Marden Airfield was established in January 1917. It was a Second Class Landing Ground. Facilities were limited to a
Bessonneau hangar located in the south east corner of the airfield. Marden was still in use by the RAF in 1919, when
Group Captain Charles Eaton landed on 4 July at Marden in
Airco DH.4 F5759 following engine trouble. Eaton was returning from
Paris where he had been attending the
Versailles Peace Conference. After repairs had been made, Eaton departed for
RAF Kenley, but his engine failed near
Godstone,
Surrey where the aircraft crash-landed and was written off. In civil use, the longest available runway was long. The western part of the airfield was separated from the main landing ground by a ditch, which was bridged over a length to allow access for aircraft. The Bessonneau hangar had been removed by the RAF. A
windsock was located in the north eastern corner of the airfield. The airfield was identified by a circle of
whitewashed stones diameter with the word
MARDEN spelled out in the centre. It was lit at night. Telegraph wires at a height of were an obstacle at the west end of the airfield. A navigational beacon was installed at Marden. It was powered by
clockwork and had to be wound daily. Lighting at Marden progressed from Chance lights to Gooseneck flares and Money flares over the years. In the latter years of operation, night landing was possible by giving four hours notice to
Lympne Airport not later than 4pm. On 13 August 1923,
de Havilland DH.34 G-EBBW of
Instone Air Line landed at Marden due to a broken oil pipe. The aircraft was repaired and returned to Croydon. One Wednesday in September 1927, an
Air Union aircraft on a flight from
Paris to Croydon landed at Marden due to engine trouble. Another aircraft was sent from Croydon to collect the 11 passengers and take them to their destination. Marden closed on 24 June 1935, The last aircraft to land at Marden was on 10 October 1940, during the
Battle of Britain, when a
Hawker Hurricane of
253 Squadron made a forced landing and overturned, the pilot escaping with a cut thumb. Marden Airfield was active again from the mid-1980s until 1998 and was home to a small collection of vintage
De Havilland aeroplanes owned by Roger Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes who lived at Great Pagehurst on a site adjacent the former Marden Airfield. Due to hangarage space he rotated his collection between Marden and
Headcorn Aerodrome; Fiennes collection of aeroplanes included:
De Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth G-BALX;
De Havilland DH.83 Fox Moth G-ACDD (ZK-AEK, C-FYPM);
De Havilland DH.87 Hornet Moth G-ADNE;
Jodel D.140 Mousquetaire G-TOAD. Roger Fiennes disappeared over the English Channel on 19 April 1998 while flying from Dieppe to
Headcorn Aerodrome. Neither Fiennes nor the wreckage of his Tiger Moth G-BALX were ever found, following his disappearance all flying at Marden Airfield ceased. ==Civil accidents and incidents==