Noble family use of the real tennis court was suspended on the outbreak of war in 1914. Sir Andrew died in 1915 but the Jesmond Dene House continued to host many military visitors during the conflict. Rudyard Kipling visited at this time to research ‘Fringes of the Fleet’ and ‘The War at Sea’ (1916). The Armstrong Whitworth Company was diversifying in many ways as part of its war effort and a substantial aircraft production unit was established in the ice rink off the town moor in Gosforth. According to one source the court became an adjunct of this activity and Edgar Lambert was given the task of organising its war effort: “During the war Elswick made airships on the Zeppelin principle. A large space was required to make the balloons or gas bags for these ships. The tennis court was ideal for this purpose and Lambert was put in charge, so that even the Tennis court made its war effort.”
Information on how the gas bags were made or the size of the tennis court work force is non-existent. Certainly the workers are likely to have been women as they were predominant in such work at this time. It is known that women worked at the aircraft factory on the moor. Indeed they had their own football team, the aptly named “Aviation Athletic”.
For a short period post-World War One the real tennis court resumed its life as the family playground with a variety of play and regular visitors. So much is apparent from Humphrey Noble’s memoir: “The tennis court reverted to its proper use. Horace, who was working in Newcastle, had become a fine player and had played for Oxford in 1922. He had a very powerful stroke and cut the ball properly – anyone taught by Lambert knew how to do this. We had tennis matches again at the New Year, getting Arthur Twinn from Cambridge and Charles Feldon from Manchester. Sometimes we would have a tennis weekend in the summer and invited Edgar Baerlein, Percy Ashworth and Victor Cazalet to stay at Jesmond. Cyril Simpson would always join in these Tennis Festivals.”
