Chapter 19 of Rawnsley & Wright's wartime classic 'Night Fighter' contains an evocative description of the swans on the lake next to the Manor House used by 85 Squadron at West Malling for its mess, which " . . . quickly became the object of great interest to the aircrew". Rawnsley wrote:
"Every afternoon the great birds went through their night-flying tests. The lake was very narrow, and they could only become airborne along its length, and in a cross-wind or calm air that called for some strenuous flying. The wild beating of their wings became more and more agitated as they proceeded on their take-off down the lake. One could almost see the look of anxiety coming on their faces as they began to run out of lake and had to make up their minds whether to put on full boost or throttle back for another run".