RAF Halton 5.19

Royal Air Force Halton or more simply RAF Halton is one of the largest Royal Air Force stations in the United Kingdom, located near the village of Halton near Wendover, Buckinghamshire. The site has been in use since the First World War but is expected to be disposed of by 2022.HRH the Duchess of Cornwall is the Honorary Air Commodore of RAF Halton.HistoryThe first recorded military aviation at Halton took place in 1913 when the then owner of the Halton estate, Alfred de Rothschild, invited No 3 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps to conduct manoeuvres on his land. Following a gentlemen's agreement between Rothschild and Lord Kitchener, the estate was used by the British Army throughout the First World War. In 1916 the Royal Flying Corps moved its air mechanics school from Farnborough, Hampshire to Halton, and in 1917, the school was permanently accommodated in workshops built by German PoWs.The estate was purchased by the British Government for the nascent Royal Air Force at the end of the First World War for £112,000.