ving
taken over a piece of very soft ground at South Farnborough, near the
canal, began to erect sheds. The contractor for a balloon shed was
nearly ruined by the expense of making foundations. So things
fluctuated; the factory remained at Chatham, and the depot and section,
after a summer spent at Aldershot, collected at Chatham again for the
winter of 1890-1. In 1892 a definite move was made to Aldershot, which
continued thereafter to be the centre for balloon work. In 1894 the
balloon factory, under the superintendence of Colonel Templer, was fully
established at South Farnborough. Finally, in 1905, a new and better
site was found for it in the same neighbourhood, and by successive
additions to the sheds and workshops then erected the present Royal
Aircraft Establishment came into being. Some difficulty is presented to
the historian by the chameleon changes of official nomenclature, which
disguise a real identity and continuity. The Balloon Equipment Store at
Woolwich became the untitled factory at Chatham, which in its turn
became the balloon factory at South Farnborough. In 1908 it was
decorated, and became His Majesty's Balloon Factory; a little later it
was named the Army Aircraft Factory; and, later again, in 1912, the
Royal Aircraft Factory. So it continued until far through the war, when,
its initials being required for the newly-welded Royal Air Force, it was
renamed yet again, and was called the Royal Aircraft Establishment.
These changes in nomenclature were, of course, office-made, and have
none of the significance that attaches to the history of popular names.
But the Royal Aircraft Establishment itself was a natural growth, and
derives, without break, from the unofficial establishment of balloons at
Woolwich.

In 1899 the South African War began. Four balloon sections took an
active part in the campaign. The first section, commanded by Captain H.
B. Jones, operated with the troops under Lord Methuen, and proved its
value at the battle of Magersfontein. The second section, commanded by
Major G. M. Heath, was with Sir George White throughout the siege of
Ladysmith. An improvised section, commanded by Captain G. E. Phillips,
was raised at Cape Town, and joined Sir Redvers Buller's force at Frere
Camp, for the relief of Ladysmith. The regular third section, commanded
by Lieutenant R. D. B. Blakeney, embarked for South Africa early in
1900, and joined the Tenth Division at Kimberley. It is not easy to make
a