Thomas Rolfe to re-embark on the "George" ship commanded by Samuel Argall when Rebecca (Pocahontas) was taken ill and died, at Gravesend in Kent. Thomas was not well enough to survive the long voyage back to Jamestown and Thomas was left in Plymouth, England, with Sir Lewis Stukley and later transferred into the care of his uncle, Henry Rolfe. His father, however, sailed to Virginia without him after being persuaded by Admiral Argall and other members of the journey that he was too sick to continue the voyage; this was the last time the two ever saw each other. Thomas remained in
Gravesend to 1956, an airport was located to the east of the town. It began as a civilian airfield, but during World War II it became a Royal Air Force fighter station, RAF Gravesend, and so Gravesend was heavily bombed by the Luftwaffe. In 1956 the site was taken over by Gravesend Town Council; a large housing estate known as Riverview Park was built on its site. At 03:35 GMT on Sunday 5 February 1939, Alex Henshaw took off from Gravesend Airport at the start of his record-breaking flight to Cape Town and back. He completed the flight in 39 hours