ONLINE BOOK OF TRIBUTES TO DOCUMENT VALOUR OF “THE FEW”
THE RAF BENEVOLENT FUND IS ASKING THE PUBLIC TO CONTRIBUTE TO A NEW ONLINE BOOK TO MARK THE 70th ANNIVERSARYOF THE BATTLEOF BRITAIN
AS briefly mentioned in last month’s Briefing Room, the recently released online tribute book is intended to commemorate every single pilot and member of aircrew who fought in the Battle of Britain. At the same time the book is not just about thosewho are entitled to the Battle of Britain Clasp, it also offers visitors the opportunity to create individual commemorative pages for all the other men and women who fought the Battle in the equally vital ground crew, radar station and Observer Corps roles.
The book is arranged in alphabetical order. As a result, the first entry is that of Sergeant Hubert Hastings Adair. The brief details added so far on his entry informs the visitor that Adair, who was born in 1917, served with 151 and 213 Squadrons before he was killed in action, just after the Battle, on 6 November 1940. The last of the names listed is that of a Pole, Pilot Officer Janusz Zurakowski.
The book allows users to post thoughts, memories, pictures and anecdotes about each individual, forming an invaluable public record of those who Winston Churchill called “The Few”. The book already provides biographies formany of the pilots, aswell as interesting stories and facts. But the RAF Benevolent Fund (RAFBF) wants the general public to join in and contribute their own tributes and reflections to make a broader social record of the events of the summer of 1940. Much of the information in the pilot biographies has been added by the Battle of Britain Memorial Trust.
Visitors to the site can search through the entries by either entering a surname in the search box or by using the arrowed buttons to move through the pages in alphabetical order. If a name has a roundel icon next to it, this indicates that there is an existing Celebration Page. Clicking on a name will enable you to create a new Celebration Page, or view the existing Celebration Page and add your own tribute.
One of the entrieswhich already has a Celebration Page is that of Flying Officer Bryan J.Wicks.Wicks servedwith 56 Squadron and fought in the
Battle for France prior to his participation in the Battle of Britain. On 26 May 2010, the following was added to his entry:
“In May 1940 his ‘plane was badly damaged while destroying one of the enemy’s and hemade a forced-landing. He survived for some twelve days behind enemy lines masquerading as a peasant before breaking through. Following confirmation of his identity he was returned to England. In 1942 he was posted to Malta as a Squadron Leader with 126 Squadron and was lost, aged 22, during one of the last major German raids on the island on 12 October 1942. He is remembered on the Malta Memorial.”
The project was the inspiration of Jonathan Haward, the Managing Director of Friends and Relations. He explained why he decided to construct the site: “My family has a long history in the RAF – my mother worked in a radar station during the Battle, helping to direct fighter planes to intercept the enemy – and as a result I am also a strong supporter of the RAF Benevolent Fund.Notmany people knowthat the charity spends over £21ma year helping serving and former RAF personnel. As the 70th anniversary of the Battle approached I had the inspiration to get everyone with an interest in ‘The Few’ to jot down their thoughts in one giant commemorative book, creating an invaluable resource for future generations, a fascinating read for enthusiasts and an opportunity to raise awareness of the great work done by the RAFBF!”
You can visit the Battle of Britain Book of Tributes at:
www.battleofbritainbook.com
BELOW: Spitfires of 72 Squadron. (Courtesy of the Bob Ogley Collection)
8
AUGUST 2010
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