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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Collections search

white plans for Colditz glider
(souvenirs and ephemera)
First plans drawn in pencil on artist's paper for the 'Colditz Cock' by Flight Lieutenant Bill Goldfinch. The plans were also later used for building the 'Spirit of Colditz', a replica for the Channel Four television series on Colditz. At the beginning...
model, The Colditz Glider
(souvenirs and ephemera) Made by: Airfix 1974
Unassembled commemorative flying model of the Colditz Glider, that Airfix produced at the time of the BBC Television Series in 1974.
Monopoly
(souvenirs and ephemera) Made by: John Waddington Ltd, London & Leeds
Second World War period British board game. Its wartime provenance is reflected by the fact that the 'property accessories' have been replaced by wooden parts, and a Spinner has been substituted for the dice. Waddington made a variety of board games such...
brush, boot
(souvenirs and ephemera)
Second World War period improvised British prisoner of war escape equipment. This boot brush with false back contained German currency and a rice paper map. It was used by Colonel George A D Young DSO while in Colditz as a hiding place for these vital...
POW currency, 1 Shilling, Great Britain
(currency) Made by: HMSO 1943
A one shilling paper currency note, printed by HMSO and dated 1943, for use within the civilian internee camps established during the Second World War on the Isle of Man. Civilians of German, Austrian and (later) Italian extraction were interned in...
POW currency, two shillings and sixpence, Great Britain
(currency) Made by: HMSO 1947
Prisoner of War (POW) Camp 78 was High Garrett Camp, near Braintree, Essex. Paper POW currency, printed by HMSO (His Majesty's Stationery Office) was introduced in 1943, and issued by the War Department. The first mass influx of POWs into Britain during...
cigarettes
(souvenirs and ephemera)
As issued to British POW in Austria 1939-45
tin can, from tunnel in Colditz
(souvenirs and ephemera) Made by: Canada Packers Limited, Canada
removed from a tunnel in Colditz castle; believed to have been used in helping the construction of the tunnel. Issued to Exhibitions for Great Escapes -Returned October 2006.
Naval Officers Filling in a Discovered Escape Tunnel, 1945
(art) Made by: Worsley, John 1945
image: Across the background runs a high double fence of posts and barbed wire beyond which two armed German guards are patrolling. A waist-high ditch runs from the left of the picture, beneath a single stretch of barbed wire, towards the high perimeter...
Decorating the Christmas Tree, December 1944
(art) Made by: Worsley, John 1944-12-01
image: Lieutenant William Houston-Rogers, who has a white beard and is facing the viewer, sits on a chair playing a penny whistle. Behind him, Lieutenant Mewes is standing on a stool decorating the top of a Christmas tree, towards the right. On the right...