Battle of Britain: 3 Days That Saved the Nation - Channel 5 UK, Tues 7th July, 9pm
Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear! What a letdown on this last episode. Some great snippets in the last half hour especially re: the polish pilots and the VC recipient.But the presenters reminded me of my earlier years watching Blue Peter! Great vintage aerial shots though, shooting down the "Nazis".I noticed towards the end that they described them as "Germans" or the "Luftwaffe"
As an aside I remember being in Biggin in around 81 or 82 and having a long conversation with "Jacko" Jackson and I think his son was "JImbo" in the wonderful King Air flying club bar. If I remember both at that time were flying with the BBMF. Jacko flying the Lanc and Jimbo flying the Hurricane. If I am wrong someone here will correct me I am sure. Happy days!
As an aside I remember being in Biggin in around 81 or 82 and having a long conversation with "Jacko" Jackson and I think his son was "JImbo" in the wonderful King Air flying club bar. If I remember both at that time were flying with the BBMF. Jacko flying the Lanc and Jimbo flying the Hurricane. If I am wrong someone here will correct me I am sure. Happy days!
They would have been far better with James Holland and Stephen Bungay. I agree with the comments here about the description of Nazi instead of German, irriitated me greatly from the start.
Humble and Snow were both dire in this. The one done by the McGregor brothers a few years ago was far better.
Humble and Snow were both dire in this. The one done by the McGregor brothers a few years ago was far better.
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Quite so. Apart from the unexpectedly fine Spreading My Wings by Diana Barnato Walker, I like the fictional moment in Len Deighton's Bomber, in which an A.T.A. pilot delivers a new Lancaster to a base, single handed. When she gets home, her mother asks her if her work isn't rather dangerous. "Only after I've landed," she says. But Walker's book would be much better to recommend to a modern girl than telling her fables: it is a fascinating account of how a remarkable woman (also remarkably rich and remarkably well-connected) coped with limiting stereotypes, and flew Spitfires.
"Mildly" Eccentric Stardriver
From today's Times. "Almost half of Britons cannot identify the Battle of Britain with more than two thirds of 18-24 year-olds confusing the Second World War aerial campaign with other historic episodes such as part of the English Civil War. A survey of 2,135 adults by the RAF Benevolent fund found 44 percent were unaware of the RAF's successful defence.". For all its faults, if this programme helps raise awareness, it will have helped.
TBH, the programme was not designed for pilots or enthusiasts. It was rather like a glossy coffee table book full of pretty pictures but little actual content.
In some respects we in this country are our own worst enemies. We are subjugated by political correctness and lectured to constantly by revisionist commentators and 'historians'. In WW2 we apparently fought the Nazi party rather than a Germany led Axis. The Americans won Overlord on their own, Bomber Command never hit anything apart from obliterating the innocent city of Dresden. The Holocaust was a figment of our imagination and so it goes on.
I live about five miles from the battlefield at Naseby. A more pivotal battle in English history on English soil you would be hard to find other than the Norman Invasion. Go there today and there is precious little to see and if you make a comparison to Gettysberg the contrast is astonishing.
I for one have become rather fed up being told that I should be embarrassed by our history.
In some respects we in this country are our own worst enemies. We are subjugated by political correctness and lectured to constantly by revisionist commentators and 'historians'. In WW2 we apparently fought the Nazi party rather than a Germany led Axis. The Americans won Overlord on their own, Bomber Command never hit anything apart from obliterating the innocent city of Dresden. The Holocaust was a figment of our imagination and so it goes on.
I live about five miles from the battlefield at Naseby. A more pivotal battle in English history on English soil you would be hard to find other than the Norman Invasion. Go there today and there is precious little to see and if you make a comparison to Gettysberg the contrast is astonishing.
I for one have become rather fed up being told that I should be embarrassed by our history.
confusing i thought
'REPEAT PLEASE REPEAT PLEASE' Always like that bit in 'The Film' whether it actually happened or not it captured the spirit of the Poles who just wanted to kill Germans.
addA
Last edited by POBJOY; 11th Jul 2020 at 07:42. Reason: Content
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I didn't watch this television programme. I gave up on programmes such as that many years ago. When I want my history, I go to books. These allow me to choose something of an academic nature, leaving behind the glossy 'coffee table' volumes that have more weight than substance, whereas on television generally one has only the flim flam that is doled out. But out of interest, did the presenters call the aeroplanes 'planes'?
I always have a quiet chuckle when some of you get your knickers in a twist about folk saying 'planes'. Do you grumpy gits say car or motor-car, bus or omnibus etc ,no , I thought not.
As for the idea of having Clarkson to present the programmes, Heaven forbid! Not sure about the McGregor brothers either - Ewen is okay but his brother's voice is awful. I bet ATC were always asking him to say again!
As for the idea of having Clarkson to present the programmes, Heaven forbid! Not sure about the McGregor brothers either - Ewen is okay but his brother's voice is awful. I bet ATC were always asking him to say again!
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I quite like Clarkson anyway but also feel he could well have been a good choice.
I suspect the people who are discounting him out of hand may have not seen any documentaries he's presented.
I recall Brunel, in the 100 Greatest Britons series, one about the Arctic convoys and another about the raid on St. Nazaire.
They were all excellent.
I'm quite impressed with James Holland, who somebody mentioned earlier, but a presenter that says "wiv" really grates!
I suspect the people who are discounting him out of hand may have not seen any documentaries he's presented.
I recall Brunel, in the 100 Greatest Britons series, one about the Arctic convoys and another about the raid on St. Nazaire.
They were all excellent.
I'm quite impressed with James Holland, who somebody mentioned earlier, but a presenter that says "wiv" really grates!
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Unfortunately, since he and BBC parted ways in rather unpleasant fashion, I doubt he'll have such an opportunity in the future unless Amazon decides to let him do what he's apparently best at.
