FI16169
Request
I would like to know, if possible, what records the District Council, inclusing of the former Eastry Rural District, hold regarding RAF Manston between 1930 and 1945, please, and copies specifically of any records like minutes etc regarding Manston Airport when it was a RAF base during WWII.
Response
All information in respect of the former Eastry Rural District Council was transferred to the Kent Archives at Maidstone who can be found at:
Kent History and Library Centre
James Whatman Way
Maidstone
Kent ME14 1LQ
Email: archives@kent.gov.uk
They do have an online catalogue at https://www.kentarchives.org.uk/.
It should be noted that the Parish of Manston was not part of the area covered by Eastry Rural District Council and therefore any local government records relating to Manston are likely to fall within the remit of Thanet District Council, rather than Dover District Council. The National Archives would probably be the most straightforward route into researching the history of the airfield, particularly as the period covered includes that of the war.