Simpson - The History of the Battle of Britain Fighter Association: Commemorating the Few

First published in Great Britain in 2015 by
Pen & Sword Aviation
an imprint of
Pen & Sword Books Ltd
47 Church Street
Barnsley
South Yorkshire
S70 2AS

Copyright Geoff Simpson 2015

ISBN: 978 1 78159 387 5
EPUB ISBN: 978 1 47385 231 0
PRC ISBN: 978 1 47385 237 2

The right of Geoff Simpson to be identified as the Author of this Work
has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British
Library

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical
including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and
retrieval system, without permission from the Publisher in writing.

Typeset in Ehrhardt by
Mac Style Ltd, Bridlington, East Yorkshire
Printed and bound in the UK by CPI Group (UK) Ltd,
Croydon, CRO 4YY

Pen & Sword Books Ltd incorporates the imprints of Pen & Sword
Archaeology, Atlas, Aviation, Battleground, Discovery, Family History,
History, Maritime, Military, Naval, Politics, Railways, Select, Transport,
True Crime, and Fiction, Frontline Books, Leo Cooper, Praetorian
Press, Seaforth Publishing and Wharncliffe.

For a complete list of Pen & Sword titles please contact
PEN & SWORD BOOKS LIMITED
47 Church Street, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, S70 2AS, England
E-mail:
Website: www.pen-and-sword.co.uk

Contents

Of all the British combatants of the Second World War, the few have attained a unique and legendary place in the historiography of the war.

Dr Jeremy A. Crang, writing in War & Society, November 2005

The object of giving medals, stars and ribbons is to give pride and pleasure to those who have deserved them. At the same time a distinction is something which everybody does not possess. If all have it, it is of less value. There must, therefore, be heartburnings and disappointments on the border line. A medal glitters, but it also casts a shadow. The task of drawing up regulations for such awards is one which does not admit of a perfect solution. It is not possible to satisfy everybody without running the risk of satisfying nobody. All that is possible is to give the greatest satisfaction to the greatest number and to hurt the feelings of the fewest. But that is a most difficult task and it is easy to err on one side or the other. One must be careful in the first place to avoid profusion. The tendency to expand, shall I say inflate, dilute the currency through generous motives, is very strong.

Winston Churchill, as Prime Minister, addressing the House of Commons, 22 March 1944

Foreword by HRH The Prince of Wales

A Message from the Chairman of the Battle of Britain Fighter Association

Over many years the Battle of Britain Fighter Association has brought together those who flew in Fighter Command in the summer and autumn of 1940. The camaraderie which we have always enjoyed continues. Now our key task is to ensure that what was achieved 75 years ago by so many men and women in all three services, as well as civilians, is remembered long into the future.

Commemoration of those deeds began in the early years of the war and has continued ever since.

From that time there was also much discussion on whether Allied airmen who took part in the battle should be given a symbol to wear and, if so, what form it should take. Alongside that discussion was one about who should be entitled to wear such a symbol. The announcement of the Battle of Britain Clasp to the 19391945 Star was made in 1945, yet even to this day the research continues into some doubtful cases amongst Fighter Command airmen who were or were not awarded the clasp.

I am, therefore, delighted that Geoff Simpson has made a new contribution to Battle of Britain literature by exploring the history of the Fighter Association, alongside a consideration of the award of the clasp and the commemoration of the battle.

Wing Commander Bob Foster DFC AE
Chairman Battle of Britain Fighter Association

Sadly Bob Foster died on 30 July 2014. His widow Kaethe has asked that his message should still appear.

A Message from the Chief of the Air Staff

The Battle of Britain is recognised as both a key moment in British history and one of the proudest episodes in the history of the Royal Air Force. It was a time when all the home commands of the Service played their part in ensuring that this country did not suffer foreign invasion.

Three quarters of a century after this great event it is right that a record should be made of the way in which it is commemorated. I believe that it is essential too that future generations continue to remember the Battle of Britain.

Air Chief Marshal Sir Andrew Pulford KCB CBE ADC
Chief of the Air Staff

Introduction

T he Battle of Britain has become one of the most famous, celebrated, recorded and analysed events in British history. There is so much we know about the events of 1940, a year which was certainly a fulcrum in that history, yet there is also much still to be learned.

Though the official definition of the battle was not established until after the war in Europe had ended, commemoration of what was seen as a victory by the Royal Air Force had begun well before that. The desire to establish the names of the men who had flown on the British side in the battle was established very early and so was the concept of an emblem for the participants to wear.

Those participants were rarely conscious at the time that they were fighting something called The Battle of Britain and they certainly did not realise on 10 July or 31 October 1940 that a significant moment was passing. Such is the nature of arbitrary definitions.

Members of The Few, as Winston Churchill had caused them to be named, met in comradeship after the war. Eventually, in 1958, they formally came together and established the Battle of Britain Fighter Association. There was then a gap of thirty-five years, remarkable as it may seem now, before a National Memorial to The Few was established at Capel-le-Ferne on the Kentish cliffs outside Folkestone.

Celebrity came suddenly to the men of Fighter Command. At the time of the evacuation from the Channel ports in the spring of 1940, the RAF was accused of doing too little to help the Army. The charge was without foundation, but it was believed by many of those on the beaches and harbour-sides waiting for rescue and by many waiting at home in fear of invasion.

With the miracle of Dunkirk achieved, the aerial fighting developed over the English Channel, then moved inland. Now the people of south-east England in particular could see Fighter Command in action and bear witness to the heroism that was being displayed. Now stories began to abound of women kissing airmen in the street, drinks being bought for them and taxi drivers refusing to accept their money.

The contrast was a stark one so there is sometimes some cynicism in the attitude of The Few to their fame. It manifests itself not least when they make the standard reply to questions about how they felt on 20 August 1940 when the Prime Minister made the speech that created The Few. Ask them how they felt then and they very often think back to: Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few, and make the response: Oh, we thought he was talking about our mess bills.