The fascinating aviation history of Essex, with a number of rare and previously unpublished photographs.

A look at the changing history of the Essex airfield Rivenhall.

Essex was at the forefront of the pioneering days of flying. Asearly as May 1785 the first hot-air balloon had landed in thecounty and by the 1850s they had become a familiar sight. Atthe outbreak of the First World War in August 1914 six landing grounds were established with a seaplane station at Clacton. A year later Sutton's Farm (later to be re named Hornchurch) and Goldhanger were added to the list and two more were opened in 1916 at North Weald Bassett and Stow Maries. The target was initially Zeppelins and later German Gotha bombers. In peacetime, the county soon played host to flying circuses and air displays. Joy-riding became a favourite pastime. One local entrepreneur, Edward Hillman, was not slow to see the opportunities in air travel and basing himself at Maylands first opened up a route to the seaside resorts of Kent next to Liverpool, Glasgow and Belfast and then to France and Belgium. But another war loomed and by the mid 1930s seven new fighter stations were established; one of them RAF Debden. At the outbreak of the Second World War the nine fighter squadrons then based in the county were ready and eager to meet the Luftwaffe and open another heroic chapter in the aviation history of Essex. Illustrated. Due in10th September.

When the First World War started Essex had no military aerodromes, but by its end 31 had been laid down for use by all three services. When the task of mainland defence was taken over from the RNAS by the fledgling RFC, and especially as no form of early warning system was in use, the defending fighters had to fly set patrol lines until the enemy was sighted or they had an emergency. In the event of the latter prepared landing grounds were available, some with rather basic facilities, as well as six more permanent Flight Stations with full aerodrome facilities. The history of each site is given, along with the units allocated to it, whilst site plans are supported by a current aerial photograph of each location. Final chapters cover the WW1 buildings remaining, with another looking at memorials raised to feats of aviation in the First World War and the remains of the German airships which raided the County. Eight appendices detail aerial combat patrol lines, the operational periods for the landing grounds, ground signals, the ultimate disposition of the Home Defence squadron network, Flight Station building locations, building drawings, costs of aircraft and engines plus personnel and equipment numbers at Flight Stations.