New Chapel
NEW CHAPEL: Military Landing Ground (also known as EAST GRINSTEAD)
Military users: RFC/RAF (Royal Flying Corps / Royal Air Force)
39 [Home Defence] Sqdn (Royal Aircraft Factory BE.2, BE.12 & SE.5 types. At least one Armstrong-Whitworth F.K.8 and lastly Bristol F.2 Fighters)
50 [Home Defence] Sqdn (Royal Aircraft Factory BE.2 & BE.12 types. Armstrong-Whitworth F.K.8s and lastly Sopwith Camels)
78 [Home Defence] Sqdn (Royal Aircraft Factory BE.2 & BE.12 types. Later Sopwith 1½ Strutters and lastly Sopwith Camels)
Note: I cannot be certain that all these types operated here as the main bases were elsewhere.
Location: In/near and N of Newchapel on the B2028, just E of the A22 and roughly 2.5nm NNW of East Grinstead
Period of operation: 1916 to 1919
Site area: 66 acres 411 x 549
NOTES: East Grinstead is of course in WEST SUSSEX today but this airfield was 'up the road' in SURREY. Used as a Night Landing Ground (NLG) only it seems. I really cannot understand this - if an airfield was suitable for landing on at night, especially in those days, why wasn’t it commonly used during daylight hours? Many WW1 NLGs it seems weren’t used during the day.
One explanation is that during the day they mostly did not have an enemy to attack, the daylight raids by Gotha bombers were, I think, mostly directed towards London although some night raids occurred later.
During the night they mainly had the airships to contend with; the generic term for the German airships was 'Zeppelin'. The three squadrons using NEWCHAPEL did see some success in attacking airships and Gotha bombers but whether any those sorties were from this location seems a tad doubtful?
Dora Pilkington
This comment was written on: 2018-12-02 09:02:21Very interested in Newchapel (a.k.a. New Chapel) Airfield. We own 42 acres of farmland just off the B2028 Newchapel Road, west of Lingfield. In your info above you say that East Grinstead is in East Sussex - I'm sure it's West Sussex!
Reply from Dick Flute:
Hi Dora, Many thanks - I shall amend. Best regards, Dick
jeff pilkington
This comment was written on: 2021-05-24 22:12:03hi. i think the location of the airfield was about a half mile south of where you say. many years ago i was talking with john avenell who owned the land which i subsequently bought from him. he told me the airfield was based on his land
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