A £1.5m grant from the National Heritage Memorial Fund has secured the future of an Essex aerodrome, believed to be the last intact World War I airfield.

Built in 1916, Stow Maries Aerodrome was a base for the 37 Squadron Royal Flying Corps, which helped defend London from German bombing raids. It closed in 1919 and remained overgrown until it was rediscovered by a group of enthusiasts in 2009.

The grant will enable The Stow Maries Great War Aerodrome Trust to restore the airfield to its wartime condition and open a museum to commemorate the pilots. It will also host workshops, including teaching old skills of aircraft construction.

Russell Savory, form the Friends of Stow Maries Aerodrome, says this will be a valuable historical resource: “There’s much spoken about land warfare, but there’s not so much known about the aviators who were writing the books on how to fly for when WWII came along.”