For more than eighty years, Kingston was at the cutting edge of flight. Not somewhere on the sidelines, but right at the centre of it.

This talk brings that story vividly back to life. From the roar of the Sopwith Camel in the First World War to the unmistakable power of the Hawker Hurricane in the Battle of Britain, Kingston helped shape some of the most iconic aircraft ever built. And it all happened here, on streets and sites you may pass every day without a second glance.

But this is not just a story of machines. It is a story of people and place, of factory floors and changing skylines, of women stepping into new roles, and of young apprentices finding their path, and a town reshaped by industry and then reshaped again as it faded.

Drawing on a recent three-month placement with Kingston Museum, Sophy's talk also lifts the lid on how these hidden histories are uncovered, interpreted, and brought back into public view. How do you tell a story that has all but disappeared from collective memory? And what happens when a town rediscovers a part of itself it had almost forgotten? If you think you know Kingston, think again.

Speaker Sophy Higgins is a third-year War Studies PhD Candidate at the Freeman Air and Space Institute (King's College London) and the Royal Air Force Museum, funded by the London Arts and Humanities Partnership. Her doctoral research examines the class-based influence of women on the development of aviation in interwar Britain.