History
The Few
On 20 August 1940, five days after the Royal Air Force's decisive victory over the Luftwaffe, Winston Churchill immortalised their contribution in the Battle of Britain with his 'The Few' speech.
Photo: Some of 'the Few' relaxing between sorties at RAF Hawkinge in Kent, July 1940. Each man wears his life-jacket to save time when the call to scramble comes. (IWM HU 1062)
Features in:
Introduction
The Few
Highlights from 麻豆社 programmes Video (1)
Lady Soames and Gore Vidal offer their thoughts on the origins of Churchill's oratorical skills.
Lady Soames, Churchill's daughter, describes his astounding memory and his skills as an orator. Gore Vidal, meanwhile, claims Churchill was influenced by an Irish-American speaker called William Bourke Cochran.
More information about: The Few
The Few were the Allied airmen of the Royal Air Force (RAF) who fought the Battle of Britain in the Second World War. The term comes from Winston Churchill's phrase "Never, in the field of human conflict, was so much owed by so many to so few." It also alludes to Shakespeare's famous speech in his play, Henry V: "We few, we happy few, we band of brothers..."
This entry is from , the user-contributed encyclopedia. If you find the content in the 'About' section factually incorrect, defamatory or highly offensive you can .
Events
Germany bombs London
Battle of Britain Day
Hitler postpones the invasion of Britain
Who
Winston Churchill 
Hugh Dowding 
Adolf Hitler What
Speeches
Fight on the beaches 
This was their finest hour 
Blood, toil, tears, and sweat Military Tactics
Dogfight Military Technology
Radar 
Supermarine Spitfire Military Organisations
RAF Fighter Command 
Luftwaffe Where
Military airfields
RAF Biggin Hill Related programmes
-
BROADCAST 2010 -
-
BROADCAST 2009 -
play
BROADCAST 2008
Radio 4: WW2 Defences
-
BROADCAST 2005 -
BROADCAST 2009