Editing Hornchurch (section)

===Hornchurch Airfield and the military===
During both the [[World War I|First World War]] and [[World War II|Second World War]] nearby [[Hornchurch Airfield]] was an important [[Royal Air Force|RAF]] station; it was known as RAF Suttons Farm during the Great War, with its HQ as far away as Upminster Hall. During the Second World War, the airfield was known as RAF Hornchurch, and was home mostly to a number of [[Supermarine Spitfire|Spitfire]] squadrons, with an advanced sub-station at Rayleigh. The land has since been reused for a large housing development and [[Hornchurch Country Park]]. During the First World War a large vacant country estate called [[Grey Towers]] on Hornchurch Road was commandeered by the Army Council as a military depot. In January 1916 it became the first Command Depot for the New Zealand Contingent in Britain but was found to be more suitable as a Convalescent Hospital Camp for servicemen from the [[New Zealand Expeditionary Force]], and was run as such until June 1919.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://ezitis.myzen.co.uk/greytowers.html | title=Hornchurch: New Zealand Convalescent Hospital 1916–1919 |website=Lost Hospitals of London | access-date= 11 February 2014}}</ref>