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Lotus in the Peak
28th - 30th June 2024

On This Day 76 Years Ago....


Dr H

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Winston Churchill said: “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few”

And now there are very very few of the 'few' left with us.

This pic sums up the effort they put in. This guy looks absolutely on the edge.....

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God bless 'em beerchug.gif
 

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That is Sqn Ldr Brian Lane:

 

Brian Lane joined the RAF in 1936 and flew with No. 66 and No. 213 Squadrons before the outbreak of war in 1939. Lane, originally from Middlesex, was commander of ‘A’ Flight, No. 19 Squadron at RAF Duxford by the time of the operations at Dunkirk in May 1940. During that period, 19 Squadron’s commanding officer was shot down and killed, and Lane took temporary command of the unit.

He proved to be a natural and popular leader. Those who served with him remembered that, although he was an officer, he was not elitist and that he ‘knew everyone under his command by their first name and had time for us all, no matter how lowly their rank’. Lane also had the ability to stay calm during tense moments of the battle, which helped to reassure those under his leadership.

Lane took part in flying operations throughout the Battle of Britain and was put in charge of 19 Squadron after the death of its commanding officer on 5 September 1940. In December 1942, shortly after being given command of No. 167 Squadron, he was killed during combat over the Dutch coast.

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Seems he was killed whenchasing a pair of FW190s. Never returned and never found - probably in the North Sea somewhere. Sums up the attitude of these guys. Wasn't sufficient to defend and repel, once the enemy turned on their heels they followed them to try and finish the job.

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