The Few were the airmen of the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the aviators of the Fleet Air Arm, Royal Navy (RN) who fought the Battle of Britain in the Second World War. The term comes from Winston Churchill's phrase "Never, in the field of human conflict, was so much owed by so many to so few." It also alludes to Shakespeare's famous speech in his play, Henry V : "We few, we happy few, we band of brothers..." [1]
Nearly 3,000 men were awarded the "Battle of Britain" clasp. As six of the seven longest surviving veterans of the battle (Squadron Leader John Hart, Flight Lieutenant Archie McInnes, Flight Lieutenant Maurice Mounsdon, Air Vice-Marshal John Thornett Lawrence, Wing Commander Paul Farnes and Flight Lieutenant William Clark) died between June 2019 and May 2020 as of 8 May 2020, only one survivor of The Few is still living (Flying Officer John Hemingway). [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]
By one tally, British RAF aircrew numbered 2,353 (80%) of the total of 2,927 flyers involved, with 407 Britons killed from a total of 510 losses. The remainder were not British, many coming from parts of the British Empire (particularly New Zealand, Canada, Australia, and South Africa), as well as exiles from many conquered European nations, particularly from Poland and Czechoslovakia. Other countries supplying smaller numbers included Belgium, France, Ireland (serving in the RAF as Ireland was officially neutral), Southern Rhodesia and the United States. [10] [11] [12] [13]
Winston Churchill summed up the effect of the battle and the contribution of RAF Fighter Command, RAF Bomber Command, RAF Coastal Command and the Fleet Air Arm with the words, "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few". [14] Pilots who fought in the battle have been known as The Few ever since; at times being specially commemorated on 15 September, "Battle of Britain Day". On this day in 1940, the Luftwaffe embarked on their largest bombing attack yet, forcing the engagement of the entirety of RAF 11 Group in defence of London and the South East, which resulted in a decisive British victory that proved to mark a turning point in Britain's favour. [15] [16]
As of 2022, there is only one surviving member of the group still alive, John Hemingway. [17] The Horrible Histories song called “The Few” commemorates these airmen and women, including Sir Douglas Bader.
The aircrew are remembered on the Battle of Britain Memorial, Capel-le-Ferne, Kent, and their names are listed on the Battle of Britain Monument in London. The Battle of Britain Roll of Honour is held in Westminster Abbey in the RAF Chapel, and is paraded annually during the Service of Thanksgiving and re-dedication on Battle of Britain Sunday. [18]
There is a preserved Hawker Hurricane fighter aircraft known as "The Last of The Many"—a reference to the 1942 film The First of the Few starring Leslie Howard as R.J. Mitchell, designer of the Spitfire—which flies as part of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, along with a Supermarine Spitfire that flew in the Battle (one of five Spitfires in the Memorial Flight). As the Hurricane was the last production model of that type, it did not itself fly in the Battle.
In 2022 a sculpture, the Spirit of the Few Monument, was unveiled at the Kent Battle of Britain Museum. [19]
The Battle of Britain was considered officially by the RAF [20] to have been fought between 10 July and 31 October 1940.
The leading aces of the Battle of Britain (between 10 July and 31 October 1940) were: [21]
| Rank | Pilot | Nationality | Squadron | Aircraft | Kills | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Flt Lt Eric Lock |  United Kingdom | 41 | Spitfire | 21 | Total 26 kills. MIA 3 August 1941. |
| 2 | Sqn Ldr Archie McKellar | United Kingdom | 605 | Hurricane | 19 | Total 21 (possibly 22) three probable and three damaged. 5 Bf 109's on 7 October 1940. KIA 1 November 1940. |
| 3 | Sgt James Lacey | United Kingdom | 501 | Hurricane | 18 (23 by end of November) | Total 28 kills. |
| 4 | Sgt Josef František |  Czechoslovakia | 303 | Hurricane | 17 | Killed 8 October 1940. |
| 5 | Fg Off Brian Carbury |  New Zealand | 603 | Spitfire | 15 + 1⁄2 | |
| 6 | Fg Off Witold Urbanowicz |  Poland | 145 and 303 | Hurricane | 15 | Total 18 (possibly 20) kills. |
| 7 | Plt Off Colin Gray | New Zealand | 54 | Spitfire | 14 + 1⁄2 | Total 27.7 kills. |
| 8 | Plt Off Bob Doe | United Kingdom | 234 and 238 | Spitfire /Hurricane | 14 (+ 2 shared) | |
| 9 | Flt Lt Paterson Hughes |  Australia | 234 | Spitfire | 14 + 5⁄6 | KIA 7 September 1940. |
| 10 | Sqn Ldr Michael Crossley | United Kingdom | 32 | Hurricane | 14 | Wartime total 22 victories. |
The Few, a novel by Alex Kershaw, tells the stories of the men who flew in the Battle of Britain. As of 2003 [update] , a Hollywood film similarly named The Few was in preparation for release in 2008, based on the story of real-life U.S. pilot Billy Fiske, who ignored his country's neutrality rules and volunteered for the RAF. A Variety magazine outline of the film's historical content [23] was said in The Independent to have been described by Bill Bond, who conceived the Battle of Britain Monument in London, as "Totally wrong. The whole bloody lot." [24]
"One of the Few", a sony by British band Pink Floyd from their album The Final Cut (1983), describes a war veteran's return from the battlefield, specifically a pilot from the Battle of Britain, to pursue teaching, which connects to "The Hero's Return", another song from the album which is sung from the veteran's perspective.
