Churchill’s Few
This dramatic book tells the story, in their own words, of six brave young men who fought courageously in the skies above England, as Hitler planned to invade Britain.
This thin blue line was the ‘few’ to whom, Churchill said the nation owed so much. Young men fought each other in a lethal conflict. At stake was the very future of Britain.
The six young men in this sympathetic but honest portrayal were from vastly contrasting backgrounds. Geoffrey Page, the victim of horrendous burns, was a founder member of the legendary Guinea Pig Club. Bob Doe was one of the most successful fighter aces but remained unheralded. Cyril Bamberger rose from humble origins to win a DFC and bar. Joseph Slagowski was one of the heroic Polish pilots whose contribution to the battle remains undervalued.
Daily Telegraph journalist Geoffrey Myers, Intelligence Officer in a squadron that was decimated, wrote eloquent letters to his family, extracts from which are published here for the first time.
Unusually, this book includes the contrasting story of Luftwaffe pilot Ulrich Steinhilper, shot down in the battle and destined to become of the greatest escapers of the Second World War.
These moving portraits highlight the ineradicable marks that one momentous battle made on the brave participants on both sides. Just a few months of brutal combat changed their lives, and history, forever.
‘This thoughtful book takes us behind the Boy’s Own mythology to capture the sobering reality of that battle…John Willis does not pull his punches.’
-Daily Mail, Book of the Week
‘Of all the countless books written about the Battle of Britain, in my opinion, as a lifetime student of all those dramatic days, this is one of the very best…superbly written and excellently researched by a talented professional’
-Dilip Sarkar MBE, historian and author.
‘Emotive Book by John Willis’
-Sunday Express