Gravesend was granted, allowing the men of the town to operate boats between London and the town; these became known as the "Long Ferry". It became the preferred form of passage, because of the perils of road travel (see below). On Gravesend's river front are the remains of a Tudor fort built by command of King Henry VIII in 1543. On 21 March 1617, John Rolfe and Rebecca (aka Princess Pocahontas) with their two-year-old son, Thomas, boarded a ship in London bound for the Commonwealth of Virginia; the ship had only sailed as far as Gravesend before Rebecca fell fatally ill,
Transport in Kent at both sites while also sustaining continual bombardment form the Axis air forces. The RAF fought the Battle of Britain over the skies of Kent and numerous fighter stations were created to base fighters; Biggin Hill, Gravesend, West Malling, Hawkinge and Lympne, while Eastchurch, Manston and Detling were under Coastal Command. Post-war Biggin Hill and West Malling continued as fighter bases while Manston was by the United States Air Force's Strategic Air Command and later United States Air Forces in Europe. Due to its length, it was a V-bomber dispersal base. Due to their short runways (Biggin Hill and West