During World War One, London was vulnerable to air attacks by Zeppelins and later German bombers. To defend the capital, the London Air Defence Area was created to coordinate the efforts to protect it. However, after 1918, the system was quickly abandoned. In the early 1920s, the Committee for Imperial Defence began to reconsider the problem. In 1924, the first experiment was conducted to monitor and report the movement of aircraft overland by using small groups of aircraft observers reporting to a central point. This successful experiment led to the creation of the Observer Corps in 1925 under the control of Police Chief Constables. Originally intended to cover just the South East of England to protect London, as the threat from resurgent Nazi Germany grew, the Corps was gradually expanded to cover nearly the whole of Gt Britain by the start of the War. Now transferred to the control of the Air Ministry, Observer Corps Groups became a key part of Fighter Commands integrated air defence system, unique in that it was the only means to track the movement of aircraft once they crossed the coast and headed inland. Using a combination of new research and access to official files, Volume One of Skywatch charts the development of the Observer Corps from its origins, the very beginnings, formation and growth through the 1920s. It critically examines how, in the rush to prepare for War in the late 1930s, the Observer Corps began to ready itself for War and its unique role, monitoring the skies of Britain. AUTHOR: Kevin Wright is a regular contributor to aviation magazines (including 'Aviation News' and 'Aeroplane') and is an accomplished air-to-air photographer. He has a lifelong special interest in Cold War intelligence collection and produced numerous articles on related topics. Other recent publications include co-authoring a book, with Peter Jefferies, on allied intelligence collection along the Berlin Corridors. He taught international security and politics for over 15 years at universities in the UK and overseas. His PhD was on the role of expert communities in arms control policy making which became the topic of his first book. He currently lives in the Republic of IE - Ireland. 50 b/w photos, 2 b/w illustrations, 19 colour photos, 3 colour maps, 4 b/w maps, 2 tables