There was some German fighter and fighter bomber activity today, but rain ensured that what later became regarded officially as the last day of the Battle of Britain (though nobody knew that at the time) passed without significant aerial conflict.

“It was impossible to look at those young men, who might within a matter of minutes be fighting and dying to save us, without mingled emotions of wonder, gratitude and humility. The physical and mental strain must have been prodigious. And yet they were so cheerful, so confident, and so obviously dedicated.

The last word in these daily posts goes to a soldier. Major General (later General) Hastings “Pug” Ismay was one of Mr Churchill’s key aides during the war. In The Memoirs of Lord Ismay, published in 1960, he wrote, in relation to the Battle of Britain:

“As usual, the Prime Minister took every opportunity to go and see things for himself, and I accompanied him on many of his visits to fighter stations in Kent and Sussex.

“From the moment one set foot on the tarmac, one sensed the tension in the air the pilots standing by ‘on readiness’, waiting to ‘scramble’ into their machines at a moment’s notice.