1915 - 1917 Flying School

Frederick Etches was the General Manager for The Bournemouth Aviation Company. They started a Flying School operating at the Talbot Village site in 1915 - it is possible some of the original Flying School buildings were still present. Adverts for Learning to Fly appeared in the Bournemouth Graphic newspaper from October 1915.

The Flying school trained pilots prior to their entry into the Royal Flying Corps (Later renamed to the Royal Air Force) and other air forces. Pupils included those from Canada and Belgium.

Flying was still very dangerous - One of the early fatalities was Second Lieutenant Edward Rebbeck, son of the well known Bournemouth estate agent.

The site was becoming too small, and despite plans to build additional hangars in late 1917, The Flying school moved to a big new site at Ensbury Park. This was requisitioned by the Royal Flying Corps and became known as RAF Winton, which eventually closed down in 1919, with the RAF moving to Beaulieu, somewhat ironically located close to the original East Boldre flying School.

The Ensbury Park site became a racecourse, and later air racing took place. It eventually closed down in 1928, replaced with a major housing development.