Danny,
I wouldn't argue the toss, you were there, and I wasn't. I certainly am not trying to gainsay your post. But, I rather suspect that as pressures built (politically) in the lead up to WW2 we had rather a lot of support (certainly our former empire). Gaining a pilots Brevet in WW2 Bears testament to that. And even now we see the Aussies putting a significant effort in to the Iraq IS problem. I'm sure, had the politicians not ripped the teethe out of the modern RAF our contribution could have been more significant than it currently is (notwithstanding GR4 capability). One thing for sure, in your day, mine and currently, political cost cutting comes to the fore when hardware and people are put in peril. I just hope the personnel involved all come home safely.
Smudge