| January |
Men working among the coppices in Kent helped with the war effort. Charcoal made at Arketts Farm, Stalisfield Green, high on the Downs, was sent to France for use as a fuel in the battle areas. The charcoal was smokeless and odourless and did not give away the soldiers' positions and it provided plenty of heat. The Stalisfiled charcoal also went to the gunpowder makers at Faversham where a new factory was due to open. |
| 2 January |
Lord Rothermere was appointed Head of the Air Council. |
| 8 January |
Trees are to be planted in Kent under a state-sponsored forestry scheme to ensure that Britain will have sufficient home timber for military and commercial needs in the future. Altogether, two million acres in England will be planted. |
| 22 January |
The Government orders restaurants and all eating houses not to serve meat on two days a week due to the acute food shortage. |
| 8 February |
The Representation of the People Act receives Royal Assent giving the vote to married women over 30. |
| 9 March |
New Military Service Bill raised the maximum conscription age to 30. |
| 20 March |
Coal, gas and electricity was rationed and theatres were told to close after 10.30pm. |
| 25 March |
All traffic to the East Kent coast was suspended and it was assumed that a big raid was planned. |
| 22 April |
Manfred von Richthofen, known as the 'Red Baron' and Germany's most feared pilot was shot down in flames and killed during the Battle of the Somme. |
| 22 April |
An exploding mine completely destroyed Ramsgate Pier. |
| 16 July |
Russia's Czar Nicholas II and his family were massacred by Bolshevik rulers in Ekaterinburg in the Urals. |
| 23 July |
Heavy fighting resumed on the Western Front following a long lull caused by an influenza epidemic. Von Ludendorff's offensive across the Marne was halted and the tide appeared to be turning for the Allies. |
| 13 August |
The Government recognises the state of Czechoslovakia. |
| 1 October |
A young British officer, Major T E Lawrence, led an Arab revolt against the Turks and captured Damascus. Multitudes celebrated the liberation from the Ottoman Empire. |
| 23 October |
Hundreds of schools in Kent were forced to close as the worldwide influenza epidemic hit England with a vengeance. The outbreak devastated Maidstone, especially the poor. In London more than 2000 deaths were reported. Worldwide the total is 53000. |
| 31 October |
Germany appealed for an armistice as the shadow of defeat for the country and Allies grew. |
| 11 November |
The Armistice was signed at 11am in a carriage in the forest of Compiegne. Public revelry and rejoicing in Britain marked the end of the war. |
| 27 November |
A memorial was unveiled in Gillingham Cemetery in memory of the men killed in the raid on the Royal Naval barracks in 1917. |
