The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

ere "ust twen t y years ago this 'month a battle for air supremacy _was waged over Britain and the English Channel. Just how decis- ive this battle was is born out by rders given by Adolf Hitler s high command in July, 19- "Tf after eight days of intens- |; ive air war the Luftwaffe has not achieved . considerable destruction ofithe enemy's air force, harbours and naval. forces the. (invasion) operation will have to be put off." This, then is the battle which had to; be fought. to all men 'who: believed. in "ides _mocracy, in~freedom, 'truth, jus- tice and human decency, that nar- row. channel represented: the" last barrier against. the forces of a new}: power of darkness that was threat- _ening. Christian civilization. From: North Cape-to-the Pyrenees*-the }- victorious might of -Nazidom: was'|' -arrayed, facing westward ~toward the only opponent remaining in the lists -- Britain, the Dominions arid the Empire. The next few weeks would witness a trial of strength upon which the cause of human fréedom depended. Control of the air was the es- sential prerequisite to success in the Battle for Britain. If the Luft- waffe could win and retain con- trol over the Straight of Dover and English Channel long -enough to, permit the invasion fleets to cross and gain a beach-head, Bri- tain might well follow in the list of; Nazi conquests. It was- upon the Royal .Air Foree then, and particularly upon Fighter Com- mand, that the heavy responsibil- ity rested of being Britain's first line of defence against invasion. Were the fifty squadrons of Hur- ricanes. and Spitfires equal to the task? There was one hopeful in- dication, although its full signif- - ieance was little appreciated at the time. Over Dunkirk the fight- ers of the RAF had come to grips with the Luftwaffe and had taken a heavy toll. Without that fighter cover the story of the Dunkirk beaches would have been much more tr agic. Before "the Battle shesett there was an interval of several weeks, a breathing spell during- which}-- the Luftwaffe rested from. its ar- duous six-weeks blitzkrieg, moved forward to new bases in the Low Countries and Northern France, collected replacements of aircraft and personnel,-and gathered all the supplies and equipment nec- essary for the next campaign. The Wehrmacht too was making preparations for the invasion. The Luftwaffe's preparations required six or seven weeks for completion; but before the full-scale assault could be launched there was some preliminary skirmishing over the Channel in which small forces bombed Portland. and coastal con- voys. On July 10th a sudden quickening was. evident: in these activities; two formations of 150 aircraft, the largest force yet used, attacked a convoy off Doy-. er; The Battle for Britain had begun. The contest that followed can be divided into three phases. The first, covering approximately forty days (July 10th to August 18th). was the period during which Goer- ing sought to overwhelm Britain's fighter defences by heavy attacks on coastal shipping, harbours, air- fields, radio location 'stations and aircraft factories. This period reached its climax in the ten days August 8th to 18th when the Ger- man Air Force, its preparations now completed, launched a series of | 'mass attacks on a wide front in la supreme effort to eliminate our fighter squadrons and open the way for invasion. Fighter Command was called upon for in- oO. efforts on a scale greater thagMat any other time 'in the Battle. But Goering's efforts fail- ed. Air supremacy over the Chan- nel and Strait was not achieved. Far from exhausting our fighter forces the Luftwaffe itself suffer- ed crippling losses and had to change its- tactics. ©.' After five days' respite. (Aug- : ust 19th: to 23rd), the second. phase began, with London the chief ob-. Fee SE RCAF Commemorates| | Battle of Britian fighters. This was the climax of the air battle and was probably intended by the Nazis to be the prelude to the actual invasion. Their preparations for the land battle appeared to be complete and Hitler issued his solemn warn- ing "we shall come". For five weeks (August 24th to September 27th) the ordeal of London con- tinued, rising to a peak on Sep- tember 15th when the Luftwaffe suffered a major defeat. Great damage was inflicted on the: capi- tal but once again the Luftwaffe failed to attain its objective. The heart of the empire was not para- lyzed, nor, was the. spirit of its people. broken. We can take it" 'was' their defiant reply." 'German bomber losses " Beeame 'sO. great that a 'continuation of this * phase was: impossible. Once again. there was a change in tactics. Septem- ber 15th marked - a definite turn in the course of the Battle; it was the beginning . of, the end. On September 28th the third and final phase opened, a "battle of attrition'? which continued until the end of October. Foreed to abandon the use of his bombers for mass daylight attack Goering now resorted to fighter sweeps by squadrons of high-flying Messer- schmitt fighters and fighter-bomb- ers. This attempt to wear down our fighter defences was in itself an admission of defeat, and like the others it failed. By the end of-October the pressure on Fight- er Command had definitely eased; waves still beat upon the 'defences, the night assault was still raging, but the menace of invasion for that year had passed. The battle had been won. The spectacular victories won by over-shadow the fact that the other commands of the Royal Air Force were also engaged .in the battle. While Fighter Command was defending Britain, Bomber and Coastal .Commands were carry- ing the battle to the enemy and by and harbours, on aircraft factories and other war industries helped to defeat Hitler's plan of invasion. The struggle has been called the Battle of Britain, More accurately it was a Battle for -Britain (and 'that island. were assisted by the other parts of the Commonwealth and Empire and by contingents from conquered lands of Europe. In the ranks of the Royal: Air: Force were bound fo be found fighter pilots from Canada and Australia, bomber crews . from New Zealand, and men from many other branches of Britain's 'great family. From Czechoslovakia and Netherlands, from Belgium and France came more trained | air- crews to don the blue of the R.A- F. and take their part in the Bat- tle. They too were numbered among the few. 