Honouring the Battle of Britain’s young heroes
SIR – Last week’s episode of The
Battle of Britain on Channel 5 was a brilliant reminder of what so many “ordinary” 18-, 19- and 20-year-olds in Fighter and Bomber Commands did to safeguard our futures – with many giving their lives – from July to October 1940.
Names like William Hopkin DFC, Peter Comely, Ludwik Paszkiewicz DFC, Archie Mckellar DSO DFC and Bar, and John Hannah VC (aged 18, the youngest VC of the war), among others, should be as well known as Guy Gibson and Douglas Bader. It was right that the stressful work of Women’s Auxiliary Air Force map plotters like Joan Fanshawe and Elspeth Henderson was also covered.
St Andrews, Fife
SIR – It saddens me to report that, on the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, the RAF Benevolent Fund has chosen to close its sole respite care home, Princess Marina House, in West Sussex.
For many years this home offered care to aircrew survivors such as the severely burnt fighter pilots who were labelled the Guinea Pigs by the great reconstructive surgeon Archibald Mcindoe. Casualties from more recent conflicts also benefited.
Covid-19 has been cited as the main reason for closure, which is strange as the home mothballed itself during the worst of the pandemic and has had to deal with none of the trauma that other homes have overcome. Now that rehabilitation might be required by veterans, the doors have been shut.
RAF personnel of previous generations would not be impressed. Instead, with energy and determination and guile, they would have found a way to keep it open.
Rustington, West Sussex