63-536: Hazel Bertha Hill (21 July 1920 – 28 September 2010) was a British Child Psychiatrist, probably best known for her contribution in changing an Air Ministry specification of firepower to be carried by new fighter aircraft before the Second World War . Hill was born in London to Frederick William Hill and his wife Bertha (née Underwood). She was only 13 when she helped her father calculate how many guns
126-535: A child health clinic in the newly formed National Health Service . She later trained as a psychiatrist becoming a founder member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in 1972. She published research into school phobia , anorexia and autism . She had four sons: Robin, Richard, Frank and Ted. She died, age 90, in 2010. Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of
189-404: A large change in the design. They calculated that 256 bullets in two seconds would be necessary to bring down an enemy bomber at the increased speeds of the new aircraft, and for this eight guns were required. Hazel's son, Robin, said he thinks his mother enjoyed maths because she was partially dyslexic and had trouble with spelling. This led to some teachers thinking she was being naughty as she
252-690: A new air service be formed that would be on a level with the Army and Royal Navy . The new air service was to receive direction from a new ministry and on 29 November 1917 the Air Force Bill received Royal Assent and the Air Ministry was formed just over a month later on 2 January 1918. Lord Rothermere was appointed the first Air Minister . On 3 January, the Air Council was constituted as follows: The Air Ministry continued to meet in
315-585: A recreation of the now disbanded Royal Naval Air Service . This negotiation led to the creation of RAF Coastal Area the predecessor of RAF Coastal Command to deal with its relationship with the Navy. Throughout 1919 there were discussions between Sir Hugh Trenchard Chief of the Air Staff and Sir Rosslyn Wemyss First Sea Lord as to the nature of the relationship between the Air Force and Air Ministry and
378-680: A single acre in Derbyshire . The Landholding produced a rent-roll of £163,273 p.a. On 9 January 1923, the Earl sold 143 acres of land known as the Keston Lodge Estate in Kent for £6000 to the property developer Frederick Rogers who renamed it Keston Park . Coworth House continued with Lord Derby until his death in 1948. It then became the home of Lady Derby, who died there on 24 July 1957, aged ninety-four. A month later her former home
441-873: The Admiralty and the War Office in matters relating to aviation. The new Air Committee was composed of representatives of the two war ministries, and although it could make recommendations, it lacked executive authority. The recommendations of the Air Committee had to be ratified by the Admiralty Board and the Imperial General Staff and, in consequence, the Committee was not particularly effective. The increasing separation of army and naval aviation from 1912 to 1914 only exacerbated
504-601: The Grenadier Guards as a lieutenant from 6 May 1885. He was seconded as aide-de-camp to the Governor General of Canada , his father, between 8 August 1889 and 1891. He was again seconded from his regiment on 10 July 1892, to take his seat in the House of Commons. He resigned his commission on 3 April 1895. On 11 January 1899, he was commissioned a lieutenant in the reserve of officers, and on 17 May,
567-651: The Kentucky Derby . His biggest achievement, though, was his breeding of the horse Phalaris . A champion sprinter and a stallion par excellence, Phalaris was responsible for establishing the most dominant sire line in Europe and later, the United States through his four sons – Sickle , Pharamond , Pharos and Fairway . Lord Derby married Lady Alice Montagu , daughter of William Montagu, 7th Duke of Manchester , and Louisa von Alten , and step-daughter of
630-841: The Liberal politician Neil Primrose . After his death in World War I, she married the Conservative politician Malcolm Bullock . Lord Derby died in February 1948 at the family seat of Knowsley Hall , Lancashire, aged 82. His other country seat was Coworth Park at Sunningdale in Berkshire. He was succeeded in the earldom by his grandson, Edward . He is buried at St Mary's Church, Knowsley . The Countess of Derby died in July 1957. Many good stories are told of Lord Derby, including
693-608: The Ministry of Aviation (1959–67) and finally the Ministry of Technology (1967–70). In the 1920s and early 1930s research and development was more than 20% of the Air Ministry’s total expenditure on aircraft and equipment, making it the largest research and development spending institution in Britain, until it was outstripped by private industry in the later 1930s. The Air Ministry was responsible for weather forecasting over
