The Battle of Britain, 1945–1965 The Battle of Britain, 1945–1965 The Air Ministry and the Few Garry Campion University of Northampton, UK © Garry Campion 2015 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2015 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-57415-5 ISBN 978-1-137-31626-4 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9781137316264 This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Campion, Garry, 1963– author. The Battle of Britain, 1945–1965 : the Air Ministry and the Few / Garry Campion. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Britain, Battle of, Great Britain, 1940. 2. World War, 1939–1945— Propaganda. 3. Collective memory—Great Britain. I. Title. D756.5.B7C36 2015 940.54'211—dc23 2015020303 Typeset by MPS Limited, Chennai, India. In loving memory Pauline Campion (1940–2011) The Battle of Britain Cecil Day-Lewis What did we earth-bound make of it? A tangle Of vapour trails, a vertiginously high Swarming of midges, at most a fiery angel Hurled out of heaven, was all we could descry. How could we know the agony and pride That scrawled those fading signatures up there, And the cool expertise of those who died Or lived through that delirium of the air? Grounded on history now, we re-enact Such lives, such deaths. Time, laughing out of court The newspaper heroics and the faked Statistics, leaves us only to record. What was, what might have been: fighter and bomber, The tilting sky, tense moves and counterings; Those who outlived that legendary summer; Those who went down, its sunlight on their wings. And you, unborn then, what will you make of it— This shadow-play of battles long ago? Be sure of this: they pushed to the uttermost limit Their luck, skill, nerve. And they were young like you. From Complete Poems by Cecil Day-Lewis, published by Sinclair Stevenson. Reproduced by permission of The Random House Group Ltd. Contents List of Figures ix List of Plates x List of Tables xii Acknowledgements xiii List of Abbreviations xv Chronology xvii Introduction 1 Part I Air War, Media War 1 Seelöwe und Bomben Auf Engeland: The German Perspective, 1940 13 2 Britain’s Fighter Boys: Projecting the Battle of Britain, 1940 37 3 The Battle of the Barges: ‘Blackpool Front’ Propaganda, 1940–1945 65 Part II Valorising and Thanksgiving 4 ‘The Greatest Day’: Shaping the Battle of Britain, 1941 91 5 ‘Immortal Few’: Heroising the Fighter Boys, 1942–1945 116 6 ‘Air Trafalgar Day’: Official Commemorations, 1942–1945 141 Part III Commemoration and Popular Memory 7 ‘The Fight at Odds’: Revelation, Memorialisation, 1945–1965 175 8 ‘Angels One Five’: Historical and Cultural Consolidation, 1946–1965 198 Conclusion 226 Appendix 1 Chronology of German-focused Events, 1939–1941 229 Appendix 2 Nazi Battle of Britain-related Propaganda 237 Appendix 3 R adio and Audio Coverage of the Battle of Britain, 1940–1965 240 Appendix 4 Printed Coverage of the Battle of Britain, 1940–1965 243 vii viii Contents Appendix 5 N ewsreel, Film and TV Coverage of the Battle of Britain, 1940–1965 245 Appendix 6 War Artists 249 Appendix 7 Books and Printed Literature, 1940–1965 251 Appendix 8 Chronology of Political and World Events, 1945–1965 255 Notes 257 Bibliography 304 Index 321 List of Figures 2.1 Intelligence into news (compiled by Garry Campion) 39 8.1 British historical phases for the Battle of Britain period (compiled by Garry Campion) 199 8.2 German historical phases for the Battle of Britain period, 1940–1941 (compiled by Garry Campion) 201 ix