The Commonwealth and the Few (and more)

Some nice recognition (with minor clangers):

Britain wasn't alone in her Finest Hour - we must remember the Commonwealth
The new statue of Sir Keith Park should remind us of our links, and debt, to the Commonwealth, says Terry Smith.

An impression of a statue of Battle of Britain hero Sir Keith Park Photo: PA

Next Wednesday [Nov. 4], on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square, a statue will be unveiled of Sir Keith Park. His is a name familiar to few in this country. But in the early days of the Second World War, when the outlook for Britain was at its most grim, Park was one of a small group of senior commanders on whose shoulders the survival of the United Kingdom depended.

Throughout the Battle of Britain, Park commanded 11 Group of the Royal Air Force, responsible for the defence of London and the South East. His squadrons bore the brunt of the attacks on England by the Luftwaffe. Indeed, according to Lord Tedder, Marshal of the Royal Air Force: "If ever any one man won the Battle of Britain, he did. I don't believe it is recognised how much this one man... did to save not only this country, but the world."

Yet while the Battle of Britain was a turning point in the war, it was not a battle that Britain fought alone. Flying alongside 2,350 British pilots were some 600 pilots from 14 other countries – half of whom came from the Commonwealth and the rest from countries such as the United States, Poland and Czechoslovakia.

Park himself was a New Zealander...

As we reflect on the recent anniversary of the beginning of the Second World War, and the story of Sir Keith Park, we should remember the sacrifices made on our behalf by citizens from the Commonwealth and other countries in our "Finest Hour". The scale of their contribution in the Second World War, and the debt we owe, is staggering. More than 4.5 million personnel from the Commonwealth served, of whom 360,000 were casualties.

India provided more than 2.5 million, the largest volunteer army in history, while Australia sent over 727,000, Canada 628,000 [actually that was Word War I, see final para near bottom here, more here; 1.1 million served with the Canadian services in the Second World War] South Africa 342,000 and New Zealand 150,000. Other countries dispatched tens of thousands more. Nor should we forget the efforts of those who stayed at home, aiding the Allied war effort and keeping it supplied from afar. New Zealand even introduced rationing to ensure it could supply enough food for Britain.

Commonwealth forces have continued to fight alongside Britain and her allies. In the Korean War, New Zealand, Australia and Canada [516 killed in some two and half years of ground combat] provided essential elements of the British Commonwealth Brigade [division actually], while their warships joined the British and American fleets.

Forces from New Zealand, Canada [Operation FRICTION] and Australia served in the Gulf war of 1990-91, and these three countries are today supporting the Nato-led force in Afghanistan [see this blog and in particular here for Kiwis, and here for Aussies, with further Digger links at end]. Commonwealth citizens are also increasingly prominent members of our own Armed Forces...

One RAF squadron during the Battle of Britain was known as the "Canadian squadron", note badge and motto:

Battle of Britain history of No. 242 Squadron.

Aircraft: Hurricane Mk.1
Motto: Toujours prêt - 'Always ready'
Badge: A moose's head erased. At the time that the badge was awarded the officers serving with the squadron were Canadian.

No 242 Squadron was formed in August 1918 from Nos 408, 409 and 514 Flights at the seaplane station at Newhaven and nearby airfield at Telscombe Cliffs. It carried out anti-submarine patrols over the English Channel until the end of World War One. On 15 May 1919, the squadron was disbanded.

On 30 October 1939, No 242 reformed at Church Fenton as a fighter squadron and initially had a large number of Canadian personnel on strength. In December it received Blenheim fighters which were replaced in January 1940 by Hurricanes, the squadron becoming operational on 23 March. Operations over France began on 16 May, a detachment being based at French airfields until evacuated on 16 June to take part in the Battle of Britain.

A Hawker Hurricane Mk 1 in 242 Squadron markings

Stations
Coltishall 18 June 1940
Duxford 26 October 1940

More here; the squadron had a rather famous commander, one of my heroes--his biography. And from an earlier post:

...
I knew a Canadian from 242 Squadron. Stan Turner was Canadian Air Attaché at our embassy in Moscow when I was a boy there in the 50s. He very kindly allowed me to acquire the embassy's copies of Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1949-1950 and 1955-1956 (still have them). I'd been deep into the the Observer's Book of Aircraft and other airplane reference books; the Jane's were pure heaven. Great fellow, what?

My grandfather in Ottawa, for his part, would send me plastic airplane models. After they had been sufficiently bashed around I would climb, with a friend or two from the American embassy, onto the roof of my family's two-story house in the embassy compound (still there). We would then stuff jets such as the F-86--with a hollow interior and at least one open end--full of wooden matches and airplane glue, ignite the, er, accelerant, and heave the flaming aircraft into the air. Great crashes too...