1934 History of the Royal Air Force College Cranwell Gift of Author Copy
 
Title & Bibliographic Details
 
A History of the Royal Air Force College, Cranwell
By Captain R. De la Bere
Preface dated 9 August 1934
Printed in England by Gale & Polden Ltd., Wellington Works, Aldershot, London & Portsmouth
 
With frontispiece aerial photograph of Cranwell and further photographic plates facing pages 14, 20, 28, 36, 44, 52 and 60.
 
Historical & Bibliographic Context
 
The Royal Air Force College at Cranwell was the world’s first air academy, founded in 1919 to train the officers of the newly formed RAF. By the 1930s, Cranwell had become the intellectual and moral heart of British air power, shaping the leaders who would later serve in the Second World War.
 
This 1934 history was written while the RAF was still a young service, making it an important contemporary account of its early traditions, training methods and institutional culture. Issued just five years before the outbreak of war, it captures the ethos of inter-war military aviation at a pivotal moment in British and global history.
 
About the Author
 
Captain R. de la Bere was a serving officer and historian associated with RAF Cranwell. His writing combines first-hand institutional knowledge with a strong narrative sense of duty, service and tradition, making this work especially valuable to collectors of RAF and inter-war military history.
 
Binding & Exterior Description
 
No dust jacket. Bound in original blue cloth over boards and spine, with a dark blue Cranwell coat of arms to the front board bearing the motto Superna Petimus and the title in gilt. The binding remains intact, firm and handsome, with only light age wear: gentle bumping to the corners, a few small marks and stains, and very light rubbing at the edges. A dignified and attractive shelf presence.
 
Interior Condition
 
• Pages lightly tanned but bright and very clean for age
• No page creases and no tears
• Ink and pencil library markings to front endpapers
• Light, minimal gutter cracks between pp. 32–33 and 48–49 only
• All pages secure
• Complete with frontispiece and all photographic plates
• Total: 62 pages plus epilogue
 
Physical Details
 
• Pages: 62 + epilogue
• Dimensions: approx. 19 × 12.5 × 1.1 cm
• Weight: approx. 145 grams
 
Rarity & Collector Notes
 
This is not a mass-market book, but a specialist institutional history produced in small numbers for RAF and academic circles. Copies with early provenance, intact plates and clean interiors are increasingly difficult to find.
Its desirability comes from:
• Early inter-war RAF history
• Association with RAF Cranwell
• Complete photographic plates
• Strong provenance inscription (see below)
 
Provenance Story – “Gift of the Author” Copy
 
This copy bears a pencil inscription on the front free endpaper reading:
“… Gift of the author — March 1935”
 
The hand is entirely consistent with a formal presentation note: light, neat, institutional in tone, and written only months after publication. Given the date and wording, this is very likely a presentation or gift copy made by Captain R. de la Bere himself to a recipient connected with RAF Cranwell or a public institution.
 
Additional markings show that the book later entered Public Libraries Lincoln, with reference and classification stamps (“CRAN. 358” / “CRA. 355”), suggesting it was treated as a reference copy of local or national importance.
 
This layered history — authorial gift → institutional library → private collection — gives the book a traceable life story, transforming it from a standard history volume into a genuine artefact of RAF heritage.