Its major unit, Western Airways, expanded to become an important parts manufacturer, a maintenance, repair and upgrade organisation, and a builder of transport aircraft.

Whitney Willard Straight was a successful racing driver in the early 1930s, but his American millionaire mother and English step-father, Dorothy and Leonard Elmhirst, were concerned for his safety and sought a less dangerous occupation for him, especially as he was about to marry.

At a dinner at their home, Dartington Hall in Devon, they discussed this with William (Bill) Parkhouse, who was the owner of a local auto engineering company, and founder of Haldon Airfield, where Straight had learned to fly a few years earlier.

[1] The corporation was funded by Straight's own trust, with the objective of controlling up to 15 municipal airports, with first-class terminals, restaurants and flight training facilities.

These included Bill Parkhouse; Louis Strange; Richard Seaman, a fellow racing driver whom he had met while they were both at Cambridge University;[3] and Straight's solicitor, Frederick A.S.

Straight also recruited Mary De Bunsen who carried out public relations and was responsible for the house magazine, Straightaway, intended for staff and club members.

The progress and growth of the corporation went on unabated as detailed below, and the expansion became even faster at the airports with the demand for aircrew training in the two years before World War II.

When the war came, however, all private flying, including that by clubs and airlines, was prohibited except under licence, and almost all the corporation's activities stopped.

This was a new company, registered at Straight Corporation headquarters in Manchester Square, London and its main operating base was Ramsgate Airport.

[5] It was mainly concerned with pleasure, charter and army co-operation flights, but also ran scheduled services along the Thames Estuary.

In January 1938 Straight Corporation bought a controlling share in Norman Edgar (Western Airways) Ltd, renaming it Western Airways Ltd. At that time it was operating the highest frequency of flights of any airline in the world, with 58 services a day on the Weston — Cardiff route alone.

[7] The airline prospered and expanded its fleet and routes, and developed a strong engineering capability, which enabled it to survive WWII.

[4] Aircraft were owned by the airport operating company or the associated flying clubs, and were occasionally registered in the names of officials of the local organisations.

They were used for charter, pleasure, training or army co-operation support flights as required, and were also often transferred between different Straight-operated airports, clubs or airlines as needs arose.

In 1939 Elementary and Reserve Flying Training schools (E&RFTS) were set up at some airports, and the fleet was expanded further with aircraft including Tiger Moths, Piper J-4 Cubs, Hillson Pragas and an Avro Anson.

Exeter Airport Ltd, with Bill Parkhouse as manager, took a 21-year lease starting on 1 June 1937, and the field officially opened on 30 July.

[14] During the war the airport was active, and 601 Squadron was based here in late 1940, during which time Flight Lieutenant Whitney Straight, flying a Hawker Hurricane, claimed to have shot down a Heinkel He 111.

The corporation's Haldon Airport Ltd took over the management of the airfield from 1 January 1937 and bought it outright in 1938 after the scheduled airlines serving it had moved to Exeter in 1937.

Straight's corporation leased it in 1938 as a potential municipal airport,[1] and Western Airways started services the same year.

It continued until rising costs caused Western Airways to withdraw its support, and the club was wound up in October 1949.

[26] Before WWII, Straight Corporation used a wide variety of aircraft, some inherited from the airlines and flying clubs that it took over, and many bought new.

The airport companies and aero clubs had a diverse range of aircraft, some registered in their own name and some to Straight Corporation Ltd, of which the most numerous were British Aircraft Swallow II, Hillson Praga, de Havilland Hornet Moth, Miles Hawk Trainer III, and in 1939, de Havilland Tiger Moth and Piper J-4A Cub Coupe.

Despite having had the beautiful terminal at Ramsgate designed by art deco architect David Playdell-Bouverie,[22] Straight had formed a close working relationship with Robert Henning and Anthony M Chitty.

They had worked at Straight's parents' home, Dartington Hall, and Chitty learned to fly to help him appreciate the details of airport siting, design, construction and operation.

Straight Corporation's head office had moved from London to Weston Airport, where Western Airways had been very busy, mainly on engineering work and aircraft production.

[32] Western Airways and the remaining clubs were able to reclaim some of their pre-war aircraft, and some others were acquired, including Miles Magisters and ten Fairchild Argus 24Ws which were being sold off very cheaply by the RAF.

[33] Fairchild Argus 24W fleet – at first all were registered to Home Counties Aero Club at Willingale:[34] After WWII Neville Cumming was reappointed after his RAF service as head of Straight Aviation Training Ltd, and formed the Central Navigation School and The London Link Trainer Centre as subsidiaries.

[32] Whitney Straight himself had embarked on a new path, starting a glittering career as a major figure in British aviation.

He went on to become vice chairman and chief executive of BOAC, and hold very high positions in Rolls-Royce and other major British companies.

[37] Western Airways' airline operations had restarted quite successfully for a while, and its engineering activities prospered, but both soon declined and were abandoned, and the organisation eventually ran down.