Airbus, Spitfire and Hurricane over White Cliffs (source: PA)
Today, my youngest sister, Tessa, accompanied my father, Tim, on a fly-past of the White Cliffs, with 13 Battle of Britain pilots (Tim included) borne aloft in an Airbus, accompanied for part of the journey by a Hurricane and a Spitfire.
Apparently, getting through Heathrow was a bit of a nightmare for Tim, who now has a pacemaker. (I was also offered one a few years back, but thought I’d wait a bit.) The security people wouldn’t take his word for it, so they sent him off for his own X-ray. Several other pilots had the same treatment, probably because of artificial hips or knees, or simply their body burdens of shrapnel!
The oldest Battle survivor was apparently 97, the youngest (Tim among them) 89. No doubt they all felt an array of emotions once airborne, but it was interesting to hear how a photographer set Tim up for a photograph that then appeared in the Daily Mail‘s online coverage. Various photographers were leaning across Tim to take pictures of the escorting aircraft, with sunlight pouring in through the window and an occasional flash going off. Then a photographer indicated that Tim should wipe his eye and he, trustingly assuming that there was something to be mopped up or dislodged, pulled out a handkerchief – and the photographer got his shot. Tim not at all amused.
Two Foxes were on board, the actor Edward Fox and Defence Secretary Liam Fox, who thanked the veterans, but the highlight for Tessa and Tim, at least, came when the Airbus was allowed to fly low during its flight back up the Thames over London, and they got a very close look at the city which helped save the RAF during the dangerous days of 1940 – when Goering made the mistake of bombing Britain’s capital in retaliation for an RAF raid on Berlin, thus allowing the RAF to catch its breath and rebuild its airfields.
For me, one of the great tragedies of the whole WWII aftermath is the way that the aircrew of Bomber Command have been overlooked in favour of the more romantic Fighter Command ‘Boys’. And yet the bravery of the bomber crew was at least as great as that of the fighter pilots – and, given the casualty rates, arguably greater.
Leave a Reply