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#1732787689720756-570: The Ministry of Munitions , some of the problems of inter-service competition were avoided. The Air Board initially met in the Hotel Cecil on the Strand , familiarly known as the "Hotel Bolo". This was a humorous reference to Bolo Pasha (shot for treason in 1918 by the French government) whose attempts to undermine the French war effort with German-funded newspaper propaganda were likened to
819-656: The National Association of Discharged Sailors and Soldiers (NADSS) and the National Federation of Discharged and Demobilized Sailors and Soldiers (NFDSS), the latter of whom had put a candidate up against his son Lord Stanley in the 1917 Liverpool Abercromby by-election . The rival groups later merged into the British Legion formed in 1921. In April 1918 he was made Ambassador to France , which he remained until 1920. In April 1921 he
882-499: The Prime Minister David Lloyd George replaced the chairman Lord Curzon with Lord Cowdray . Godfrey Paine , who served in the newly created post of Fifth Sea Lord and Director of Naval Aviation, sat on the board and this high level representation from the Navy helped to improve matters. Additionally, as responsibility for the design of aircraft had been moved out of single service hands and given to
945-529: The Air Committee's ineffectiveness and the Committee did not meet after the outbreak of the First World War . By 1916 the lack of co-ordination of the Army 's Royal Flying Corps and the Navy 's Royal Naval Air Service had led to serious problems, not only in the procurement of aircraft engines, but also in the air defence of Great Britain. It was the supply problems to which an attempt at rectification
1008-834: The Air Ministry rather than being dealt with by either the Board of Trade or the Foreign Office. The Army and the War Office had largely agreed to the continued existence of the RAF due, in part, to the enthusiasm for the air service by the Army's political leader Winston Churchill. However, one of the main difficulties for the RAF and Air Ministry in 1919 was the opposition by the Royal Navy to losing their own air service and subsequent lobbying that personnel for naval air purposes afloat be naval officers and ratings – this would have led to
1071-546: The Air Ministry. He was interested in developing air links to the Empire and Dominion countries, particularly India and South Africa. He negotiated a subsidy from the Treasury for Imperial Airways to start a service from Cairo to India. Hoare, with his wife Lady Maud, flew on the inaugural 13-day flight to Delhi, leaving Croydon on 26 December 1926 and arriving on 8 January 1927. The air route to Cape Town, after much negotiation,
1134-540: The Battle of Britain, which was vital to this country's survival." After school, Hill studied medicine at a university in London and joined the Royal Army Medical Corps after graduating in 1943. At the end of the war, she became a GP and in 1948 married Chris Baker, who was one of the soldiers she had treated in the war. The couple moved to Wednesbury, West Midlands , where she got a job setting up
1197-777: The Gibraltar barrage , radar , Window , heavy water , and the German nightfighters " ( R.V. Jones ). Other World War II technology and warfare efforts included the branch's V-1 and V-2 Intelligence activities. In 1964 the Air Ministry merged with the Admiralty and the War Office to form the Ministry of Defence . Edward Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby Edward George Villiers Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby , KG , GCB , GCVO , TD , PC , JP (4 April 1865 – 4 February 1948), styled Mr Edward Stanley until 1886, then The Hon Edward Stanley and then Lord Stanley from 1893 to 1908,
1260-649: The Government was reluctant to adopt). It was not sufficiently successful in spite of the fact that the execution of Nurse Edith Cavell by the Germans on 12 October 1915 was used in recruitment rallies and conscription followed in 1916. In July 1916 Derby returned to the government when he was appointed Under-Secretary of State for War by H. H. Asquith , and in December 1916 he was promoted to Secretary of State for War by David Lloyd George . In this position he
1323-557: The Hotel Cecil on the Strand. Later, in 1919, it moved to Adastral House on Kingsway . The creation of the Air Ministry resulted in the disestablishment of the Army Council 's post of Director-General of Military Aeronautics. In 1919 the RAF and the Air Ministry came under immense political and inter service pressure for their very existence, particularly in a climate of significantly reduced military expenditure. The battle
