Australians in the Battle of Britain. 9 August 1940

After a session of blind flying in a Harvard on the 8th, during which he ‘was lousy as usual’ Ken Holland was in the air again practising formation flying. Things didn’t go as planned as the other pilot managed to get them lost. He landed at New Yeovil to work out how to get home again while Ken circled above. Ken was enjoying his training but he did not like night flying in fact, it was ‘always something to avoid’. Even so, he was able to put up with it because ‘I like these Spitfires’. Happily, he was not scheduled for night flying on the 9th, so was off to the flicks at Stroud.

Meanwhile, 238 Squadron received three new Hurricanes to replace those lost the day before. Pilots moved to Warmwell again and Stuart led B Flight on a short late evening patrol to Portland Bill, and thence five miles south to intercept ‘bogies’. Nothing was seen.