Battle of Britain Day

[_486_Col_Wolf]

Today, Sept 15th, 1940 the RAF began to turn the tide against the Luftwaffe in what was called The Battle of Britain. Brave pilots of the UK, Allied Nations and displaced pilots from occupied countries inflicted major damage to the raids aimed at destroying the will of the British people. Undaunted, these pilots who Winston Churchill would later call "The Few" forced the German High Command to postpone indefinitely the invasion known as Operation Sealion. The battle raged on for another month but the it was clear that there would be no invasion forthcoming allowing the nation of Britain to become the major base of operations that would ultimately launch air forces to wage the largest air battle in modern history.

Please take a moment today to reflect on these "Few" brave pilots and their heroic efforts that saved a nation and ultimately the world.

Up the RAF!!!!

[rohan]

God bless them all, and those who choose to serve in our armed services today . . .

[hertzie]

"........was so much owed by so many to so few....

Churchill's phrase still stands like a rock!

hertzie.

[scoobyman32]

When the RAF held the future of the entire world in their hands, they rose to the challenge, and everyone everywhere will always be in their debt.

[highpockets]

I have the poem " High Flight" by Pilot Officer Gillespie Magee framed beside a framed pen drawing of a P-47 Razorback done by a friend of mine for me. They are both on top of my computer desk at home to remind me of the sacrifices made.

[Shadow Wolf 07]

"........was so much owed by so many to so few....

Churchill's phrase still stands like a rock!

hertzie.

Just what I was thinking, when I saw the title

of this thread.

SW07

[AndyG43]

If I may be allowed to bring something more personal to the table. My grandfather was a baker, a reserved occupation, so he did not serve in the forces but he volunteered and was a member of the Auxiliary Fire Service serving on the LFB fire boats; whenever I see footage of the firefighters during the Blitz I have immense pride knowing that he is in there, trying to save life, limb and property.

September 15th is rightly celebrated as "Battle of Britain Day", the day when the Luftwaffe were so badly mauled that the BoB was effectively over, Churchill's speech making clear what a feat of arms had been achieved and the debt we owed those servicemen - British, Empire and Free European. But the London Docks still took one hell of a pounding that day and the fire crews were stretched to the limit; grandad got through the day, but a number of his colleagues were not so fortunate, so on BoB Day I always take time to remember the "non-combatants" who were combatting in other ways. Purely coincidentally I had made a trip up to London on Thursday and took one of the Thames Clipper waterbuses (my family has a very close connection to the Thames, I always feel drawn to it) which sailed past the London Fire Brigade Lambeth Pier Station and the former HQ of LFB, from where he had operated.

Oh, another coincidence; his brother Bill had served in the rearguard at Dunkirk, and was one of the last off the beaches ...... taken off by one of the London Fire Brigade's boats and some of my grandfathers colleagues.



I hope nobody is offended by my making these comments here. If they are I will remove the post.

[FrankPilot]

Thanks for the reminder. I am a bit of a BoB nerd - collect books, pics, maps and other memorabilia. Cheers.

[_486_Col_Wolf]

Andy,

You are absolutely correct. As a flight sim community we do tend to center attention on the pilots. But the Battle of Britain was also fought by so many doing jobs that did not see them in the air. From Air Marshal Hugh Dowding all the way down to the mechanics, radar operators, to the plotters at Bentley Priory, the pilots themselves and everyone else that helped win the Battle of Britain, all were heros.

[FrankPilot]

Love all things BoB. Here’s a video I made a couple of years ago. Cheers.

https://youtu.be/TDPTHndFsrM?si=9fVoD5AR6laSBP7B