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Battle of Britain Day
Today is Battle of Britain Day. 15 September 1940 was a day of particularly heavy fighting (and bombing) which is generally considered to be the significant point of the Battle in the sky over England. Of those churches that still hold a special service for the anniversary some will be next Sunday; others including my own church were held yesterday.
The Battle of Britain Memorial Organisation explores a few of the myths on their website.
Perhaps the essential myth of the Battle of Britain can be summed up in the idea that this was a victory gained by young British officer pilots flying Spitfires.
Many were far from young. Teenagers fought in the Battle, but so did men in their 20, 30s and 40s. One air gunner was 51.
Many were not from the United Kingdom. The countries represented in Fighter Command in 1940 included Australia, Belgium, Canada, Czechoslovakia, France, Ireland, Jamaica, Newfoundland, New Zealand, Poland, the Rhodesias, South Africa and the United States. Many were not officers – among the high scoring NCO pilots of the Battle were Sergeant “Ginger” Lacey (501 Squadron), Sergeant Jim Hallowes (43 Squadron) and Flight Sergeant “Grumpy” Unwin (19 Squadron).
Multi-crewed aircraft, such as the Bleneim and Defiant, took part in the Battle, so not all the aircrew were pilots.
The Hurricane flew in much greater numbers in the Battle than the Spitfire and shot down far more enemy aircraft.
This is a detail from the Battle of Britain Memorial on the Embankment in London. The memorial covers many aspects of the battle including the role of civilians and ground personnel. I like this portrait of the gunner leaning towards the woman who made his shells. Is he blowing her a kiss, murmuring sweet nothings or remarking on how bloody heavy it is?
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