The weather in London today is as it was on that day in 1940 when the greatest aerial battle in history reached its climax.
Last night I had the pleasure to attend a banquet at the RAF Museum to honour the Polish, Czech and Slovak pilots who flew as part of the RAF during the Battle.
The Poles were the second largest group of pilots in the RAF during the Battle after the Brits. The highest scoring ace in the battle in the RAF was a Czech Sgt. Josef Frantisek flying with 303 Polish Squadron.
This short clip from the movie Battle of Britain is an essentially accurate portrayal of the way the Polish squadron entered the Battle, by disobeying orders:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1pplBZu0oU
As General Patton said in another context: 'It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.'
Thanks to them, enjoy your day.
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15 September 2011
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I've just read
- The National Debt and Federal Budget Deficit Deconstructed - Tony Robbins
- Why do smart people still choose Keynes over Hayek?
- The real reasons why UK is in trouble
- James Delingpole's blog post on climate change
- Youtube - Senator Marco Rubio
- Douglas Carswell's Blog
- Climate models go cold
- There haven't been any net public spending cuts – but try to say so and you'll be howled down as a liar
- Borrowers have had their time in the sun, this is the year of the Bank Rate rise
- David Cameron's obsession with image and spin is failing the country
- Firms paid to shut down wind farms when the wind is blowing
Wonderful. May I also recommend a wonderful but little known film from 2001 called Dark Blue World. It's about the Czech pilots who escaped to fight for the RAF and is fascinating, funny, romantic and heart-rending.
Posted by: Simon Rose | 16 September 2011 at 10:10 PM