September 1939 - Outbreak of War - Changes in Training - Mobilisation of Instructors.

Reserve Training of all descriptions ceased forthwith and the Hart and Anson (from Filton) aircraft were handed back to the R.A.F. 'Ab inito' training of pilots on Tiger moths and, at Yatesbury, navigators as well continued and was gradually stepped up. At the end of 1939 all the Flying School Instructors were mobilised, but the management of the Schools and maintenance of aircraft etc. was still retained by the Company.

October 1939 - Wireless Flight formed at Yatesbury as No. 2 Radio School - R.A.F.

In October 1939, flying training was commenced at Yatesbury of Wireless Operators from the R.A.F. School which had been established nearby, earlier in the year. D.H. Dominie aircraft were used for this purpose.

August 1940 - 2 E.F.T.S. move from Filton to Staverton

The end of the 'cold war' of the Winter 1939-1940 and the encirclement of Filton aerodrome by a balloon barrage, made operation of a School therefrom increasingly difficult and in the summer of 1940, it became apparent that the School would have to move. Actually on two occasions while a pupil was on a first solo flight, the balloons were raised, but luckily safe landings were made, although the pilots had not noticed that the balloons had gone up!

On August 4th. 1940, the School moved to Staverton, Near Cheltenham, when it became a lodger Unit with an A.O.N.S. which was operating from this airfield. All the Company's personnel were moved with the School and the move was completed successfully and without interruption to flying training. Unfortunately, owing to the fact that runways were being laid down, it was soon apparent that great difficulty would be experienced in operating Tiger Moths on this airfield. It became necessary therefore, to find a relief landing ground, the nearest suitable one being at Worcester. As a result, for some eighteen months, the School operated under great difficulty - the daily procedure being for the ground staff and some pupils to leave early in the morning by bus to Worcester, and the aircraft to be flown up with Instructors and pupil in each and the day spent in the open at Worcester, where there was only very limited accommodation. Ground instruction and aircraft overhaul etc. was still carried out at Staverton. In spite of the difficulty of operating under these conditions, much valuable training work was accomplished.

September 1940 - 10 E.F.T.S. move to Weston-super-Mare

At Yatesbury too, the Autumn of 1940 brought great changes. The training commitment for Wireless Operators was greatly increased and owing to the large number of aircraft to be used for this purpose - numbers eventually reaching 95 Dominies and Proctors - it became necessary to relieve congestion by moving pilot training elsewhere.

Consequently No. 10 E.F.T.S. moved with its aircraft, R.A.F. Instructors and pupils and a nucleus of Company's employees under S/Ldr. Campbell, as Commanding Officer, to Weston-super-Mare, where the civilian maintenance staff, who had been previously employed with an A.O.N.S. , were taken over by the Company. S/Ldr. Raeburn was left in command at Yatesbury. Both S/Ldrs. Campbell and Raeburn, though holding R.A.F. rank were seconded to the Company to manage the Schools, in addition to their R.A.F. duties.

December 1940 - Yatesbury - No. 2 A.O.N.S. Closes.

As a further consequence of the increased wireless commitment, the A.O.N.S. at Yatesbury ceased to operate from December 1940. Since commencing operations in September 1938, this School had trained 248 Navigators for the R.A.F. and flown 9,675 hours.

October 1941 - 10 E.F.T.S. moves from Weston-super-Mare to Stoke Orchard.

1941 saw a further move for No. 10 E.F.T.S. as in the Autumn of that year, this School moved to Stoke Orchard, near Cheltenham, a new Aerodrome with more extensive accommodation. The School was increased in capacity with additional aircraft and the training commitment was considerably enlarged. The majority of personnel from Weston moved with the School, and, as accommodation in the Cheltenham district was difficult to find, it was necessary to house civilians as well as service personnel on the Camp. The construction of the camp was still incomplete and conditions were very uncomfortable during the Winter months, but good work was done and training went on without interruption.

September 1941 - No. 2 E.F.T.S. becomes No. 6 Flying Instructor School.

No.2 E.F.T.S. at Staverton continued flying from Worcester and in September 1941, S/Ldr. H.M. Kerr who had been Commanding Officer, left and re-joined the R.A.F. Another pre-war Filton Instructor, Morgan Griffiths, taking over command. The function of the School was changed and it became an Instructors School, the title being changed to No. 6 Flying Instructors School.

1941 - Build-up of No. 2 Radio School, Yatesbury.

At Yatesbury, the wireless school got into full swing during 1941, and with a gradual build-up of aircraft, a steady increase in flying was noticeable and by the end of the year, 33,800 hours had been flown.

April 1942 - Staverton School moves to Worcester.

In April 1942, No. 6 F.I.S. moved completely to Worcester from Staverton. The aerodrome and camp had been considerably improved as regards accommodation and the School quickly settled down in its' new location. Owing to the limited size of the landing area, the School was not able to increase its training capacity beyond two flights of 24/30 aircraft in all.

No. 10 E.F.T.S. at Stoke Orchard continued expansion in the opening months of 1942, and by the late Spring the new Station had settled down to smooth running. In June, however, came the news that the School was to be disbanded, as the Station was to be taken over by a Glider Pilot Training School which was Service manned.

August 1942 - 10 E.F.T.S. at Stoke Orchard Closed down.

At the end of July, therefore, No. 10 E.F.T.S. ceased operation. W/Cdr. Campbell, with several of the Instructors were moved to Worcester where W/Cdr. Campbell took over command vice S/Ldr. Morgan Griffiths and, of the maintenance personnel, some were transferred to the Yatesbury School and others to the parent works at Filton or the Weston factory. Since its' inception in 1936, this School had completed 104,072 hours flying during which 2,100 'ab inito' pupils had been trained, in addition to some 250 Reservists in pre-war annual courses.

1942-1945 - War effort of Worcester and Yatesbury Schools.

The function of the Worcester School was once again changed and elementary and refresher pilot training was once again the order of the day. The School's title reverted to No. 2 E.F.T.S. Owing to the airfield being very small, it was unsuitable for any aircraft other than light types. As a consequence, our crash crew became expert in dealing with visiting service aircraft which overshot and crashed through the boundaries of the landing ground. Luckily, these crashes were unattended by loss of life, but the crews on more than one occasion were surprised to see ambulance and firetender alongside almost as soon as their aircraft came to rest!

The Wireless School at Yatesbury, in spite of considerable trouble through unserviceability of Proctor aircraft, caused by the dispersal conditions, completed over 50,000 flying hours during 1942. During the succeeding 2 years 63,000 and over 70,000 hours were flown, without any major change in operation conditions.

Both aerodromes were free from enemy interference during the latter part of the war and training continued without any interruption or outstanding incident until V.E. day.