For 113 frightening days in 1940, Nazi Germany’s air force, the Luftwaffe, bombed Great Britain hoping for an early victory during the Second World War.
The job of defending southern England’s shores from the non-stop airborne bombardment fell to the Royal Air Force (RAF) which included about 100 flyboys from Canada. Some of these Canadian sons were raised in distinguished families. Others joined the air force straight off the farm. In all they served in different Battle of Britain squadrons flying Spitfires and Hurricanes.
Bestselling military historian Ted Barris has written 22 books including Battle of Britain: Canadian Airmen in Their Finest Hour. It is a riveting book about the Canadian role in the do-or-die battle, and how they destroyed130 German aircraft.
But the book is more than a dry account of war strategies. It assembles unknown stories of Canadian airmen, ground crew, engineers, aeronautical designers, medical officers and civilians who pitched in to repel the Nazi invasion.
The Battle of Britain was a major air campaign fought mainly over southern England in the summer and fall of 1940. After Germany pushed the British Expeditionary Force out of Dunkirk, and France fell to the Nazis, Germany was working to gain a superior advantage in preparation for an invasion into Britain.
Barris has distilled much of the information into his book and will make a presentation at the Arden Theatre on Thursday, Nov. 7. In addition to drawing upon character stories from his book, the author will include projection images, snippets of period films and bits of documentary screenings.
“This isn’t a book about Hitler. It’s about the guys who flew, the ground crew and the many who supported them on the ground,” said Barris.
He tells a story about Brits watching dogfights from the ground. Fire watchers had the job of extinguishing incendiary bombs that dropped from the skies. In one instance, a female fire watcher approaches a fiery incendiary bomb.
“All she had was a bucket, sand and bike pump. Talk about courage.”
Barris grew up in a family that loved books. His father, Alex, a longtime Toronto reporter, rarely spoke about his stint as an Army medic during the Second World War.
“I didn’t understand when I was younger, but later I realized my father didn’t want to fall apart in front of me,” Barris said.
As a student in the 1950s, Canadian soldiers were referred to as peacekeepers, he explained.
“They were rarely referred to as warriors. And then I had a Grade 7 history teacher who changed all that. He came into the class one day wearing a cape and boots and I discovered all sorts of things.”
Seeing Barris’s interest in the Second World War, Mike Maillot, his teacher, encouraged his student to interview veterans.
“I interviewed about 6,000 veterans and recorded them. I learned to listen, be patient and sometimes cry with them. It was very painful at times,” Barris said. “It wasn’t about the blood-curdling gore. It was about people stepping up to do the right thing. There was excitement, but there was also fear.”
One way Barris conveys the Battle of Britain through Canadian eyes is to introduce some of the larger-than-life figures that played key roles in its success. One of the most famous British pilots was Group Captain Douglas Bader, a double amputee.
“In 1931, he was doing stunt flying and flew too low to the ground. His plane crashed and rolled, and he lost both legs.”
Although a double amputee, Bader rose to the top of the scale and in 1940 was assigned to command the 242 All-Canadian Squad. The men he would lead were Canadian flyers forced to retreat from France. They were sent to Coltishall, a pastoral village in the English county of Norfolk.
“The Canadians were feeling disowned. They felt forgotten. The Canadians were pissed off and felt the RAF had forgotten them. Bader was assigned as squad leader, and when he arrives, he sees they are dishevelled, and their uniforms are dirty and torn. This ace pilot rips a strip off them, and they think he’s an RAF [expletive]. He realizes the only way he can get their get their attention is by showing what he can do. He gets in the cockpit of a Hurricane and demonstrates every conceivable acrobatic manoeuvre.”
Once out of the Hurricane, he apologized and gave his squad money for new clothes and shoes. It worked. Bader impressed the Canadians and was able to whip the flyers and ground crew into shape, turning them into one of the RAF’s elite squadrons.
Another colourful character was Willie McKnight, Canada’s highest scoring ace. He was a “hat trick” champion who downed 17 planes during his short career and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and Bar in 1940, shortly before his death in 1941.
He was the charming rogue, the boisterous pilot who pushed the envelope, the type you see in the movies. He was an adventurer with a carefree spirit who was reputed to have commandeered a general’s staff car to have a romantic liaison with a Parisian beauty.
Born in Edmonton in 1918, McKnight had a rough start. His mother died during childbirth, and he developed a rebellious streak over the years.
“As a young man he had trouble finding himself. But he was given to the military structure, and he enjoyed flying. Given his nature, it was surprising he attempted medicine at the University of Alberta. Coincidentally at the same time, Canada cut its budget for the military. Across the pond, the RAF recognized war was coming and they threw out an offer to the Commonwealth.”
“They offered private pilot lessons, and if you could make the grade, you were appointed a commissioned officer. If you were accepted, you would have to give the RAF six years of service. McKnight hopped on a cattle boat, signed up and qualified for a commission.”
The fighter pilots Barris documents were the last stand against Hitler and many paid with their lives.
“The best way to get the stories out is to let people know what people experienced – both the pilots and the ground crew, and to feel proud of what they did,” said Barris.
The Arden Theatre presentation starts Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $35 and are available at tickets.stalbert.ca or call 780-459-1542.
