In 1896, William Carter of Dorset, with his sons, Emerson and Charles, established a firm called Homesteads Ltd. This company purchased the Rock Farm estate in 1900 for £8,880, £12 per acre.

Mr Carter divided the land into 341 plots of about one acre in size and sold them at £20 each. An average plot, complete with small homestead, cost around £125. By 1907 the village had a population of 150. Of the young men who left the little community to serve their country during World War I, eight fell in battle.

Some of the next wave of settlers were retired or war-disabled soldiers. Others were 'refugees' from the towns or social outcasts. On arrival, they had to build a home - mostly self-assembly tin bungalows - with outbuildings, and dig a well as there was no mains water. Most became market gardeners or poultry farmers, selling their produce as far away as London.

Basic shops, a Post Office and chapel were quickly established. The first school opened in 1928. Water and electricity came in the 1930s. In 1937 the RAF arrived. For the next forty years the development of the town was tied closely to the growth of the air base. Following the handback of the base from the USAF (United States Air Force) to the RAF in 1965, the late 1960s saw a building boom. In 1977 the village officially became a town with a population of around 12,000.