Kev,
Thanks for bringing this to the top again. I spent my early years in Ramsgate and Broadstairs, so things to do with Manston are always of interest.
A small point. The helicopter is a Whirlwind 10, not a Wessex. I vividly remember them flying along the beaches during the summer, with the winchman sitting in the doorway, waving to the holiday makers.
They were a colourful replacement for the recently departed USAF S-55s.
The "local newspaper" would almost certainly have been The East Kent Times.