"At the outbreak of war, the University of Reading offered up Wantage Hall and other premises for military use. Initially occupied by the Royal Engineers, the growing need for pilots prompted it to be taken over in December 1915 by the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) which established a School of Instruction, soon to become the No 1 School of Military Aeronautics."
BBC: University of Reading, Berkshire: Pilots Lodged in Trees