Editing Air Ministry (section)

==Establishment of the Air Ministry==
Despite attempts at reorganization of the Air Board, the earlier problems failed to be completely resolved.  In addition, the growing number of German air raids against Great Britain led to public disquiet and increasing demands for something to be done.  As a result, [[David Lloyd George|Lloyd George]], the British Prime Minister, established a committee composed of himself and General [[Jan Smuts]], which was tasked with investigating the problems with the British air defences and organizational difficulties which had beset the Air Board.

Towards the end of the First World War, on 17 August 1917, General Smuts presented a report to the War Council on the future of air power. Because of its potential for the 'devastation of enemy lands and the destruction of industrial and populous centres on a vast scale', he recommended a new air service be formed that would be on a level with the [[British Army|Army]] and [[Royal Navy]].  The new air service was to receive direction from a new ministry and on 29 November 1917 the [[Air Force (Constitution) Act 1917|Air Force Bill]] received [[Royal Assent]] and the Air Ministry was formed just over a month later on 2 January 1918.  [[Harold Sidney Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Rothermere|Lord Rothermere]] was appointed the first [[Secretary of State for Air|Air Minister]].  On 3 January, the [[Air Council]] was constituted as follows:<ref>{{cite book |last=Joubert de la Ferté |first=Philip |author-link=Philip Joubert de la Ferté |title=The Third Service |year=1955 |publisher=Thames and Hudson |location=London |page=61}}</ref>

*[[Harold Sidney Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Rothermere|Lord Rothermere]], [[Secretary of State for Air|Air Minister]] and President
*Lieutenant-General [[David Henderson (British Army officer)|Sir David Henderson]], Additional Member and Vice-President
*Major-General [[Hugh Trenchard, 1st Viscount Trenchard|Sir Hugh Trenchard]], [[Chief of the Air Staff (United Kingdom)|Chief of the Air Staff]]
*Major-General (formerly Rear-Admiral) [[Mark Kerr (Royal Navy officer, born 1864)|Mark Kerr]], [[Deputy Chief of the Air Staff (United Kingdom)|Deputy Chief of the Air Staff]]
*Major-General (formerly Commodore) [[Godfrey Paine]], [[Air Member for Personnel|Master General of Personnel]]
*Major-General [[Sefton Brancker]], Controller-General of Equipment
*[[William Weir, 1st Viscount Weir|Sir William Weir]], Director-General of Aircraft Production in the [[Ministry of Munitions]]
*Sir John Hunter, Administrator of Works and Buildings
*Major [[John Baird, 1st Viscount Stonehaven|J L Baird]] [[Under-Secretary of State for Air|Permanent Under-Secretary]]

The Air Ministry continued to meet in the Hotel Cecil on the Strand. Later, in 1919, it moved to [[Adastral House]] on [[Kingsway (London)|Kingsway]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/history-of-the-ministry-of-defence|title=History of the Ministry of Defence and the Old War Office|website=GOV.UK|access-date=6 May 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171108194327/https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/history-of-the-ministry-of-defence|archive-date=8 November 2017}}</ref> The creation of the Air Ministry resulted in the disestablishment of the [[Army Council (1904)|Army Council]]'s post of Director-General of Military Aeronautics.<ref>[http://www.1914-1918.net/war_office.html The organisation and function of the War Office] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070208172140/http://www.1914-1918.net/war_office.html |date=8 February 2007 }}, ''The Long, Long Trail – The British Army in the Great War of 1914–1918''. Retrieved on 19 January 2007.</ref>