In 1919, in the area where the RAF Museum now stands in Hendon, two men – Claude Grahame-White and Francis Lewis Wills – married together the fledgling technology of flight with the discipline of photography to establish the world’s first commercial aerial photography firm, Aerofilms.

Spurred on by World War One advances in aeroplane engineering and aerial reconnaissance, Grahame-White and Lewis Wills spotted a unique opportunity. With £3,000 capital and hired planes, Aerofilms Ltd was established in a suite at the London Flying Club on the London Aerodrome site – which Grahame-White had also established, in 1911 – developing glass plate negatives in an adjoining bathroom. It was a new, unique venture – untried, untested, exciting and dangerous.

For the next 80 years, Aerofilms captured Britain’s villages, towns, cities and landmarks from the air, providing unique and stunning views of the development of Britain’s rural and urban landscape throughout the 20th Century.

Now, a new exhibition at the RAF Museum in Hendon will showcase Aerofilms’ unique aerial archives, as well as its early years at Hendon and its role in World War Two.

Aerofilms: Britain From Above is jointly curated with English Heritage, which acquired the collection for the nation in 2007.

As well as the images, the exhibition includes aerial cameras, a Spitfire fighter plane, and Aerofilms’ own A5 Autograph machine, an instrument that took accurate measurements from photographs in order to produce maps, the first of its kind ever to be brought to England.

Andy Renwick, curator of photographs at the museum, says: “The RAF Museum is the perfect setting for this exhibition as, like us, Aerofilms was established at the site of the London Aerodrome. Our shared history also extends to our collection – with the Spitfire being one of the most successful aircraft for photo-reconnaissance.”

Mike Evans, head of archive at English Heritage, adds: “I am delighted that we are able to bring this nationally important collection back to Hendon, where the firm was founded. The collection embodies all that is exciting about aerial photography.

“Between 1919 and 1953, there was vast and rapid change to the social, architectural and industrial fabric of Britain, and Aerofilms provides a unique and, at times, unparalleled perspective on this upheaval. We hope that people today will be able to immerse themselves in the past through the Britain From Above website, adding their own thoughts and memories to this remarkable collection.“