In 1945 it was announced that Allied airmen who had taken part in the Battle of Britain in 1940 would be entitled to the immediate award of the 1939-1945 Star, with Battle of Britain Clasp. This was the only Clasp awarded with the 1939-1945 Star.In the following years holders of the Clasp held informal get-togethers. In 1958 the Battle of Britain Fighter Association (BBFA) was formed, with full membership only available to holders of the Battle of Britain Clasp. Lord Dowding was the first President. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother became Patron. That post is now held by HRH The Prince of Wales.As well as organising reunions and providing some welfare assistance to members and widows, the Association has played a key role in researching entitlement to the Clasp and pronouncing on claims for the Clasp. A considerable part of the knowledge existing today on these matters came from the work of successive BBFA archivists, the late Group Captain Tom Gleave and the late Wing Commander John Young.The Association has also become closely associated with the Battle of Britain thanksgiving service held every September in Westminster Abbey.The Association's archives are held in part by the Secretary of the BBFA, Group Captain Patrick Tootal and in part by the Air Historical Branch, RAF (AHB) at RAF Northolt.Geoff Simpson has now been invited by the Association to use these archives as the basis of a book on the history of the organisation.

This book examines the reality behind the myths of the legendary RAF fighter aces during the Battle of Britain. The accounts of the experiences of fighter pilots are based on archival research, diaries, letters, published and unpublished memoirs and personal interviews with veterans.

Adolph Gysbert Malan was born in Wellington, South Africa. A natural leader and driven individual with a totally positive outlook, aged fourteen Malan became an officer cadet in the South African Merchant Navy, before being commissioned into the Royal Navy Reserve. Well-travelled and worldly-wise, aged twenty-five the intrepid adventurer applied for a Short Service Commission in the RAF. Universally known as ‘Sailor’ in the RAF, Malan became a fighter pilot. Shortly after war was declared, Malan was involved in the infamous ‘Battle of Barking Creek’, in which 74 Squadron mistakenly destroyed friendly Hurricanes. Then, over Dunkirk in May 1940, Malan’s exceptional ability was immediately demonstrated in combat and a string of confirmed aerial victories rapidly accumulated. The following month, Malan scored the Spitfire’s first nocturnal kill. By August 1940 he was commanding 74 Squadron, which he led with great distinction during the Battle of Britain. In March 1941, Malan was promoted and became the first Wing Commander (Flying) at Biggin Hill, leading the three-squadron-strong Spitfire wing during operations over northern France. After a break from operations, Malan went on to command a succession of fighter training units, passing on his tactical genius and experience, and producing his famous ‘Ten Rules of Air Fighting’ which are still cited today. By the war’s end, Group Captain Malan was the RAF’s tenth top-scoring fighter pilot. Leaving the RAF in 1945 and returning to South Africa, he was disgusted by Apartheid and founded the ‘Torch Commando’ of ex-servicemen against this appalling racist policy. This part of Malan’s life is equally as inspirational, in fact, as his wartime service, and actually tells us more about the man than just his RAF record. Tragically, in 1963, he died, prematurely, aged just fifty-three, of Parkinson’s. Written with the support of the Malan family, this biography is the full story of a remarkable airman and politician.

This new, updated edition of The Battle of Britain on Screen examines in depth the origins, development and reception of the major dramatic screen representations of 'The Few' in the Battle of Britain produced over the past 75 years. Paul MacKenzie explores both continuity and change in the presentation of a wartime event that acquired and retains near-mythical dimensions in popular consciousness and has been represented many times in feature films and television dramas. Alongside relevant technical developments, the book also examines the social, cultural, and political changes occurring in the second half of the 20th century and first decade of current century that helped shape how the battle came to be framed dramatically. This edition contains a new chapter looking at the portrayal of the Battle of Britain at the time of its 70th anniversary. Through its perceptive demonstration of how our memory of the battle has been constantly reshaped through film and television, The Battle of Britain on Screen provides students of the Second World War, 20th-century Britain and film history with a thorough and complex understanding of an iconic historical event.

Dilip Sarkar has studied the Battle of Britain period for a lifetime and is renowned for his meticulous research and evidence-based approach, setting events within the broadest possible context. In doing so, he has helped enrich our appreciation and understanding of the past. In this, the first of a new seven volume series on the Battle of Britain, we have the background to the aerial conflict of the summer of 1940 revealed in great detail and told comprehensively as never before. No stone has been left unturned, no angle unexplored. This meticulous approach the research, combined with the human stories and events, many revealed for the first time, tells what Dilip calls ‘the Big Story’. The development of air power, the creation of Britain’s defenses, the German side, the Home Front and political events are all covered – and much more. After considering the background threads prior to the outbreak of war in 1939, this book then describes the developing conflict on land, sea and in the air. The German invasion of Norway, the Fall of France and the air fighting over Dunkirk are all explored, along with Hitler’s actual preferred policy towards Britain, which at first was one of blockade – not invasion. The author, with justification, questions the validity of the Battle of Britain’s official start-date being 10 July 1940, evidencing the fact that the fighting actually began eight days earlier. From that date onwards, a day-by-day, hour-by-hour, account of the fighting is provided, giving due recognition to those aircrew lost or wounded before 10 July 1940, and whose names are not, therefore, found amongst ‘The Few’. Due accord is also given to the Royal Navy, and efforts of both Bomber and Coastal commands, emphasizing just what a ‘big’ story this actually is – far from simply concerning a handful of Spitfire and Hurricane pilots. Through diligent research with crucial official primary sources and personal papers, Dilip unravels many myths, often challenging the accepted narrative. This is not, however, simply another dull record of combat losses and claims, far from it. Drawing upon unique first-hand accounts from a wide-range of combatants and eyewitnesses, along with the daily Home Intelligence Reports and the papers of politicians such as Italian Foreign Minister Count Ciano, this really is an unprecedented approach to understanding the build-up to and times of the Battle of Britain.

'The most honest attempt yet to tell how the Battle of Britain really was' Andrew Wilson, Observer History is swamped by patriotic myths about the aerial combat fought between the RAF and the Luftwaffe over the summer of 1940. In his gripping history of the Battle of Britain, Len Deighton drew on a decade of research and his own wartime experiences to puncture these myths and point towards a more objective, and even more inspiring, truth. 'Revolutionised thinking about the Battle of Britain in a way that has not been seriously challenged since' The Times

The history of the Battle of Britain in the words of the pilots from a unique archive of first hand accounts.