Courtesy of St Margaret’s History Society: St Margaret’s in the First World War
Local airfields
The village was surrounded by small airfields at Swingate (the Royal Flying Corps) and Walmer (Royal Naval Air Service). Swingate became locally known as ‘Swingate Cemetery’ due to the frequent pilot fatalities there. In 1918 a small airfield was also opened in the village in Reach Road, on the site of the present holiday camp. From here a flight of DeH9 aircraft carried out a constant anti- U- Boat watch.
Text by Christine Waterman