RFC Training Bases in North Yorkshire

[Kellyellie98]

Hello everyone,

I'm following an ambition of mine and attempting to write a historic novel. I'm basing it in North Yorkshire following a young lad joining the RFC (the plot needs to be thickened for sure). I'm a 25 years old lass, and as you can imagine, a lot of my peers don't really know much of this topic so that's why I'm reaching out to this forum while researching as much as possible. Please keep in mind that I am at the very beginning of this research into this topic. 

The main issues I'm facing is that there doesn't seem to be much information on training bases in Yorkshire. I was really hoping to set my story in RFC Catterick but I don't have much further information than that. Information such as what planes they trained in, what squadrons trained there, any notable people who trained there, what sort of training took place. etc. I'm also unsure on how a soldier would transfer from the army to join the RFC. Would new pilots even be stationed in a nearby base, or would they be sent somewhere else? 

If anyone would please help me with information you think would be useful for me to explore then I would be appreciative. I want to make my story accurate, and pay respect to those who served. 

 

Thank you all. 

[EDWARD1]

Catterick	September 1914	1 April 1918	North Yorkshire	England	Marne Barracks
Copmanthorpe	1916	1 April 1918	North Yorkshire	England
Helperby	1916	1920	North Yorkshire	England	Farmland[3]
Marske-by-the-Sea	December 1917	1 April 1918	North Yorkshire	England	Housing
Redcar	1915	1 April 1918	North Yorkshire	England	Housing
Ripon	15 September 1916	1 April 1918	North Yorkshire	England	Ripon Racecourse
Vale Farm, Thornaby (Yarm)	1914	1 April 1918	North Yorkshire	England	Housing/Industry

 

From Wikepedia

[Airshipped]

Hi KellyEllie98,

Setting it in North Yorkshire is going to of course provide opportunities for Healthcliff etc drama on the moors but in terms of pilot training it's going to be a little constraining.

The Great War Aviation Society ('Cross & Cockade') prepared an excellent series on the RFC and RNAS wartime sites. Mick Davis is still a regular on this forum, so perhaps PM him for further info or have a look at some of the threads. Depending upon the stage of the war, the Reserve Squadrons became Training Squadrons. Later there were more integrated Training Depot Stations (TDS).

With regard to North Yorkshire don't forget that on the North Sea coast there was active service against Zeppelins, U-Boats etc. Perhaps Have a look at some of the RNAS stations: don't just restrict yourself to the RFC.

On the RFC angle you could of course take the standard route of public school type who obtains a commission etc. However, there might be a more interesting angle of an Observer who fought on the Western Front (e.g. perhaps originally infantry, getting the RFC observer role via gunnery skills, or perhaps put him in the artillery, with good skills on ranging artillery, map reading etc) and who - through whatever drama with his CO - gets the opportunity to be posted home for pilot training?

You've probably already read a few memoirs but if not then here are a few that'd give you an idea of what they'd have faced at different stages of the war:

• McCudden, Five Years in the RFC (rebranded 'Flying Fury'),
• any of Arthur Gould Lee's works: e.g. 'No Parachute' or 'Open Cockpit',
• a few of Mcmillan's works, probably 'Into the Blue',
• Strange, Recollections of an Airman,
• Grinnell Milne 'Wind in the Wires' (often bundled with 'An Escaper's Log' in a single publication),
• Cecil Lewis 'Sagittarius Rising',
• Rochford 'I Chose the Sky',
• Bill Lambert 'Combat Report',
• McScotch, Fighter Pilot.

There's a huge difference between the pre-war and early war chaps, who learnt via trial and error, and those with more structured training as the war evolved. There have been quite a few books published on pilot training (no need to obsess over Gosport methods etc if it doesn't suit your timeline or the location). These might give a better idea of how long to send someone down to Oxford or Reading and/or to have them on aerial gunnery ranges etc. Having someone come on/off site in your chosen Yorkshire location might better provide for friendships to lapse or new ones to form. Also useful for dramatic twists, e.g. X gets posted to the Western Front whilst your chap nurses his broken toe etc, and weeks later - after you've led your reader through the new friends/enemies etc, you've news of the death of X, or his unexpected arrival to marry your sweetheart etc etc. However, if looking for accuracy, one recurring thread is the boredom, the impatience to get into the action, the arrogance of youth not really believing their instructors' tales etc, the earning of respect (and or its loss) among peers etc. And how unprepared they really are when it comes to being thrown in to a service squadron. I'm sure you can do something respectful that'd still capture the mischief and the fun which sometimes emerged as they learned their trade.

Best of luck with it. I'm sure that someone can post a few dates re when the various Naval Air Stations were operational, for it might prove as good a match as the RFC ones. That said, you'll probably have much more choice if opting for the RAF.

[mickdavis]

These are the details for Catterick

[Kellyellie98]

Thank you all for your help! 

I've decided to go in the direction for my character, of originally being in the Green Howards (maybe doing artillery as suggested). and transfers to the RFC in 1916. 

I'm open to suggestions of different training places to consider for him, and of course what plane he would likely train in is the next thing. From reading a few different accounts - No Parachute by Lee for example, he was in and out of a few different planes during his career. I'll of course need to learn about my characters plane to write a realistic scene of him flying it. I'd like to be more in depth than simply "he pushed this forward, and that back, and put his foot on that bit.". 

For this book, I want to focus on his training more than him fighting in any particular battles. So would ideally like him to stay based in England for the majority of the book before getting sent over. I understand though that this may be a bit tricky as many accounts pretty much start from when they got sent to France. Was it the case that pilots trained for X months and then got sent straight away? I remember reading that when times got desperate, as long as pilots had double digits in flying hours they were pretty much good to go. How long realistically could he have been kept in England? 

 

Thank you once again for your help!