A friend of mine who farms a few miles from Polegate, he mentioned a curious old tin shed that is on his land, here are some photos of it, the construction of the frame is very heavy and unusual for a mere shed, although there is not much left now.
It turns out that this shed came from the WW1 Royal Naval Airship Station at Polegate. Not a lot is left to see in the area now and I don't think anyone knows of this sheds history apart from the farmers family.
25 July 2007 Community news from Willingdon, Wannock and Jevington.
AIRSHIP STATION – A plaque to commemorate Polegate Royal Naval Airship Station is to be unveiled at 12noon on Friday July 27 at Willingdon Library in Coppice Avenue.
Chairman of Willingdon and Jevington Parish Council John Pritchett will be performing the ceremony and residents are very welcome to attend.
The airship station, which stood on 142 acres of meadowland in the parish of Willingdon from July 1915 to April 1919, stretched from the British Queen along the A2270 to Polegate (then Willingdon) Mill and west to Wannock and the South Downs. The station was named 'Polegate' in accordance with service practice, as that was the nearest railway station. It was commissioned on July 6 1915.
Polegate Airship Station was one of 11 stations around the coast carrying out air patrols against German U Boats, and was the most active. The patrol area in 1918 was 4,500 square miles stretching from Dungeness to Portland Bill. Eight thousand, one hundred and forty hours were flown that year. At that time the station's complement was 37 officers and 264 men.
During the time the station was open, 13 officers and other ranks were decorated for bravery and service, and 13 mentioned in dispatches. Four officers and 10 other ranks died on active service. On December 20 1917, an unfortunate accident at Hill Farm, Willingdon, occurred when two airships collided, killing one of the pilots, Flight Sub Lieutenant R Swallow. He is buried in Ocklynge Cemetery. The station closed in April 1919 following the end of the war, and since then the land has been fully developed. The original idea of having a plaque to commemorate the Airship Station was that of Andy Watkins in January 2006, when, as a district and parish councillor, he set the wheels in motion. He said at the time, "This airship station is part of our heritage. I am sure that like me, other long time residents of Willingdon will remember the remaining concrete blocks being blown up when parts of Lower Willingdon were developed. Also, when in 1995 the former motor transport workshop, which became the Birds Engineering site, the last reminder of the station, was demolished. Behind that building there had been another former hut used as a library until the present library was built."
http://www.eastbourneherald.co.uk/willingdon/Willingdon-Wannock-and-Jevington-.3057653.jp