UNIT

None of the items in the following collection has been traced elsewhere, either at the Imperial War Museum, or on WorldCat or COPAC. The background to the collection is explained by one authority as follows : 'The School of Army Co-operation was originally established at Old Sarum in 1920, to provide training for air officers supporting troops on the ground. It became the School of Air Support in 1945 when its remit was broadened to cover assistance by air in amphibious operations. It was reformed again in May 1947, within No. 11 Group, as the School of Land/Air Warfare.

4to 'Royal Air Force. Notebook for use in Schools', with Anderson's notes in pencil on all but 11 of its 96 pp. Text clear and complete, written in a neat, tight hand, with diagrams and tables. Fair, on aged paper, with slightly dog-eared corners, in worn and creased wraps. Ownership inscription on front cover of 'A. H. Anderson L.A.C. | Deputy Controller's Course | Woodlands. 27.10.'41'. Providing important first-hand insights into the procedure of the RAF during World War II. Subjects include 'Fighter Command Organisation', 'I.F.F. (Identification friend or foe)', 'P.P.L.

The collection is in very good condition, with a few staple and pin holes. Gray's letters are signed 'Milner Gray' and occasionally 'Milner'. All but the first two, which are on Society of Industrial Artists letterheads, are on Design Research Unit letterheads. An early letter (5 April 1949), to Kenneth Luckhurst, Secretary, Royal Society of Arts, apologises for and explains a 'difficulty' which has arisen 'over the fees we estimated for completing the necessary working drawings and supervising construction of the permanent display screens for the Society's headquarters'.