20 August 1940
saw some action, with one loss but, generally speaking, it was a quiet day for
Fighter Command. It was raining in the north, and both 72 and 79 squadrons at
Acklington had no operational work whatsoever. It was so quiet that their
respective squadron diarists did not even bother to record ‘nil report’ in
their operations record books. There were scattered showers in the south and
234 Squadron at Middle Wallop was also quiet. At least their diarist picked up
the pen to officially record ‘nil report’. Hopefully Des Sheen, Bill Millington
and Pat Hughes were having a good rest as the rain poured down because they
needed to build up their strength because it wasn’t going to be quiet for long.
Despite the
weather, Ken Holland headed to the flights at Warmwell. He had high hopes that
he would be in the air that day. He was excited to hear that there was a flap
on and he would be going up with O’Brian and Reddington, if there were any
machines left. But then the flap was off. A disappointed Ken did, however, make
it into the air. Formation practice.
Our Australians may have had a quiet day of it, but Winston Church was
not resting. He was about to immortalise those who fought and died in the
Battle of Britain, even before its conclusion.
Addressing the House of Commons, Churchill spoke for nation and Empire:
‘The gratitude
of every home in our Island, in our Empire, and indeed throughout the world,
except in the abodes of the guilty, goes out to the British airmen who,
undaunted by odds, unwearied in their constant challenge and mortal danger, are
turning the tide of the World War by their prowess and by their devotion. Never in the field of human conflict was so
much owed by so many to so few.’
Churchill did not exclude the valiant airmen of
Bomber and Coastal commands in his speech. He thanked all ‘British airmen’ but,
despite this, ‘The Few’ soon came to stand collectively for the men of Fighter
Command, ‘the fighter pilots, whose brilliant actions we see with our own eyes
day after day’.
(Image lifted from http://www.winstonchurchill-quotes.com/this-was-our-finest-hour/)
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