St Omer

Isn't it amazing how in the modern world we take air power as a prerequisite for winning our wars. How far we have come from wood, wire and fabric at Kittyhawk in 1903 to modern aircraft capable of flying faster than sound.

Even as civilians most of us think nothing of hopping on a plane to go on holiday, yet in 1909 when Louis Blériot made his flight across the English Channel this was considered an outstanding achievement for him and plane - ironically many of us now go under the channel rather than over it!

The French took up the idea of aviation very quickly and by 1911 had about 200 aircraft as opposed to the less than 20 in the British Army.

It had been French engineers who had invented the rotary engine which prevented the engine from over heating and allowed greater stability in flight. This of course was still the age of the horse and the French had almost more aircraft than they did lorries !

On 13 April 1912 the British formed the Royal Flying Corps, recruiting initially from within the Army and in particular the Royal Engineers. At the turn of the century, Britain's Royal Navy truly ruled the seas and the Admiralty had so much power that it not only ignored the fledgling RFC but formed its own airforce: The Royal Naval Air Service.

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Joining the BEF

On the outbreak of the First World War the RFC had four squadrons equipped with aircraft: 2, 3, 4, and 5 Squadrons. 1 Squadron had been formed as an airship unit and had yet to be re-equipped.

On 13 August 1914 Numbers 2, 3, and 4 Squadrons took off from Dover to join the British Expeditionary Force in France, 5 Squadron following a few days behind.

The flight was considered an enormous and dangerous adventure and took them directly across to Boulogne and then down the coast to the Bay of the Somme before following the river to Amiens, a journey of some 2 hours for the fastest.

Moving forward to Maubeuge with the Army the RFC completed its first reconnaissance Flights on 19 August, and shortly afterwards the RFC found itself in the midst of the Battle of Mons on 23 August 1914.

Flying at this moment in time was very much in its infancy and pilots and observers simply provided an eye in the sky for the fighting men below. The benefits though were soon realised, and were used not just to seek out the enemy but also to assist in locating friendly forces as well.

Following the retreat from Mons the RFC fell back to the Marne where in September they helped in identifying von Kluck's 1st Army's left wheel against the exposed French flank. In making his manoeuvre von Kluck gave the French a chance to counter attack, turning the tide in favour of the Allies.

In the battle of the Aisne which followed the RFC took aerial photographs for the first time and made use of wireless telegraphy to guide artillery.

A new base for the RFC

As the Race to the Sea developed the RFC moved forward again and on Monday 8 October 1914, Headquarters Royal Flying Corps arrived at St Omer and took up residence here at the aerodrome next to the local racecourse.

Within a few days the four squadrons had arrived and for four years St Omer was to be a central hub for the RFC. Most squadrons only used the St Omer as a transit camp whilst on their way to other locations, but the importance of the site grew as logistical support became its primary function.

The GOC RFC; Major-General Hugh Trenchard held his headquarters here up until the end of March 1916 and it returned again for a few months in 1917. The Pilot's Pool was to remain at St Omer until the closing stages of the war, and so from this aspect St Omer became well known to every pilot in the service.

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At the beginning of the war some senior officers had professed doubts as to the purpose or requirement to having men flying about above the lines. This changed rapidly as pilots turned from being mere observers to active participants. Revolvers were taken aloft as personal protection and became offensive when pilots started taking potshots at each other. From there on in it was only a matter of time before machine guns and bomb dropping equipment had been added to machines.

On 4 July 1918 during the Australian attack at Le Hamel, aircraft were used to drop ammunition to the advancing troops for the first time.

Such changes necessitated an increasing number of aircraft and pilots. Equipment had to be repaired and machines put back together again. Wireless equipment was added and St Omer was at the fore front of this huge behind the scenes operation.

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Hugh Dowding forms 9 Squadron

One of the duties of the RFC was to assist the artillery with ranging on to targets. Many systems were tried, but klaxons couldn't be heard, semaphore was next to impossible and the only thing that looked promising was the wireless. To this end the wireless flight of 4 Squadron was increased and reformed at St Omer as 9 Squadron RFC.

The commanding officer of 9 Squadron was Captain Hugh Dowding who would later find himself at odds with Trenchard over the necessity of giving pilots adequate rest periods. For his stance Dowding was sent back to Britain. However as Air Marshal Dowding during the Second World War he was to find himself in Trenchard's shoes commanding The Few during the Battle of Britain in 1940 when his own pilots were to fight to their very limits.

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The Service's Memorial to the Missing is part of the Arras Memorial - next to the Arras Citadel.

Arras Memorial

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