The Battle of Britain

The battle begins, summer 1940
The battle begins, summer 1940

After defeating France in June 1940, Hitler assumed Britain would sue for peace but ordered his armed forces to prepare for invasion. Hermann Goering assured him that a sustained air assault would destroy the RAF, winning the air superiority needed.
A Heinkel He 111 bomber flying over London, September 1940
A Heinkel He 111 bomber flying over London, September 1940

July 1940 saw German planes target shipping in the Channel, drawing the RAF into combat, before radar stations, communications centres and airfields faced round-the-clock bombing in August. The battle reached a climax with attacks on London in September.
The Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF)
The Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF)

Joan 'Elizabeth' Mortimer, Elspeth Henderson and Helen Turner of the WAAF. All three received the Military Medal for courageous conduct during attacks on Biggin Hill airfield. Biggin Hill suffered a total of ten major attacks between 30 Aug and 5 Sept.
Non-British personnel in the RAF
Non-British personnel in the RAF

A group of pilots of No. 303 (Polish) Squadron RAF return from a sortie. The first Polish squadrons were formed in the summer of 1940. Pilots came from several other countries, including Australia, Canada, Czechoslovakia, New Zealand and the USA.
Sector 'G' Operations Room at RAF Duxford
Sector 'G' Operations Room at RAF Duxford

RAF Duxford was a Sector Station in 12 Group, responsible for defending the Midlands and East Anglia. As the fighting intensified, Duxford's squadrons were called on to support 11 Group's defence of London and the south-east.
Hawker Hurricane Mk Is of No. 85 Squadron RAF
Hawker Hurricane Mk Is of No. 85 Squadron RAF

Despite incessant attacks, the RAF's defences held. The Luftwaffe could not continue, and in the autumn switched to 'nuisance' raids and night operations. The failure to defeat the RAF convinced Hitler to postpone his invasion plans indefinitely.

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Our 'Chip' House, France, 17th January 1917; Trees, France, 18th January 1917
(art) Made by: Anderson, William McDougall 1917-01-17
image: two small sketches, with each one filling half of the composition. One is an interior view of British soldiers seated at tables drinking and smoking in a French estaminet, with an oil lamp on the table in the centre of the composition. The other...
'God Bless Dear Old Blighty' - J. Ellicott, October 1916
(art) Made by: Anderson, William McDougall 1916-10-01
image: a head and shoulders portrait of a British infantryman wearing field uniform and smoking a cigarette.
Etaples, October 1916
(art) Made by: Anderson, William McDougall 1916-10-01
image: studies of four heads of British and Australian personnel. In the lower left, a British officer is depicted wearing a peaked cap. The other three drawings depict Australian infantrymen wearing slouch hats.
The Cobbler. Our Billet of Sus St Leger, 29 October 1916
(art) Made by: Anderson, William McDougall 1916-10-29
image: an interior lit by an oil lamp on a table. A cobbler wearing a coat and cap sits by a bench repairing a boot. Another pair of boots lie on the floor.
Sketch of Paris Plage, October 1916
(art) Made by: Anderson, William McDougall 1916-10-01
image: a sketch of the beach and sea front of Le-Touquet-Paris-Plage on the French coast. In the foreground are some sand dunes with the beach curving around, with the sea in the middle ground. Along the horizon are a few buildings, including two tall...
Farmhouse Gate, France
(art) Made by: Anderson, William McDougall
image: a sketch of a farmhouse gate, through which a glimpse of a courtyard can be seen.
Farmhouse, October 1916
(art) Made by: Anderson, William McDougall 1916-10
image: a view of a single storey farmhouse seen from a dirt road leading up to it. A gated wooden fence stands before the building to the right, and the farmhouse has wooden shutters for the windows.
Soldiers in a Courtyard
(art) Made by: Anderson, William McDougall 1916
image: a group of British soldiers stand in a courtyard with what appears to be a cart in the foreground. The scene is viewed from underneath the roof of an open fronted barn, with a farm building to the right and another open barn in the background.
A Refugee from Loos, 20 January 1917
(art) Made by: Anderson, William McDougall 1917-01-20
image: a sketch of an elderly woman wearing a head scarf and sitting up in a bed holding something in her hands.
A Farmhouse Kitchen, France, 22nd January 1916
(art) Made by: Anderson, William McDougall 1916-01-22
image: the interior of a farmhouse kitchen. A woman sorts through a laundry basket watched by a soldier smoking a pipe and wearing jodhpurs. A small child sits at a table playing with a cigar box, and a dog sits under the table.