RAF College Cranwell
After the First World War, the Chief of the Air Staff, Sir Hugh Trenchard (below), was determined to consolidate the Royal Air Force's position as a single, independent Service. One of his priorities for the future was the establishment of a cadet college to provide basic and flying training for the future leaders of the Royal Air Force. He chose Cranwell as the location because, as he told his biographer,
"Marooned in the wilderness, cut off from pastimes they could not organise for themselves, the cadets would find life cheaper, healthier and more wholesome."
The Royal Air Force College, which was the first Military Air Academy in the world, was opened on 5 February 1920 under the command of Air Commodore C. A. H. Longcroft. The Chief of the Air Staff's message to the first entry of cadets left them in no doubt of his expectations for the College:
"We have to learn by experience how to organise and administer a great Service, both in peace and war, and you, who are present at the College in its first year, will, in future, be at the helm. Therefore, you will have to work your hardest, both as cadets at the College and subsequently as officers, in order to be capable of guiding this great Service through its early days and maintaining its traditions and efficiency in the years to come."