The Battle of Britain: From their Eyes
British pilots had a tough job during the Battle of Britain. Every day they fought to protect their country and every day they put their lives on the line. Some of these brave pilots were interviewed. These are some short excerpts from their stories.
British pilots had a tough job during the Battle of Britain. Every day they fought to protect their country and every day they put their lives on the line. Some of these brave pilots were interviewed. These are some short excerpts from their stories.
"We did nothing but take off; shoot at the enemy aircraft; land, go to sleep; take off again; do exactly the same: three, four, five times a day. That was our life. The Battle of Britain to me was just a horrendously tough rugby match in which the penalty of losing was death, whereas in a rugby match you probably break a leg or a collarbone or something like that. There, the penalty was much more severe."
-Tom Neil, 90, a British pilot
The quote by Tom Neil demonstrates just how tough and relentless fighting was during the battle.
-Tom Neil, 90, a British pilot
The quote by Tom Neil demonstrates just how tough and relentless fighting was during the battle.
"There were two wide stations – the interception stations – which belonged to the Royal Air Force: one at Cheadle in Staffordshire and one at Kingsdown in Kent. The one at Cheadle was intercepting the communications of German bombers. They were able to give forewarning of attack to Fighter Command because they could hear the Germans getting ready to take off – they tuned up their receivers, and so on, to make sure they would be in good contact with each other during the battles. It meant that Cheadle could warn Fighter Command even before radar had a chance – because at that point, of course, the aircraft wasn't even in the air. That was quite valuable."
-Arthur Bonsall, 93, British worker who breaks German Code
The quote by Arthur Bonsall demonstrates the importance of radar interception stations. It was important for the British to know at all times what the Germans were doing and planning. This would allow the British to plan ahead and be able to better defend themselves against the Luftwaffe attacks.
-Arthur Bonsall, 93, British worker who breaks German Code
The quote by Arthur Bonsall demonstrates the importance of radar interception stations. It was important for the British to know at all times what the Germans were doing and planning. This would allow the British to plan ahead and be able to better defend themselves against the Luftwaffe attacks.
"That day was just like any other: lots of Germans about. We were intercepting big raids coming in and defending this country against an evil regime. All the days were the same: take off, fight the war, land, survive, take off again and so it went on ..."
-Geoffrey Wellem, 89, Squadron leader and British pilot
This quote tells us what every Ally thought of Germany during World War II. Germany was bad and they had to be defeated. It also tells us something similar to the first quote. The war was hard to fight it. It was tiresome and relentless as well. The pilots and soldiers worked hard to protect and serve their country. No matter what the cost was.