The beginning of the greatest change in the way of life for this agricultural community came in 1898 when 800 acres to the south of Casterley Camp were acquired for an army firing range, followed a few years later by the purchase of 425 acres on Upavon Down for an airfield. Around the same time (1911) the parish reading room opened on the Andover road on land given to the community to commemorate the coronation of George V. In 1912 the Central Flying School opened on Upavon Down to provide combat training for qualified pilots. During the First World War they concentrated on advanced flying training while after the war all RAF flying instructors were trained here. The expansion of the School required substantial numbers of civilian workers and around 1920 the first council houses for these were built at Avon Square, on the Andover Road, between the village and the RAF Station. A Church of England chapel was opened on the Station in 1921, later dedicated to St. Peter, and by 1936 a Roman Catholic chapel of St. Thomas More was in use.
Several changes occurred at the Station in the interwar years. In 1924 the Central Flying School (CFS) was joined by No. 3 Fighter Squadron and when No. 17 (Fighter) Squadron arrived in 1926 the CFS left Upavon. In the 1931 census 318 of the parish population of 742 were service personnel; the civilian population was virtually unchanged in numbers from the first census in 1801. In 1934 the squadrons left and night time flying techniques were developed here, with the CFS returning in 1935. The CFS was replaced by No. 7 Flying Instructors’ School in 1942 and many RAF servicemen passed through Upavon. Some, who lived in Wiltshire, were able to cycle home on a weekend pass as did one member of the RAF Regiment to his home in Trowbridge.
After 1945 another 74 houses were built at Watson Close, on the Andover Road, followed by a new school in 1957 and a new Methodist Chapel in 1966. This area was now a substantial outlier overlooking the old village. In 1946 Upavon was the Headquarters of No. 38 Group Transport Command and the Headquarters of Transport Command in 1951. This was renamed Air Support Command in 1967 and designated No. 46 Group in Strike Command in 1972. By now it was mainly an administration centre. In the 1950s and the 1960s many new married quarters and large office buildings were erected.
From the 1950s Upavon became an interchange for buses from Salisbury and Amesbury, Devizes, and Marlborough and Swindon. In the early 1970s the village was still busy with people changing here to continue to their destination. The area to the west of the Antelope was developed from the 1960s when 42 private bungalows were built in Fairfield. The RAF had a considerable impact on the parish of Upavon for most of the 20th century, as an employer, providing custom to local business and filling the village school. However in 1993 the RAF handed over the Station to the Army, who renamed it Trenchard Lines. The Airfield has since been used by Hercules from RAF Lyneham and by Chinook helicopters, but the site is now mainly used as an administrative centre. Based here are, The Office for Standards of Casework (Army), the HQ of the Adjutant General, Service Children’s Education (UK), the Army Training and Recruiting Agency, and the HQ of the Provost Marshall’s Office. The airfield also houses RAF No. 622 (Volunteer) Gliding School and the Army Gliding Association.
The changeover from RAF to Army seems to have been accompanied by a drop in personnel and in families on the site. This has meant fewer children at the village school and less trade for local business. However the Ship and Antelope still thrive and the garage and village shop flourish.
