The Isle of Sheppey, although not a heavily populated area, played an
extremely important part in Great Britain's war effort on the home front
throughout the four and a half years of the First World War. In doing
so, Sheppey provided protection for the Thames Estuary, the River Medway
and the naval shipyards at both Sheerness and Chatham. Its defensive
emplacements largely responsible for acquiring the nickname locally of
the 'Barbed Wire Island.'
One of its main claims to fame in relation to the years of the First
World War would have undoubtedly been in relation to aviation. The
island had been a hive of activity in relation to flying since the
beginning of the twentieth century, when the Royal Aero Club came to
Leysdown, making it the first airfield in England. What became
Eastchurch Aerodrome was where the first pilots of the Royal Naval Air
Service were trained, making it the first military flying school in the
country. The Short brothers also had an aircraft factory at Eastchurch
where they designed and built their own aircraft, some of which would be
used during the First World War.
The Isle of Sheppey also boasted another aircraft factory, which was
situated at Shellbeach on the east coast of the island, an emergency
landing strip at Harty on the south east side of the island, and a
balloon station at Sheerness.
The First World War certainly saw the Isle of Sheppey rise to the
occasion and add to its long and illustrious military history. The part
it played went a long way in enhancing the island's reputation of having
a dogged determination to do what needed to be done for the greater good
in the nations time of need.
