Capel Le Ferne
Perched at the top of the cliffs with sweeping views across the English Channel, the village of Capel Le Ferne is the home of the Battle of Britain memorial. Over the fields of Kent and the channel coast the the ‘few’ of the RAF kept at bay the swarms of the Luftwaffe during the summer months of 1940.
A generation before the battle between Spitfires and Messerschmitts, these same skies had witnessed what has been called ‘The First Battle of Britain.’ This battle lasted the entire war, beginning with raids by the giant Zeppelins, then by Gotha bombers. To meet the threat, airfields were established throughout Kent from which the fighter aircraft of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service could be despatched.
The airfield at Capel Le Ferne, midway between Dover and Folkestone, had another role. It was the base of the RNAS Airstation, home to a fleet of Airships whose purpose was to shepherd the Troop ships plying between the Channel ports and France. Working alongside the Ships of the Dover Patrol, their task was to search for and destroy enemy submarines - the dreaded U-Boats.
The two watercolours below are titled, firstly, ‘Early Birds. Warren. 1915′, showing an airship returning to Capel Le Ferne watched by fishermen. In the distance is the East Cliff and Folkestone. The second is titled ‘No 1 RNAS, Capel. Christmas 1915′, and was painted by Lieutenant Victor Goddard who went on to become an Air Vice Marshall.
On more than one occasion RNAS Capel Le Ferne was the target of German raids, both from the sea and air. These resulted in ’near misses’ and the only airship losses were due to mechanical problems and advesre weather. The importance of the base was confrimed when the famous Great War artist Louis Raemaekers visited in 1917. His painting, called ‘Arrivals and Departures’ is reproduced below.
