During the First World War, a German Zeppelin airship, L48, was shot down near Theberton at 02:00 on the morning of 17 June 1917, by Robert Saundby and others, while it was on a bombing raid.

[3] The bodies of the crew were buried in a dedicated plot adjacent to the churchyard, with women munition workers voluntarily digging the graves.

[5] Local people tended the graves until 1966, when they were reinterred at Cannock Chase German Military Cemetery in Staffordshire.

Theberton Hall was also the birthplace of his nephew, Lt-Col. Charles Doughty-Wylie, who was born in 1868 and killed in battle in Gallipoli in 1915.

[citation needed] Theberton Hall was built for George Doughty (died 21 August 1798) in 1780[13][14] or 1792[10] (architect unknown).

It remained the home of Charles Montagu Doughty and on 25 October 1951 it was listed as a Grade II heritage-listed building.

The investigators reported that the residence was said to be in poor repair, and would require immediate expenditure of £7,000 to £8,000, as well as ongoing expense, and so the Council declined the offer.