Cloak and Dagger - Throughout the war, Tangmere was a secret base for the Special Operations Executive. They flew agents in and out of occupied France. They used Tangmere Cottage, which today has a commemorative plate to their memory.
D-Day and afterwards - HM King George VI and Queen Elizabeth – the Duke of Kent – General de Gaulle – Anthony Eden, Lord Louis Mountbatten, Viscount Trenchard, Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding and Air Chief Marshal Leigh Mallory. There was a dinner for General Eisenhower, Air Chief Marshal Tedder and other senior Air commanders, held locally at The Ship Hotel in North Street Chichester. A Table Plan and Photo are still visible today.
Peacetime service: speed records - After the War, the RAF High Speed Flight was based at Tangmere. In September 1946, a world air speed record of 616 mph was set up by Grp Capt Donaldson in a Gloster Meteor, and then, in September 1953, Squadron Leader Neville Duke flew a Hawker Hunter at 727 mph – an event commemorated in 2003.
  
Finally, the station was closed. On 16 October 1970 a single Spitfire flew over the field, as the RAF ensign was hauled down.
Some of the land was returned to farming, but three large hangers and acres of concrete remain. Tangmere Airfield Nurseries built acres of glass houses to grow peppers and aubergines.
37 acres of barracks, admin. Blocks and repair workshops remained derelict until bought by Seawards Properties Ltd in 1983.
Civilian houses spread around the airfield, and much RAF building was demolished and officers' houses retained as homes.
1948: Old Rectory sold - for ?3,250.. demolished to build houses in Hearn Close.
1956: New road to Shopwyke opened - to replace road across airfield to Oving, closed in 1941 to make runways.
Tangmere Museum Founded - A group of enthusiastic veterans formed the Tangmere Aviation Museum , now a major visitor attraction and base for annual celebrations.
In St Andrews cemetery, the bodies of service people – British and German – lie at rest, commemorated every year with special services. Local Government: the Parish Council - The Parish Council was established in 1966 and the village has slowly resumed its development as a rural community, with an influx of young families working mainly in and around Chichester .
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