The 79th anniversary of the Battle of Britain will be observed on Sunday, September 15, 2019.
A national ceremony will be held at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa, Ontario,
and local ceremonies will take place across Canada.
For the Royal Canadian Air Force officers who flew in the Battle of Britain, the fight was more than just preventing the Luftwaffe from gaining air superiority over southern England and helping prevent an invasion. It was also about leadership.
As the RCAF expanded, the veterans of No. 1 (Fighter) Squadron formed the basis of many fighter squadrons that protected Canada's coast and continued the fight in Europe. Of the 24 pilots who survived to 1941, 16 went on to become squadron commanding officers.
The role of the first commanding officer of a squadron was to bring a group of pilots and the groundcrew to operational readiness as a cohesive unit. The commanding officer's operational knowledge and experience helped instill what was required of everyone—plus they were squadron leaders to whom everyone listened.
Overseas, the RCAF formed five new day-fighter squadrons in 1941. Royal Air Force officers led three of them as the RCAF did not have sufficient experienced officers; two were formed, however, with RCAF Battle of Britain veterans as their first commanding officers. Paul Brooks Pitcher was the first commanding officer of 411 Squadron when it was formed on June 16, 1941, and served until December 16 of that year. Charles…
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