Commemorating The 85th Anniversary With A Battle Of Britain Exhibition In Havering.

This September commemorates the 85th Anniversary of one of Britain’s greatest victories against the Nazi regime in WW2, when the country was threatened by invasion.  

The Battle of Britain which ran from July until the end of October 1940 saw the Royal Air Force’s fighter squadrons engaged with the much superior force of the Luftwaffe over the Channel and the south-east of England. RAF pilots in their Hurricane and Spitfire aircraft although outnumbered by 3 to 1 held the Luftwaffe at bay and inflicted heavy losses on the Germans which resulted in Hitler postponing ‘Operation Sea Lion’ indefinitely. Over 500 Fighter Command pilots from all nationalities including Polish, Czech, New Zealand, Australian etc made the ultimate sacrifice.

Over the weekend of 6th & 7th September, a Battle of Britain Exhibition hosted by author/historian Richard C. Smith and his wife Kim, will be taking place at the Ingrebourne Valley Nature Discovery Centre at the Hornchurch Country Park. Open from 10.00 am until 4.00 pm both days. Admission £2.50 Adult –Children Free

The exhibition will highlight the various stages of the battle with text and photographic displays and both RAF and Luftwaffe memorabilia including uniforms and aircraft relics from those shot down during the campaign. RAF Hornchurch’s role is also emphasized and remembers the seventy pilots and aircrew who lost their lives during this period.

Also attending the event will be the ‘Spitfire Society and Royal British Legion Stands and cadets from the local 1838 Air Training Cadet Group (Elm Park). There will also be a book-signing by Richard Smith, author of several books on RAF Hornchurch and the Battle of Britain throughout the day.

 Richard told the Havering Daily: ‘The Battle of Britain still holds a special place in the history of this nation, when Britain stood alone after Hitler’s armies had conquered most of Europe. The people of Britain came together and held off the Nazi invasion before the United States of America entered the war in December 1941. As Prime Minister Winston Churchill stated in his famous speech ‘Never in the field of Human Conflict was so much owed by so many to so Few’. This was their Finest Hour’.

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