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#17327876897201386-566: The I.T.P. contract papers for a Wolseley radial aero engine, which would have required re-orientation of their offices with an army of chartered accountants, he decided to deal only with the War Office and the Admiralty, not the Air Ministry. So the aero engine project was abandoned in 1936, see Airspeed . Nevil Shute Norway wrote that the loss of such a technically advanced engine was a great loss to Britain as well as Airspeed, and blamed
1449-607: The Joint War Air Committee. In October 1916 the Air Board published its first report which was highly critical of the arrangements within the British air services. The report noted that although the Army authorities were ready and willing to provide information and take part in meetings, the Navy were often absent from Board meetings and frequently refused to provide information on naval aviation. In January 1917
1512-519: The Navy and the Admiralty. In 1919 the Air Ministry formally took control of supply, design and inspection of all aircraft (aeroplanes and airships) from the Ministry of Munitions. This helped put the existence of Air Ministry on a firmer footing. Throughout 1919 Churchill persistently supported an independent air force. He presented the White Paper, largely written by Sir Hugh Trenchard , on
1575-595: The UK, from 1919 it being the government department responsible for the Meteorological Office . As a result of the need for weather information for aviation, the Meteorological Office located many of its observation and data collection points on RAF stations . In the 1930s, the Air Ministry commissioned a scientific study of propagating electromagnetic energy which concluded that a death ray
1638-671: The United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force , that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State for Air . On 13 April 1912, less than two weeks after the creation of the Royal Flying Corps (which initially consisted of both a naval and a military wing), an Air Committee was established to act as an intermediary between
1701-629: The Universities. The Air Ministry was also responsible for civil aviation. Early on Hoare set up the Civil Air Transport Subsidies Committee under the Chairmanship of Sir Hubert Hambling to look at the system of subsidies to competing air lines. They reported in February 1923, favouring a single commercial company to run Britain's air routes. In March 1924 Imperial Airways was created from a merger of
1764-574: The War Office between 1901 and 1903. In October 1903 he entered the cabinet as Postmaster General , a post he held until the government fell in December 1905. He lost his seat in the 1906 general election . In 1908 he succeeded his father in the earldom and took his seat in the House of Lords . In August 1914 Lord Derby organised one of the most successful recruitment campaigns to Kitchener's Army in Liverpool. Over two days, 1500 Liverpudlians joined
1827-544: The air force's institutional independence in the face of hostile attacks from the War Office and the Admiralty". More importantly in the long term he was also responsible for the appointment of Sir Sefton Brancker to develop civil aviation. With the fall of Lloyd George Sir Samuel Hoare became the Secretary of State for Air in October 1922 under Bonar Law . On Law's death Stanley Baldwin became Prime Minister and gave
1890-588: The appointment), of the 4th and 5th TF Battalions of the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment on 18 June 1909 and 17 May 1899 respectively, and of the Lancashire and Cheshire Heavy Brigade, Royal Artillery on 26 February 1921. Derby entered Parliament for Westhoughton in 1892, and served under Lord Salisbury as a Lord of the Treasury between 1895 and 1900 and under Salisbury and later Arthur Balfour as Financial Secretary to
1953-577: The crisis over Robertson's removal Derby "made himself ridiculous" by asking everyone, including the King , whether or not he should resign, and then in the end not doing so, only to be removed from the War Office a few weeks later. Derby and John Joseph Woodward (who was also secretary) jointly founded the ex-servicemen's organisation, the Comrades of the Great War in 1917 as a right-wing alternative to
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2016-401: The family tradition and was one of the most prominent owner breeders during the first half of the 20th century. Among his stables' important wins were: Amidst great fanfare that included making the cover of Time , in 1930 the 17th Earl visited Louisville, Kentucky , with Joseph E. Widener where he was the honoured guest of Churchill Downs president Col. Matt Winn at the 56th running of
