The secret battle: Little-known Battle of Graveney Marsh conflict - the last on British soil - finally commemorated
The little-known Battle of Graveney Marsh in the Second World War has finally been commemorated as the last military conflict to be fought on British soil. The skirmish in the Kent countryside was between the men of the London Irish Rifles and the four-man crew of a downed German bomber.
The British servicemen, billeted in a pub at Seasalter, near Whitstable, sprung into action when the Junkers 88 landed on the nearby marshland.
The Germans opened fire with a machine gun and after a 20 minute fire-fight they finally surrendered. The battle was hushed up at the time as the British didn't want word getting out that the new model Junkers plane had been captured intact for engineers to examine. Most history books have Bonnie Prince Charlie's defeat at Culloden in 1746 as the last pitched battle fought on British soil but in fact it was at Graveney Marsh 194 years later.
Yesterday - on the 70th anniversary of the event - the battle was at last commemorated during a special ceremony held on the marsh. More than 120 members of the London Irish Rifles Regimental Association marched the few hundred yards from the scene of the battle to The Sportsman - the pub where the men were billeted. They also staged a drumhead service before a plaque was presented to the owner of the pub and unveiled. Two of those present were sisters Sheila Gilham and Brenda Hitches, aged 80 and 78.
Their late father Charles Walden helped remove part of the Junkers 88 plane and store it in his garage until it was collected by the RAF. Nigel Wilkinson, vice-chairman of the association, said: 'Hardly anybody knows about what happened at Graveney Marsh, it was really only the men of the regiment and local residents.
'The Junkers 88 was a new marque and was only two weeks old. 'The matter was hushed up at the time because the Air Ministry didn't want it known that the British had recovered the plane and knew the German secrets behind it.
'Yet technically it was the last battle to take place on the British mainland involving an invading enemy.
'It remained forgotten about over the last 70 years but when we realised the 70th anniversary was coming up we decided to do something about it.
'This is the first time the battle has been officially recognised and commemorated.
'Because the men were billeted at The Sportsman, and the pub is still standing today, we thought a plaque that will serve as a permanent reminder was appropriate.'
Phil Harris, the owner of The Sportsman, said: 'I have been aware of the battle for some time.
'The plane's propeller actually stood outside the pub for many years but it was stolen and melted down some time ago.
'There wasn't any extraordinary heroism involved in the battle but what happened and why it happened makes it important to remember it.
'We are very proud to now have the plaque commemorating it up on the wall.'
The battle took place on September 27, 1940, after the Junkers 88 was shot down by two Spitfires following a raid over London Pilot Unteroffizer Fritz Ruhlandt landed the plane on Graveney Marsh, which was seen by the men of A Company of the 1st Battalion London Irish Rifles, A group went out to capture the bomber but came under fire from two machine guns. They returned fire while a smaller group crawled along a dyke to get within 50 yards of the plane before they too started shooting. There was a heavy exchange of fire before the Germans surrendered, with one of them being shot in the foot. Nobody was killed. In a dramatic twist, commanding officer Captain John Cantopher overheard one of the captured crew mention in German that the plane should 'go up' at any moment. With that, he dashed back to the aircraft, located an explosive charge under one of the wings and threw it into a dyke, saving the prized aircraft for British engineers to paw over. Incredibly, the British had a pint of beer with the German airmen back at the pub before the PoWs were picked up.
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