Subseries 1 - No. 1 Group

No. 1 Group was formed on 1 April 1918 as part of the South Eastern Area and, 2 years later, transferred to Inland Area before being renamed Number 6 Group in May 1924. On 25 August 1927, the Group reconstituted as part of the Air Defence of Great Britain and with responsibility for the auxiliary squadrons. It maintained this role until 1 May 1936 when it became No 1 Bomber Group. With the outbreak of the Second World War, 10 squadrons, along with the Group Headquarters moved to France to form the basis of the Advanced Air Striking Force codenamed ‘Panther’, with an aim to prevent the German’s westward course. In June 1940, Group Headquarters reformed at Hucknall in Nottinghamshire. In 1942, No 1 Group re-equipped with Halifax’s and Lancaster’s and attacked the Ruhr Valley, Cologne, Berlin - over 1000 bomber attacks were flown. In 1943 the Group switched the battle to Hamburg, and targets in Nuremberg. Over 5000 tons of bombs dropped in August including targets in Milan and Turin. By the end of 1944, the Group had achieved its ultimate wartime battle order with 12 stations and 16 Lancaster squadrons under its control. No 1 Group flew nearly 60,000 sorties during the Second World War but at a cost: having dropped a quarter of a million tons of bombs, almost 9000 aircrew were lost.