2079-401: The following, which is surely apocryphal not least because he was a man of utter probity. He was spotted by a steward feeding one of his horses shortly before the start of a race. When challenged, His Lordship explained the substance was sugar, and promptly ate a lump himself to show that it was innocuous. "Keep the creature on a tight rein until a furlong out, then let him have his head, He'll do
2142-522: The four largest airlines. The third aspect of Hoare's time at the Air Ministry (after the R.A.F. and civil airlines) was to make public opinion sympathetic to air power and air travel. His much publicised flight to India in 1926-7 was part of this. He also realised the importance of the Schneider Trophy and was instrumental in making sure that the R.A.F was involved. Britain's winning entries in 1927, 1929 and 1931 were flown by R.A.F. pilots and
2205-485: The future of the RAF on 12 December 1919. It was this White Paper that was to be the effective charter for the RAF and Air Ministry in subsequent years. In February 1921 Lloyd George appointed Churchill to the Colonial Office and appointed his Chief Whip, Frederick Guest as Secretary of State for Air on 1 April. During his eighteen months in office he played "a minor part in the desperate struggle to maintain
2268-514: The idea of a university air officer training corps, a sort of Territorial Army for the R.A.F. Hoare and particularly his well connected Parliamentary Private Secretary the academic Sir Geoffrey Butler, then created University Air Squadrons , at Cambridge University then at Oxford University in October 1925, without, however the militarism of the Officer Training Corps and in close collaboration with scientific and engineering work of
2331-499: The leading Liberal politician Lord Hartington , at the Guards Chapel, Wellington Barracks , London, on 5 January 1889. Lady Alice was also a lady-in-waiting to her friend, Queen Alexandra . The couple had three children together. Two of them, Edward (Lord Stanley) and Oliver , achieved the rare distinction of sitting in the same Cabinet between May and October 1938 until Edward's death. Their daughter, Lady Victoria, married
2394-520: The new battalion. Speaking to the men he said: "This should be a battalion of pals, a battalion in which friends from the same office will fight shoulder to shoulder for the honour of Britain and the credit of Liverpool." Within the next few days, three more pals battalions were raised in Liverpool. In October 1915, as Director-General of Recruiting, he instituted the Derby Scheme , a halfway house between voluntary enlistment and conscription (which
2457-459: The new generation of fighter aircraft would need to bring down enemy aircraft. The pair used calculating machines , which were rudimentary computers, at the kitchen table of their London home. The new aircraft was to have four guns which fired 1,200 rounds per minute and many thought that this would be sufficient. Her father was not so sure. In June and July 1934 they worked at night to create the evidence that her father's boss needed to justify making
2520-419: The over-cautious high civil servants of the Air Ministry. When he had asked Lord Nuffield to retain the engine, Nuffield said: I tell you, Norway ... I sent that I.T.P. thing back to them, and I told them they could put it where the monkey put the nuts! In later years the actual production of aircraft was the responsibility of the Ministry of Aircraft Production (1940–46), the Ministry of Supply (1946–59),
2583-736: The position Cabinet status in May 1923, and Hoare remained in the post until January 1924, when a Labour government took power. Lord Thomson was made Secretary of State for Air. A supporter of airships, Thomson was responsible for the Imperial Airship Scheme , which involved the construction of R101 at the Royal Airship Works at Cardington. After the fall of the MacDonald government in November 1924 Hoare returned to
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2646-472: The pre-war Air Committee, the Joint War Air Committee lacked any executive powers and therefore was not effective. After only eight sittings, Lord Derby resigned from the Committee, stating that "It appears to me quite impossible to bring the two wings closer together ... unless and until the whole system of the Air Service is changed and they are amalgamated into one service." The Joint War Air Committee
