Lest We Forget: remembering the fallen and the Battle of Britain

Posted by Peter Roaf

on Nov 10, 2015

"Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few," was the memorable line in the wartime speech in the British House of Commons by Prime Minister Winston Churchill on August 20, 1940 about the Battle of Britain.

Of the 2,936 pilots who fought during the four-month Battle of Britain, 595 were non-British, including 112 Canadians. Among the 1495 aircrew killed during the four-month Battle, 47 were airmen from Canada.

Maurice "Mak" Kinsey grew up in Coventry, England which was severely bombed during WWII when he was a boy. He eventually made a career in the Royal Air Force then the Royal Canadian Air Force. A Delta resident, he spoke to the club about his wartime and military experiences including the Battle of Britain.

(photo by Mel Baly)

Battle of Britain

The Battle of Britain was the name given to the Second World War defence of the United Kingdom by the Royal Air Force (RAF) against an onslaught by the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) from July 10 to October 31, 1940, overlapping with the period of large-scale night attacks known as The Blitz.

By preventing Germany from gaining air superiority, the British forced Adolf Hitler to postpone and eventually cancel Operation Sea Lion, a planned amphibious and airborne invasion of Britain. The failure of Nazi Germany to achieve its objective of destroying Britain's air defences in order to force Britain to negotiate an armistice (or even surrender outright) is considered to be its first major defeat in World War II, and a crucial turning point in the conflict.

Graham Witcher and Ken Whitney, both with military backgrounds (left and middle) with guest speaker Mak Kinsey