The Battle of Britain: Memorable Scenes


Figure 1.--Here the Flight Seargeant returns from resuing a family from their bombed home. The boy he encounters doesn't beliece a seargeant is a pilot. The pilot reaches the church hall where is family was sheltering only to find it was destroyed by a bomb.

"The Battle of Britain" of course focuses on the personnel of the Luftwaffe and RAF. Note at this stage of the War, the Btitish were using women in non-combat roles. (Although not shown, this included the Princess Elizabeth.) The Germans had mot yet begun to extensively using women. There are several memorable scenes in this excellent film which very accurately (for a film) depicts the battle. Too often war films fail to portray the impact of the fighting on children and other civilians. The "Battle of Britain" does show how civilians, especially the children were affected. I think that one of the scenes with children is also one of the classic scenes in film making.

Mud Larks

During an air-raid sequence, three boys are seen standing in a very shallow part of the River Thames. They wearing only their underpants and arguing whether or not the German aircraft are Messerschmitts or Heinkels.Two other boys are briefly seen, each wearing dark blue slipovers. One of these boys wears a grey shirt, while the other a blue one. The latter is holding a yellow fishing net. These boys are easily recognizable in Britain as "Mud Larks". The name is based on rge wading birds that feed on tidal flats. The children are the impoerished children of East London who played on the tidal flats of the Thames. In this scene, on the day the Luftwaffe began attacking London, these boys are enjoying playing in the river Thames. The Luftwaffe bomberfs arrive. The boys identify the planes but there is disagreement among the them. We get close ups. The expression changes from wonder to slight alarm as the bombs begin to fall.

Flight Sergeant's Children

In another scene a British Flight Sergeant (Ian McShane) returns to his London home to see his wife and two sons. When he arrives at the street where they live, he is stopped by an air-raid warden and told that if he's looking for someone, then they will be in the church hall, which is where he finds his family. The elder boy wears a grey long sleeve V-necked pullover, dark shirt and light brrown, almost yellow shorts which are lined. His younger brother wears a dark green turtle-neck sweater, grey shorts and beige ankle socks. Both boys wear black shoes. Later McShane volunteers to go and look for a family trapped in a nearby street. On his way back from the rescue he is accompanied by a small boy who us wearing pyjamas and a dressing gown. Just as they are approaching the church hall, There is the sound of an explosion and the picture cuts to show the chuch hall in flames. I did not remember this scene from the first time I saw it. After viewing the scene again, I was deeply impressed by the perfornance of the boys. It is an extrodinarily poignent scene.

Boy and Parachute Pilot

A damaged German bomber flies low over London. It passes over Buckingham Palace. I think it is heading towards Euston Station where it crashes. A boy witnesses this event. Meanwhile an RAF pilot has bailed out. He is coming to land in a home counties garden. A boy of about 10 or 11 sees this. He runs into his home and brings cigarettes for the flyer.During one of the many dog fight sequences in the film, a fighter pilot (Edward Fox) is seen parachuting from his aircraft. He lands in the garden of a semi-detached house and while he's descending he is watched by a small boy of about 10 years who rushes into the house and returns moments later with a cigarette box and offers one to Fox. The boy is wearing a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a dark grey diagonally striped tie, grey worsted or Terylene shorts, grey turn-over-top socks and black shoes. However, the shorts seem to be more like those worn by boys in the late 1960s early 70s as they end around the middle of the boys thighs. They just don't seem right for the period the film was set in. A British reader writes, "You are right about the boys' shorts length - we only wore the shorter shorts in the 60s/70s. What is more - I don't think that terylene even existed before the late 1950s - but I'm not sure." Another reader writes, "Yes, I agree about the boy in the garden. His short trousers are not 1940. They would have been different. All the picture I have seen do not show boys wearing such tight fitting ones. However it is an important scene of a child caught up in a conflict.The scene does, however. wonderfully reflect the pluck of the British as they fought Hitler alone in one of the decisive battles of the War."

Tube (Subway) Scene

Officials at first did not allow London residents into the subways for shelter from the Blitz. Finnaly the people of East London (the dockyards were a major target) took matters into their own hands and forced their weay in. Subsequently officials opened the entire subways system, providing needed shelter from the bombing. Loval people simmply set up facilities to stay during the night. By theis time the RAF had foirced the Luftwaffe to shift to nightime bombing. In the fim, at the Alwich station convereted into a shelter, a BBC radio news report gives out the news of heavy German looses. Boys are playing Spitfires. Another family is prepaing for bedtime. The Spitfire Game boys return just after the vistory news broadcast.







HBC







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Created: 11:45 PM 9/27/2004
Last updated: 11:46 PM 9/27/2004