In the first half
of the 20th century RAF Hornchurch (originally called Suttons
Farm) was among the country’s most important military
airfields. Pilots stationed at Hornchurch became national
heroes in both World Wars and in the summer of 1940 during
the Battle of Britain it was in the front line of the country’s
defence as one of Fighter Command’s key aerodromes.
Today relatively little survives of the former airfield due
to extensive gravel extraction and its landscape has been
altered to form Hornchurch Country Park. However, In 2007
London Borough of Havering was awarded a grant from the Aggregates
Levy Sustainability Fund (administered for DEFRA by English
Heritage) to undertake a wide ranging project on RAF Hornchurch.
The overall aim of the project was to increase knowledge of
the historical significance of the site as well as providing
management proposals on the future interpretation of the site’s
heritage.
This web-site was one of the main products of the project.
It is intended to raise awareness of the significance of the
site as well as contributing to the long term project to protect
and interpret the heritage.
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