Air Battalion Royal Engineers

The Air Battalion Royal Engineers (ABRE) was the first flying unit of the British Armed Forces to make use of heavier-than-air craft. It evolved into the Royal Flying Corps which in turn evolved into the Royal Air Force.

Read more about Air Battalion Royal Engineers:  Establishment, Structure and Activities, Creation of The Royal Flying Corps

Famous quotes containing the words air and/or royal:

    “They may bring their fattest cattle and richest fruits to the fair, but they are all eclipsed by the show of men. These are stirring autumn days, when men sweep by in crowds, amid the rustle of leaves like migrating finches; this is the true harvest of the year, when the air is but the breath of men, and the rustling of leaves is as the trampling of the crowd.”
    —Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)

    “Vanessa wanted to be a ballerina. Dad had such hopes for her.... Corin was the academically brilliant one, and a fencer of Olympic standard. Everything was expected of them, and they fulfilled all expectations. But I was the one of whom nothing was expected. I remember a game the three of us played. Vanessa was the President of the United States, Corin was the British Prime Minister—and I was the royal dog.”
    —Lynn Redgrave (b. 1943)