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johnfowles · 11-02-2006, 12:54 PM

All his talk of veterans got me thinking, because hardly a month goes by without at least one obituary in my emailed Daily Telegraph for yet another 80+ year old Battle Of Britain survivor who has hung up his wings and passed away
So I googled to try to find how many are still actually still living:-
from:-
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/825656.stm
a report
Battle of Britain survivors gather
dated Sunday, 9 July, 2000, 20:59 GMT 21:59 UK
"Of the 2,927 RAF and Allied airmen who fought in the battle, just 1,592 survived WWII. Those alive today number just a few hundred."
A bit later is a report dated Mon. Feb. 24 2003 on the Canadian site
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNew...9691_41534539/
announcing plans for a monument to the airmen, among them 99 Canadians, who flew in the battle. and which says
"Between July 10 and Oct. 31, 1940, 2,953 men fought in the Battle of Britain, a historic aerial conflict in which 544 airmen, including 22 Canadians, lost their lives. Fewer than 200 members of those air crews are still alive today."
So at a guess the Few are down to 150 by now
a recent report on the 12 July 2005 dinner for "the Last of the Few " only says 12 attended

The Last of the Few celebrate the 70th Anniversary of the formation of Fighter Command
[Picture: Sgt Graham Spark]

I also found a spirited discussion on the merits or otherwise of Hollywood remakes of UK war films
see:-
http://www.britmovie.co.uk/forums/br...woods-few.html
The final posting says
"We all know the Americans did their bit, but it was their bit and not ours. Why can't they just hear the story as it happened ?!

Can we remake the battle of Iwo Jima with Brits, French, Poles, Russians, etc ?"!!!
I also found

WWII Battle of Britain 2 Submarine Spitfire Interceptor Aircraft fly over a burning London in 1940 See the Hawk 75
The Home Guard Firemen in Combat Helmets - what a great sheet of 8 Mint Topical Postage Stamps

See them all at WWIIStamps.com
Cool stamps from yes you guessed it:- http://store.coolstamps.com/endeavor/product/18763.html
and this account of seances involving Air Chief Marshal Lord Dowding, head of Fighter Command in the Battle of Britain, is quite fun too
http://www.harvestfields.ca/ebook/02/033/15.htm
John

[ November 02, 2006, 11:59: Message edited by: johnfowles ]

11-02-2006, 12:54 PM	#41
johnfowles Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: New Jersey U.S.A. ex UK and Canada Posts: 4,846	All his talk of veterans got me thinking, because hardly a month goes by without at least one obituary in my emailed Daily Telegraph for yet another 80+ year old Battle Of Britain survivor who has hung up his wings and passed away So I googled to try to find how many are still actually still living:- from:- http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/825656.stm a report Battle of Britain survivors gather dated Sunday, 9 July, 2000, 20:59 GMT 21:59 UK "Of the 2,927 RAF and Allied airmen who fought in the battle, just 1,592 survived WWII. Those alive today number just a few hundred." A bit later is a report dated Mon. Feb. 24 2003 on the Canadian site http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNew...9691_41534539/ announcing plans for a monument to the airmen, among them 99 Canadians, who flew in the battle. and which says "Between July 10 and Oct. 31, 1940, 2,953 men fought in the Battle of Britain, a historic aerial conflict in which 544 airmen, including 22 Canadians, lost their lives. Fewer than 200 members of those air crews are still alive today." So at a guess the Few are down to 150 by now a recent report on the 12 July 2005 dinner for "the Last of the Few " only says 12 attended The Last of the Few celebrate the 70th Anniversary of the formation of Fighter Command [Picture: Sgt Graham Spark] I also found a spirited discussion on the merits or otherwise of Hollywood remakes of UK war films see:- http://www.britmovie.co.uk/forums/br...woods-few.html The final posting says "We all know the Americans did their bit, but it was their bit and not ours. Why can't they just hear the story as it happened ?! Can we remake the battle of Iwo Jima with Brits, French, Poles, Russians, etc ?"!!! I also found WWII Battle of Britain 2 Submarine Spitfire Interceptor Aircraft fly over a burning London in 1940 See the Hawk 75 The Home Guard Firemen in Combat Helmets - what a great sheet of 8 Mint Topical Postage Stamps See them all at WWIIStamps.com Cool stamps from yes you guessed it:- http://store.coolstamps.com/endeavor/product/18763.html and this account of seances involving Air Chief Marshal Lord Dowding, head of Fighter Command in the Battle of Britain, is quite fun too http://www.harvestfields.ca/ebook/02/033/15.htm John [ November 02, 2006, 11:59: Message edited by: johnfowles ]