JUST before the Battle of Britain commenced, Winston Churchill said: "........so that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, 'This was their finest hour'."

How very sad that, a mere 50-odd years later, his words should now have acquired such a hollow ring.

Most front-line airfields, instead of being preserved for posterity, have gone under the plough. Many graves of young airmen killed in the battle are now neglected and overgrown; some almost impossible to find. The majority of the surviving 'Few' live on in anonymity, all but forgotten by a 'grateful' nation.

Surely, it behoves us to keep alive the memory of such a momentous event in our history?

To this end the Battle of Britain Appreciation Society has been founded and any interested readers are welcome to join. DEtails from me.

W F BOND (MR), Green Fields, Gunthorpe, Melton Constable, Norfolk. NR24 2NS.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.