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Dear Editor,

Re: Battle of Britain 'Fun Day', not in my name

'The Few' were 2353 young men from Great Britain and 574 from overseas, who are officially recognised as having taken part in the Battle of Britain.

Each flew at least one authorised operational sortie with an eligible unit of the Royal Air Force or Fleet Air Arm during the period 10 July to 31 October 1940.

544 lost their lives during the period of the Battle. A further 791 were killed in action or died in the course of their duties before the end of the War.

The Foreign Legion
Poland 139
New Zealand 98
Canada 86
Czechoslovakia 84
Belgium 29
Australia 21
South Africa 20
France 13
Ireland 10
United States 7
Jamaica 1
Palestine Mandate (Israel) 1
Southern Rhodesia 1
Unknown 8

Lets also not forget the many Luftwaffe pilots involved and those who lost their lives. I very much doubt they were all evil.

Nor the thousands of civilian casualties of which many were children.

We should also not forget that the selection processes of potential RAF candidates were more concerned with social standing than actual aptitude leading up to the war. This process could easily have lead to our DEFEAT! But Kent remains forever INVICTA with many thanks to 'The Few'.

There are plenty of resources in libraries and the internet.

Best Regards,

Gary H

(Folkestone)