hese beginnings Larkhill rapidly developed. Towards the end of
1910 the Bristol Company, having come to an agreement with the War
Office, established themselves at Larkhill in a solidly built row of
sheds. The Government were not as yet prepared to undertake any large
expenditure upon aeroplanes; their attitude was tentative; they had been
advised by the Committee of Imperial Defence that the experiments with
aeroplanes, hitherto carried out at the balloon school, should be
discontinued, but that advantage should be taken of private enterprise
in this branch of aeronautics. Accordingly, the Bristol Company opened
at Larkhill the Bristol School of Aviation, which remained in existence
until the outbreak of the war. The chief instructor was M. Henry
Jullerot, one of the best pilots in France; he was assisted by Mr.
Gordon England, who had shown so much skill in handling the gliders of
Mr. Weiss, and by Mr. Harry Busteed, the first notable Australian pilot.
Salisbury Plain is perhaps the best stretch of country in England for
the training of aviators; the school grew and prospered; the Bristol
machine proved to be excellently well fitted for the purposes of
instruction, and the pupils, being relieved from the dangers that attend
a forced landing in populous country, distinguished themselves by their
bold flying. There were many camps of soldiers in the neighbourhood, so
that the work done at Larkhill did much to convert the army to a belief
in aviation. The tokens of the conversion were soon visible. On the 28th
of February 1911 an Army Order was issued, creating the Air Battalion of
the Royal Engineers. It ran as follows: 'With a view to meeting Army
requirements consequent on recent developments in aerial science it has
been decided to organize an Air Battalion, to which will be entrusted
the duty of creating a body of expert airmen.... The training and
instruction of men in handling kites, balloons and aeroplanes, and other
forms of aircraft, will also devolve upon this battalion. The
establishment of this battalion will be organized into (i) headquarters
and (ii) two companies.... The officers will be selected from any
regular arm or branch of the Service on the active list.... A selected
candidate will, on joining the Air Battalion, go through a six months'
probationary course.... An officer who satisfactorily completes the
probationary period will be appointed to the Air Battalion for a period
of four years.... The War