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First of the Few
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In the second half of 1940, there occurred in the skies over England a conflict of epic proportions which the world came to know as the Battle of Britain. Much has been written and argued and re-written and re-argued about this struggle, one of many points of contention being when it actually started. Various dates have been suggested ranging from early July through to as late as the beginning of September. To be eligible for the much-prized Battle of Britain Bar a pilot must have served with RAF Fighter Command between 00. 01 hours on July 1 and 23. 59 hours on October 31 1940. Certainly in July aerial activity increased sharply over the English Channel as the Luftwaffe strove to close this shipping lane by sinking all vessels sailing on it and smashing all harbours from Dover to Southampton. This tactic also has the effect of drawing the defending RAF fighters into action and, as the destruction of Fighter Command was essential in order to obtain air superiority before any invasion attempt could be staged, the suggestion of July Is as valid as any. By drawing the Hurricanes and Spitfires up to Intercept the attacks against shipping, losses began to mount. Attrition had begun.
Also subject to controversy is a consideration of the number of Australians who were involved. According to the official history ‘ . . . some thirty Australians who had survived the hurly-burly of May and June fought in Fighter Command during these vital months of constant readiness for action. ‘1 It is admitted that Australian records for the period are ‘skeletal, patchy and unsatisfactory because many who were involved did not Survive. Various other sources put the number at 22 and this is the figure which has gained general acceptance. 2 However, during research for the preparation of this article, 25 names were uncovered. There may be more.
There were no RAAF fighter units operating in the Battle of Britain but Australian airmen were sprinkled throughout the RAF squadrons. For example, F/0 C. G. C. Olive flew with 65 Squadron, F/Lt D. F. B. Sheen flew with 72 Squadron, P/O W. Hillington flew at first with 79 Squadron, F/Lt P. C. Hughes was with 234 Squadron and so on. This led to difficulties in compiling the Australian list. Sometimes, when filling in official forms some of these men simply declared themselves British in the columns reserved for a statement of nationality. Certainly, these terms were more closely linked in those days. Some pilots had been living in England for many years and had formed such close ties that they considered themselves to be perhaps more English than Australian. A few had relatives living in England and gave the addresses of these as their home, further adding to the confusion. These circumstances together with other evidence (e. g. , refer to the ‘Mystery of the Anzac Answer’ in Part 2) suggests strongly that the list may not be complete.
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