In 1909, Horatio Barber, a flying enthusiast, rented a small piece of land in Larkhill. He built a shed to house his new aeroplane, and was soon joined by more enthusiasts. Among these were George Bertram Cockburn, a pioneer aviator, and Captain John Fulton who served with an artillery brigade, and it was partly as a result of their interest that the War Office quickly realised the importance of aircraft and founded the first army aerodrome in Larkhill in 1910. Several more huts were built and a three-bay hangar was constructed by the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company, a forerunner of British Aerospace. In 1911, No. 2 Company of the Air Battalion Royal Engineers was established at Larkhill, the first flying unit of the armed forces to use aeroplanes as opposed to balloons. This evolved into No. 3 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps in May 1912, the first RFC squadron to use aeroplanes.