Warmtoast (your #7505 yesterday),
A truly vivid and evocative account of the vital part the Polish fighter pilots played in the Battle of Britain. Many of the survivors of the war (both Polish and Czech) chose to remain in the RAF in Britain after it, believing (quite rightly) that their new (Communist) governments would, far from welcoming their return, mistreat them as enemies of the State for having being "corrupted" by their association with the west. They married and settled down in Britain; many of their sons followed them into the RAF as pilots and that association continues to this day.
When their flying days were over, many gravitated into the ATC Branch and I was privileged to know some of them, fine men all. Some of the names appearing in the text 'ring a bell' with me, for example:
"......‘Machine gun fire from the south-east corner of the aerodrome!’ barked the tannoy in the operations room, to the consternation of the station commander, Group Captain S F Vincent....."
Later, as AVM Vincent, he would be our AOC at 221 Group in Burma '44.
"......back to the Far East and command of No. 221 Group (South East Asia Air Forces, Burma [later Myanmar]) where he provided aerial support for the 14th Army...."
"On 15 September 2010, a replica Hawker Hurricane gate guardian in the colours of Vincent's aircraft was unveiled at RAF Northolt.[1]" (Wiki).
......
"....Satchell’s flight lieutenants were younger and less experienced than their Polish pilots, and one of them, Nigel Farmer....
Could he be the Wing Commander Farmer, CFI at 57 OTU in '42, who taught us a most valuable lesson (page 123 #2458 on this Thread) ?
......
‘
What we could have done without the Polish fighter pilots in the Battle of Britain is difficult to contemplate.’ Air Marshal Sir Michael Beetham".
Now the senior Marshal of the Royal Air Force.[1] (Wiki). Starting at much the same time as I, I think he was in Class 42A of the Arnold Scheme in the US. Probably the only Marshal of the RAF not to have passed through the hallowed gates of Cranwell (?)
Thank you
Molemot, for the glance back into those momentous days.
Danny.