After a German bombing raid on London in 1917, some S.E.5 aircraft from No.56 Squadron were brought in between 21 June and 5 July, but again, no combat operations were undertaken.

[2] Despite the land being on a slope, and quite restricted in dimensions (there is a railway line on the northern boundary), 50 Squadron moved in entirely on 8 February 1918, and soon standardised on the S.E.5A fighter.

With the creation of the Royal Air Force on 1 April, the Squadron's duties expanded at what was now RAF Bekesbourne, and it upgraded its tents and temporary buildings.

A notable occupant of the airport was Dr. Edward Douglas Whitehead Reid, a senior surgeon at Kent and Canterbury Hospital.

He also established Kent Flying Club in 1931,[9] setting up a workshop, offices and a lounge and bar in the hangar.

[A] One of the club's first students was the owner, RC Ramsay, then aged 71, who gained his "A" licence after 20 hours dual teaching from the instructor, Fit-Lt J. H, Barringer.

[14][15] Another notable user of the airport was Michael Randrup, who started his training here in 1935 and gained his pilot's licence in 1936.

He possibly used DH.60G Gipsy Moth G-ABJZ which his cousin Ivan C Randrup kept here from October 1936 until he sold it to Airsales & Service on 5 July 1938.

[16] [17] In the 1930s, flying circuses were very popular, and visited hundreds of venues, from official airfields to appropriate farms or waste land.

The Lysanders made armed reconnaissance flights over France until 2 Squadron moved out on 8 June.

[2] Some airfield buildings, including the Officers’ Mess and combined station chapel and NAAFI, have been converted into bungalows.