During World War II Lord Egerton's parkland played a major role in the training of all allied paratroops by No.1 Parachute Training School RAF based at nearby RAF Ringway. On 6 July 1940, Squadron Leader Louis Strange approached his pre-World War I fellow aviator and friend Maurice Egerton to ask for his co-operation in granting permission for the Royal Air Force to use his estate for this most important wartime purpose. Lord Egerton readily agreed to the proposal and the first live test jumps from aircraft were made on 13 July by RAF parachuting instructors.