70 years ago. The Battle for Britain.

[ChrisH]

MUST NEVER BE FORGOTTEN
".......the Battle of France is over. The Battle of Britain is about to begin, upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilization,
upon it depends our own British life and the long continuity of our
institution and our Empire."
WINSTON CHURCHILL, JUNE 18 1940
The resilience of Churchill and the British people

"We do not want to be remembered as heroes, we only ask to be remembered for what we did....that's all"
W/C Robert "Bob" Doe British 234 & 238 Squadrons Fighter Command

"I regard it as a privilege to fight for all those things that make life worth living - freedom, honour and fair play"
Pilot Officer William "Bill" Millington Australian 79 & 249 Squadrons Fighter Command

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/battle_of_britain

I was not born then, not until the war was over. Maybe I never would have been, or not born free, if not for those who fought, who died, and those too who kept the home fires burning, both then and to the end of the conflict.

To them all I am and ever will be
forever grateful, forever proud.

[lizbud]

It seems that new color film of life in Britain during The Blitz was
recently found in someone's attic. It was shown in a recent News episode.
It was amazing how Britain perservered & even continued to keep the citys
buses running during the months long bombing of London. Amazing grit.

[wombat2u2004]

I had a client once who immigrated here in the 1950's. Old Mrs.Cope was very old when I worked for her and her son. When the war was on, she lived in one of the cities over there on the first floor of a building. She had about 6kids, and they were all littlies at the time. They were having dinner, and then heard a buzz bomb droning away nearby.....she got all the kids together, took them into the main bedroom, and covered herself and the kids with the double bed mattress. Next thing, the buzz bomb hit the house behind them, completely demolishing it, and blowing the back wall of Mrs.Copes home away. When they emerged from under the mattress, they had no back wall on their house, but they were all safe and sound.

[Freedom]

My Mum grew up in London during the Blitz. (She was age 6 when the war started there, and 14 when it ended, if I remember right).

There is one family story of my Mum trying to "out run" a buzz bomb. It was coming down the street and Mum, in terror, was running down the street ahead of it. A man - they never did know who - ran across the street grabbing her to get her out of the path.

Mum had an "assigned" spot on the 3rd step of one of the Underground stations. That is where she was supposed to go during a raid. She had been rather far away across town and was running to "her spot," when the above happened.

I don't remember which station now, but when Mum took us over there in 1972, visiting "her step" was one of the places she took us to see.

Mum had nightmares about the Blitz all her life, right up until she passed at age 66.

[Miss Z]

No matter how many times I hear the wail of sirens or the steely voice of Churchill on the news reports at the moment, it never fails to send a chill down my spine. Every man, woman and child was so brave during those dark years, I just cannot fathom how terrifying it must have been to experience the Blitz as a reality.

Still keeping calm and carrying on; yes, I am truly proud to be British.

[cassiesmom]

Couple of hours drive north of here, up in Wisconsin is Ten Chimneys, the summer home of actors Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne. I've been there because it has been converted into a museum and educational center for theater. One of the things I learned about them was that they were very concerned during the years of World War II (Lynn Fontanne was English). They performed extensively in London and elsewhere in England for soldiers and citizens during the Blitz to help keep people's spirits up. I think this was before the U.S. got into the war but I'm not exactly sure. She never lost touch with her ties as an English person all through her life.

I'm with Miss Z- I can't imagine how frightening it must have been to experience the Blitz as a reality.