the former RAF West Malling. RAF West Malling had a long and distinguished history from the First World War, through the air shows of the 1930s and the Second World War when it was a front line airfield against the Luftwaffe. After the War, West Malling was in use throughout the 1950s and early 1960s as Britain's premier night fighter station before closure as an operational air station in 1969. A fuller history of West Malling Airfield can be seen at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_West_Malling This statue at the end of Gibson Drive (doubtless named after Wing Commander Guy Gibson VC of Dambusters fame) is titled 'The Airman'. The inscription beneath says "THIS UNNAMED AIRMAN, A MEMBER OF AIRCREW DRESSED IN 1940S STYLE FLYING ATTIRE PORTRAYS A MEMBER OF EITHER ONE OF THE SHORT STAY SQUADRONS OR ONE OF THE MAIN STAY SQUADRONS, NAMELY Nos. 25, 29 AND 85 DURING THE WAR AND 500 SQUADRON WHICH WAS BASED HERE FROM 1946 - 1957."
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Image Location
Latitude
51.272793
Longitude
0.398875