end of the First World War, on 17 August 1917, General Smuts presented a report to the War Council on the future of air power. Because of its potential for the 'devastation of enemy lands and the destruction of industrial and populous centres on a vast scale', he recommended a new air service be formed that would be on a level with the Army and Royal Navy. The new air service was to receive direction from a new ministry and on 29 November 1917 the Air Force Bill received Royal Assent and the Air Ministry was formed just over a month later on 2 January 1918. Lord Rothermere was appointed the first Air Minister. On 3 January, the Air Council was constituted as follows: Lord Rothermere, Air Minister and President Lieutenant-General Sir David Henderson, Additional Member and Vice-President Major-General Sir Hugh Trenchard, Chief of the Air Staff Major-General (formerly Rear-Admiral) Mark Kerr, Deputy Chief of the Air Staff Major-General (formerly Commodore) Godfrey Paine, Master General of Personnel Major-General Sefton Brancker, Controller-General of Equipment Sir William Weir, Director-General of Aircraft Production in the Ministry of Munitions Sir John Hunter, Administrator of Works and Buildings Major J L Baird Permanent Under-Secretary The Air Ministry continued to meet in the Hotel Cecil on the Strand. Later, in 1919, it moved to Adastral House on Kingsway. The creation of the Air Ministry resulted in the disestablishment of the Army Council's post of Director-General of Military Aeronautics. History – from 1918 1918–1921 In 1919 the RAF and the Air Ministry came under immense political and inter service pressure for their very existence, particularly in a climate of significantly reduced military expenditure. The battle was kickstarted by the resignation in December 1918 of William Weir the President of the Air Council (the governing body of the Royal Air Force), who wished to return to his commercial activities. This led the Prime Minister, Lloyd George, to create a Secretary of State for Air, but not as a Cabinet position, and on 9 January 1919 offered Winston Churchill the two posts of Secretary of State for War, which was a Cabinet position, and Secretary of State for Air both of which he accepted. This combination under one person by was criticised in both the press and Parliament. However, Churchill re-iterated that the continued "integrity, the unity, the independence of the Royal Air Force will be sedulously and carefully