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On Saturday 28 August the Battle of Britain commemorative flight took place and I was lucky enough to be on board.
The flight was organised by the Battle of Britain Historical Society to mark the 70th anniversary of the Battle this year and was sponsored by findmypast.co.uk, along with the John Lewis Partnership and Serco.
Amy Sell, findmypast.co.uk's marketing executive
Fourteen Battle of Britain veterans attended, all of whom are now in their 80s and 90s. There were also 15 war widows on board and members of the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force who also played an important role in the Battle of Britain.
Here’s Battle of Britain veteran William Walker with findmypast’s marketing manager Debra Chatfield:
The specially chartered British Airways flight took off from Heathrow Terminal Five. We flew over the areas in which the RAF was engaged in combat with the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain. The plane flew over the coast of Southern England and the English Channel.
Two surviving fighter planes - a Spitfire and a Hurricane - joined the flight for part of the way. The pilots had flown these aircrafts during the Battle of Britain. Here you can see the Spitfire and Hurricane alongside our plane:
My colleagues Debra Chatfield (findmypast’s marketing manager) and Paul Yates (head of findmypast) were also on board the flight, as well as our two lucky competition winners Sally Hayward and her guest Stuart.
There were a few other notable figures on board the flight: defence minister Dr Liam Fox, South African High Commissioner Dr Zola Skweyiya, Belgian Diplomatic Counsellor Pascal Gregoire, actor Edward Fox and Battle of Britain Historical Society supporter Bamber Gascoigne.
We took this photo of Edward Fox speaking at the champagne reception:
It was a fascinating and memorable day and a fitting tribute to the bravery of the men who fought for our country.
See more photos of the flight on our Facebook page.
More...
The flight was organised by the Battle of Britain Historical Society to mark the 70th anniversary of the Battle this year and was sponsored by findmypast.co.uk, along with the John Lewis Partnership and Serco.
Amy Sell, findmypast.co.uk's marketing executiveFourteen Battle of Britain veterans attended, all of whom are now in their 80s and 90s. There were also 15 war widows on board and members of the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force who also played an important role in the Battle of Britain.
Here’s Battle of Britain veteran William Walker with findmypast’s marketing manager Debra Chatfield:
The specially chartered British Airways flight took off from Heathrow Terminal Five. We flew over the areas in which the RAF was engaged in combat with the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain. The plane flew over the coast of Southern England and the English Channel.
Two surviving fighter planes - a Spitfire and a Hurricane - joined the flight for part of the way. The pilots had flown these aircrafts during the Battle of Britain. Here you can see the Spitfire and Hurricane alongside our plane:
My colleagues Debra Chatfield (findmypast’s marketing manager) and Paul Yates (head of findmypast) were also on board the flight, as well as our two lucky competition winners Sally Hayward and her guest Stuart.
There were a few other notable figures on board the flight: defence minister Dr Liam Fox, South African High Commissioner Dr Zola Skweyiya, Belgian Diplomatic Counsellor Pascal Gregoire, actor Edward Fox and Battle of Britain Historical Society supporter Bamber Gascoigne.
We took this photo of Edward Fox speaking at the champagne reception:
It was a fascinating and memorable day and a fitting tribute to the bravery of the men who fought for our country.
See more photos of the flight on our Facebook page.
More...