2709-861: The rest". His Lordship added, almost as an afterthought: "If you hear anything coming up behind you, don't worry and don't turn round, it will only be me". A county directory of 1903 describes Coworth House as "an ancient building standing in a thickly wooded park". As Derby also owned Knowsley Hall in Lancashire, his principal country seat, and a London townhouse in Stratford Place, St James's, Coworth tended to be occupied only during Ascot race meetings. The Derby landholdings in 1833 consisted of some seventy thousand acres in Lancashire, Cheshire , Surrey and Kent in England and Flintshire in Wales, but not
2772-477: The teams partially subsidised by the Air Ministry. The Air Ministry issued specifications for aircraft that British aircraft companies would supply prototypes to. These were then assessed, if ordered the Ministry assigned the aircraft name. (see List of Air Ministry specifications ). The ordering procedure used I.T.P. (Intention to Proceed) contract papers; these specified a maximum fixed price, which could (after investigation) be less. But when Lord Nuffield got
2835-442: The unhelpful rivalry between the RFC and the RNAS. Despite attempts at reorganization of the Air Board, the earlier problems failed to be completely resolved. In addition, the growing number of German air raids against Great Britain led to public disquiet and increasing demands for something to be done. As a result, Lloyd George , the British Prime Minister, established a committee composed of himself and General Jan Smuts , which
2898-421: Was a British soldier, Conservative politician, diplomat and racehorse owner. He was twice Secretary of State for War and also served as British Ambassador to France . Stanley was born at 23 St James's Square , London, the eldest son of Frederick Stanley (later the 16th Earl of Derby), by his wife Lady Constance Villiers. Frederick Stanley was the second son of Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby , who
2961-403: Was a Cabinet position, and Secretary of State for Air both of which he accepted. This combination under one person by was criticised in both the press and Parliament. However, Churchill re-iterated that the continued "integrity, the unity, the independence of the Royal Air Force will be sedulously and carefully maintained". During 1919 it was also decided that civil aviation was to be brought into
3024-441: Was a strong supporter of the Chief of the Imperial General Staff Sir William Robertson and of the Commander-in-Chief of the BEF, Field Marshal Haig . Haig privately had little respect for him, writing to his wife (10 January 1918) that Derby was "like the feather pillow, bear[ing] the mark of the last person who sat on him" and remarking that he was known in London as the "genial Judas". Robertson's biographer writes that during
3087-417: Was appointed Roberts' private secretary on 25 July 1900. and was again mentioned in despatches of 2 April 1901 for his "thorough knowledge of men and affairs". He was appointed honorary colonel of the 6th (Militia) Battalion, Manchester Regiment on 24 December 1902, of the 5th Battalion, King's Regiment (Liverpool) in the Territorial Force (TF) on 15 June 1908 (the fourth successive Earl of Derby to hold
3150-407: Was awarded the Freedom of the City of Manchester in 1934. Derby was Lord Mayor of Liverpool between 1911 and 1912. He served as honorary president of the Rugby Football League , and donated a cup for the French authorities to use for a knock-out competition, much as his father had done for ice hockey with the Stanley Cup . This is now known as the Lord Derby Cup . Between 1937 and 1947 he
3213-411: Was composed as follows: Advisory Members were also appointed as required. The next attempt to establish effective co-ordination between the two air services was the creation of an Air Board. The first Air Board came into being on 15 May 1916 with Lord Curzon as its chairman. The inclusion of Curzon, a Cabinet Minister, and other political figures was intended to give the Air Board greater status than
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#17327876897203276-412: Was finalised in 1929, before he left office, but only commenced in 1932. His time at the Air Ministry was marked by several important developments that were to confirm the status of the Royal Air Force as a separate entity, play a part in the growth of civil aviation and to develop the awareness of the public about aviation. An early priority for Sir Hugh Trenchard , Chief of the Air Staff 1919–1930,
3339-428: Was first made. The War Committee meeting on 15 February 1916 decided immediately to establish a standing joint naval and military committee to co-ordinate both the design and the supply of materiel for the two air services. This committee was titled the Joint War Air Committee, and its chairman was Lord Derby . It was also at the meeting on 15 February that Lord Curzon proposed the creation of an Air Ministry. As with
