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First of the Few, Part II
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Part 1 of this article stressed that an estimate of the number of Australians who were involved in the Battle of Britain can be included among the controversies that have emerged from this conflict. According to the official history of Australia in the War of 1939-45 there were about 30 of them but it declines to be more specific. The Battle of Britain Fighter Association of Great Britain states that there were 21 and this figure was quoted in the film Battle of Britain. Some members of the Australian Branch of this organisation suggest strongly that there could very well have been more. The British air historian Francis K. Mason in Battle Over Britain puts the number at 22 . . . and so it goes on.
In initial research for this article, 25 names were uncovered but now this too needs to be revised because further inquiry has pushed the number up to exactly 30 and there may be more. . .
In 1957 the RAAF prepared a list of Australian airmen who were entitled to wear the Battle of Britain Clasp to the 1939-45 Star. It contained 29 names and towards the end, it stated:
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… It is not possible to state that the foregoing information (list) is exhaustive. However, it is the best that can be obtained from all possible sources in practice. ‘
The 30th name, missing from the RAAF list, was that of P/O R. F. G. Miller who is classified as ‘Australian’ by the Battle of Britain Fighter Association and the noted Battle of Britain air historian, F/Lt. James Holloway, MBE.
The list that follows sets out the names and details of 30 ‘known’ Australian airmen shown on the strength of home bases operational squadrons of RAF Fighter Command between 00. 01 hours on July 1, 1940, and 23. 59 hours on October 31, 1940, who carried out at least one operational sortie underFighter Command instruction or control. This qualifies them for the much-valued Battle of Britain Clasp.
The Mystery of the ‘Anzac Answer’
Were there more Australians involved in the Battle of Britain? It is quite possible. Gloster GladiatorN5585 provides both evidence that there may well have been and an intriguing riddle.
In August 1940, there was only one home-based RAF squadron, No. 247, still flying Gladiators. During the Battle, this unit was responsible for the local defence of the Royal Naval Dockyards at Plymouth. Gladiator No. 5585 belonged to this squadron and during August was usually flown by P/ON. I. C. Francis who was later killed in action in December 1941.
The side of the aircraft carried an ‘Anzac Answer’ emblem similar to the one shown but there is no record of any Australian in the squadron. Like so many others, P/O Francis is listed as ‘being British’.
The Swastika next to the emblem is believed to represent a Heinkel He 111 of Kampfgerschwader 26 was shot down in June when the unit, simply referred to as the FighterFlight, was stationed at Sumburgh in Shetland Island.
Who was responsible for the ‘Anzac Answer’ emblem?
Was P/O Francis another of the Australians who listed themselves ‘British’ on official forms?
Perhaps a reader could help us solve the mystery. . .
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