The Battle of Britain was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force, the Luftwaffe. It was the first major military campaign fought entirely by air forces. The British officially recognise the battle's duration as being from 10 July until 31 October 1940, which overlaps the period of large-scale night attacks known as the Blitz, that lasted from 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941. German historians do not follow this subdivision and regard the battle as a single campaign lasting from July 1940 to May 1941, including the Blitz.
Battle of Britain is a 1969 British war film documenting the events of the Battle of Britain, the war for aerial supremacy between the German Luftwaffe and the defending Royal Air Force waged over British skies during summer of 1940. The nature of the subject drew many respected British actors to accept roles as key figures of the battle, including Laurence Olivier as Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding, Trevor Howard as Air Vice-Marshal Keith Park, and Patrick Wymark as Air Vice-Marshal Trafford Leigh-Mallory. Directed by Guy Hamilton and produced by Harry Saltzman and S. Benjamin Fisz, it also starred Michael Caine, Christopher Plummer, and Robert Shaw as Squadron Leaders. The script by James Kennaway and Wilfred Greatorex was based on the book The Narrow Margin by Derek Wood and Derek Dempster.
Royal Air Force Northolt or more simply RAF Northolt is a Royal Air Force station in South Ruislip, 2 nautical miles from Uxbridge in the London Borough of Hillingdon, western Greater London, England, approximately 6 mi (10 km) north of Heathrow Airport. As London VIP Airport, the station handles many private civil flights in addition to Air Force flights.
No. 603 Squadron is a squadron of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force, based in Edinburgh, Scotland. On reforming on 1 October 1999, the primary role of 603 Squadron was as a Survive to Operate squadron, as well as providing force protection.
The Royal Air Force (RAF) and Fleet Air Arm had included personnel from outside the United Kingdom from before the beginning of the Second World War, and many served in the Battle of Britain in summer 1940. Many of these volunteers were British subjects—thus, citizens—coming from territories that made up part of the British Empire. Additionally, a significant part was made up of refugees and exiles from German-occupied Europe and American emigrants.
No. 501 Squadron was the 14th of the 21 flying units in the Royal Auxiliary Air Force, the volunteer reserve part of the British Royal Air Force. The squadron won seven battle honours, flying Hurricane, Spitfire and Tempest fighter aircraft during World War II, and was one of the most heavily engaged units in RAF Fighter Command. In particular, the Squadron saw extensive action during the Battle of France and Battle of Britain. At present the unit is not flying any more and has a logistics role as part of No 85 Expeditionary Logistics Wing.
Eric Stanley Lock, was a British Royal Air Force (RAF) fighter pilot and flying ace of the Second World War.
Brian Carbury, was a New Zealand fighter ace of the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War. He was officially credited with destroying 15+1⁄2 German aircraft.
Paterson Clarence Hughes, was an Australian fighter ace of World War II. Serving with the Royal Air Force (RAF), he was credited with as many as seventeen aerial victories during the Battle of Britain, before being killed in action in September 1940. His tally made him the highest-scoring Australian of the battle, and among the three highest-scoring Australians of the war.
Squadron Leader Archibald Ashmore McKellar, & Bar was a flying ace of the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War.
Number 601 Squadron is a squadron of the RAF Reserves, based in London. The squadron took part in the Battle of Britain, during which the first Americans to fly in World War II were members of the squadron.
Wing Commander Antoni (Toni) Głowacki DFC, DFM, was a Polish Second World War fighter pilot flying with Polish Squadrons attached to the Royal Air Force, who is notable for shooting down five German aircraft on 24 August 1940 during the Battle of Britain, becoming one of only four pilots who gained "ace-in-a-day" status during that battle, the others being New Zealander Brian Carbury, Englishman Ronald Hamlyn and Scot Archie McKellar.
Group captain Walter Myers Churchill, was a Royal Air Force pilot and flying ace during World War II.
Flight Lieutenant William Louis Buchanan Walker, AE was, at the time of his death, the oldest surviving pilot from the Battle of Britain. His poem "Our Wall" about the Battle of Britain is inscribed on a special plinth aside the Christopher Foxley-Norris Memorial Wall of the Battle of Britain Memorial, Capel-le-Ferne, Kent.
William Henry Franklin, DFM and Bar also known as Bill Franklin was a Royal Air Force fighter pilot and a notable Second World War flying ace decorated for gallantry twice, he shot down more than 13 enemy aircraft over the Dunkirk evacuation beaches and during the Battle of Britain before being killed in action.
Tadeusz Arentowicz was a Polish fighter pilot and ace during the Second World War. He served as a flight lieutenant in the Royal Air Force in the No. 303 Polish Fighter Squadron. He was B-group Flight Commander of the squadron. A week after his final promotion, in 1941, he was on a mission escorting bombers when his plane was shot down by a German fighter near Dunkirk over the English Channel; he was never found.
Flight Lieutenant Maurice Hewlett Mounsdon was a British pilot who flew with the Royal Air Force during World War II.
Alan Francis Eckford was a British flying ace of the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War. He was credited with at least eight aerial victories.
The Spirit of the Few Monument is a memorial at the Kent Battle of Britain Museum at Hawkinge which commemorates the 2,938 aircrew of the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm who took part in the Battle of Britain during the Second World War. The monument, unveiled on 29 July 2022, is in the form of bronze sculptures of seven pilots of the RAF. It replicates a well-known photograph taken on 29 July 1940 of pilots of No. 32 Squadron, which flew from Hawkinge airfield during the Battle of Britain.