3402-416: Was impractical but detection of aircraft appeared feasible. Robert Watson-Watt demonstrated a working prototype and patented the device in 1935 (British Patent GB593017). The device served as the base for the Chain Home network of radars to defend Great Britain. By April 1944, the ministry's air Intelligence branch had succeeded in its intelligence efforts regarding " the beams , the Bruneval Raid ,
3465-422: Was kickstarted by the resignation in December 1918 of William Weir the President of the Air Council (the governing body of the Royal Air Force), who wished to return to his commercial activities. This led the Prime Minister, Lloyd George , to create a Secretary of State for Air , but not as a Cabinet position, and on 9 January 1919 offered Winston Churchill the two posts of Secretary of State for War , which
3528-461: Was made honorary colonel of the 2nd Volunteer Battalion, Loyal North Lancashire Regiment . Lord Stanley served on the staff in the Second Boer War , and was appointed Chief Press Censor at Cape Town , graded as assistant adjutant-general , on 18 January 1900. He accompanied Lord Roberts ' headquarters as Press Censor when he left Cape Town, and was mentioned in despatches of 31 March 1900 by Roberts for his "tact and discretion" in that role. He
3591-448: Was obviously intelligent. "I think when she did mathematics, she had none of these problems, which is why it appealed to her so much," Robin said. The RAF publicly acknowledged Hill's important role in a BBC documentary. Group Captain James Beldon said: "What a great inspiration to young people today, and young girls in particular, who can look upon someone like Hazel in the 1930s making such an important contribution to our later success in
3654-434: Was sent secretly to Ireland for talks with Éamon de Valera , and it is likely that these talks paved the way for the truce which in turn led to the Anglo-Irish Treaty . He again served as Secretary of State for War under Bonar Law and Stanley Baldwin from 1922 to 1924. Derby was made a CB in 1900, sworn of the Privy Council in 1903, KCVO in 1905 and a GCVO in 1908, Knight of the Garter in 1915, GCB in 1920. He
3717-425: Was tasked with investigating the problems with the British air defences and organizational difficulties which had beset the Air Board. Towards the end of the First World War, on 17 August 1917, General Smuts presented a report to the War Council on the future of air power. Because of its potential for the 'devastation of enemy lands and the destruction of industrial and populous centres on a vast scale', he recommended
3780-400: Was the match between St Helens and Wigan being named 'the derby' as the clubs reside in opposite ends of Lord Derby's estate, this is a term used globally between rival clubs from a similar location however there is only one domestic league match named 'the Derby'. The Epsom Derby was named after the 12th Earl while The Oaks was named after the 12th Earl's house near Epsom . Derby followed
3843-449: Was the president of the National Playing Fields Association (now renamed Fields in Trust ). He was also, from 1929 to 1945, the chairman of the Pilgrims Society , becoming their president, until his death in 1948. Derby served as East Lancashire Provincial Grand Master of Freemasonry from 1899 until his death. He also held the post of Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire between 1928 and 1948. Another contribution made to English rugby league
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#17327876897203906-515: Was three times Prime Minister of the United Kingdom . Villiers was the daughter of the Liberal statesman George Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon . Edward Stanley was educated at Wellington College, Berkshire , where he boarded as a pupil of Stanley House, named in honour of his paternal grandfather the 14th Earl . Stanley initially received a lieutenant 's commission in a militia unit, the 3rd Battalion, King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) (commanded by his father), on 4 May 1882, and then joined
3969-414: Was to establish the officer cadet training college at Cranwell as a permanent establishment. It was Hoare's job to negotiate with the Treasury for the necessary funds. After much resistance Hoare managed to include a provision for permanent buildings in his estimates for 1929. The foundation stone of the Royal Air Force College Cranwell was laid in 1929 and formally opened in 1934. Trenchard had conceived
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