tain Barker, who, in aerial combat, was wounded in the
right and left thigh and had his left arm shattered, subsequently
bringing down an enemy machine in flames, and then breaking through
another hostile formation and reaching the British lines.

In recalling such exploits as these, one is tempted on and on, for it
seems that the pilots rivalled each other in their devotion to duty,
this not confined to British aviators, but common practically to all
services. Sufficient instances have been given to show the nature of the
work and the character of the men who did it.

The rapid growth of aerial effort rendered it necessary in January of
1915 to organise the Royal Flying Corps into separate wings, and in
October of the same year it was constituted in Brigades. In 1916 the
Air Board was formed, mainly with the object of co-ordinating effort
and ensuring both to the R.N.A.S. and to the R.F.C. adequate supplies of
material as far as construction admitted. Under the presidency of Lord
Cowdray, the Air Board brought about certain reforms early in 1917,
and in November of that year a separate Air Ministry was constituted,
separating the Air Force from both Navy and Army, and rendering it an
independent force. On April 1st, 1918, the Royal Air Force came into
existence, and unkind critics in the Royal Flying Corps remarked on the
appropriateness of the date. At the end of the War, the personnel of the
Royal Air Force amounted to 27,906 officers, and 263,842 other ranks.
Contrast of these figures with the number of officers and men who took
the field in 1914 is indicative of the magnitude of British aerial
effort in the War period.

XX. THE WAR PERIOD--II

There was when War broke out no realisation on the part of the British
Government of the need for encouraging the enterprise of private
builders, who carried out their work entirely at their-own cost. The
importance of a supply of British-built engines was realised before the
War, it is true, and a competition was held in which a prize of L5,000
was offered for the best British engine, but this awakening was so late
that the R.F.C. took the field without a single British power plant.
Although Germany woke up equally late to the need for home produced
aeroplane engines, the experience gained in building engines for
dirigibles sufficed for the production of aeroplane power plants. The
Mercedes filled all requirements together with the Benz and the Maybach.
There was a