'Canada was represented in the 'Battle of Britain 'by 'several. hund- 'red officers and airmen who serv- ed as aircrew and" ground crew in Fighter, Bomber and Coastal Commands. seven are inscribed on the honour roll in the memorial chapel in Westminster Abbey. The great majority of these Canadians who fought. in' the Battle of Britain were young men who had crossed the Atlantic in pre-war days to en- roll in the R.A.F. and, served in units of that force. There were, however, two fighter squadrons which bore the name Canadian. One was No. 242 (Canadian) Squad- ron of the R.A.F., composed of Canadian fighter pilots in the R.- A.F.; the other was No. 1 (Fight- er) Squadron of the RCAF (later designated No. 401) which! arrived The Battle of Britain has special significance for the RCAF. It was the Force's baptism of fire. In August 1940 a squadron of the Roy- al Canadian Air Force for the first |time flew into action against an enemy, won its first victories: -- and. suffered its first casualties. It is fitting that this battle in which jective for great formations ofthe "RCAF first proved its spurs _ bombers escorted by swarms. of should be remembered with pride. SS Fighter Command have tended to. their assault on Nazi-held ports | 8. freedom) in which the people: of | South Africa, coastal: crews from |: Poland, from Norway and the/q@ -- The-names of "forty-| in Britain on the eve of the Battle. | ~ Thursday, = {Séptenwber22y 1960 Haileybury, JODE. Trading P On Monday September 10th a meeting of the Haileybury Chap- ter I.0.D.E. was held at the home of Mrs. A. J. Dempster. After the Regent -had declared the meeting open,.Mrs. Lorne Umphries took the affirmation of the Order and was welcomed into the Chapter. As it was the first meeting of the new season, the fall projects were discussed in detail. The "Tea Bag Tea" has been postpon- ed until October. Mrs. Geo. Black presented final instructions to the members on the Trading Post or Opportunity, Sale. as it could well be called.. On Wednesday, Septem- ber 28th from 2 to 5 p.m. and again from 7 to 9.p.m. at the Elk's Hall any Saleable article, of any descrip- tion will be accepted. The owner must set the price and will be given a receipt. On:-Thursday 29th September from 2. to.9 p.m. these articles will be sold. On Friday September 30th from 2 to 6 p.m. owners of merchandise sold may This year, Battle of Britain Sun- day, on September 18, marked the twentieth anniversary of this decis- ive conflict. May the people of Canada join. in tribute to all mem- bers. of the RCAF and RAF who fought' not only for the fate of Britain but for the destiny of all free men. - ost Sale kin for their, money:whith: will be the., selling -price: less. 25% .. which the Chapter retains for the service rendered. Members were asked to assure' the' public! that' anything saleable will:"be 'accepted. Ary furniture; ete;;. that..may be. -too. large to deliver. may.. be advertised in the Elks Hall, and arrangements made to' inspect Same in the home of the Owner. ~The Regént remind- ed the' members of: the balance required to::meet> Chapter :obliga- tions - 'provincial 'and. lecal 'school bursaries, prizes -forthe «séparate and public ;schools etc; and: asked: the full co-operation of all :to make: this new. venture a"success: | | Mrs.. Geo. Black . wills: be the hostess - for the October meeting which will be held on Mania; No tober atts Georgina Jemmett | 'The death of, Miss Georgina Mar- ian Jemmett 'occurred Monday, September 19th, in Toronto. Formerly" of Haileybury arid Vit- toria, Miss Jemm ett was the and Mrs. Jemmeétt of Ottawa: | Funeral services were held Wed- nesday at' 2:30 from' the' Bates and Maddox Funeral Chapél; '124 ae enue' Road', 'with' interment | Beechwood Cemetery: Ottawa: | cluded. daughter of the Tate "Rev George 4 The Haileyburian '° Page 15 Women Can Help - Front Seat Driving 'Be a front seat driver, Be a back seat one. This Mrs. E. J. Roylance, Greenwood, Women's Institute jof; Canada, to Canadian housewives: and mothers. i "On long' trips ithis. Fall, wives., should. share in-the driving if they can. By avoiding. undue, driver. fa- tigue, they are;protecting the safety of their husbands. and. child- ren,'? Mrs. Roylance pointed, out, "On the other hand, instructing only distract and irritate him. , | "Canadian women can also help considerably in preventing traffic accidents by suggesting frequent stops for rest and coffee," she add- Among other protective meas- ures, Mrs. Roylance suggested' that and in a happy mdod. ' "Safe- driving is certainly a ma- jor responsibility 'of women in our modern world. To' discharge they must use' all their natural talents - for ihe she: con- ry Tes Classified Ads ' 4 1 rigs tl / SEPTEMBER 24th - - HEAR - HON. JANES A. MALONEY | Minister of Mines ; ELK LAKE LEGION HALL SEPTEMBER 22 -- 8 P.M. PREMIER LESLIE FROST -- | NEW LISKEARD COMMUNITY HALL 3:00 P.M. TO 5:30 P.M. RON. JOHN P. ROBARTS Q.C. Minister of Education HAILEYBURY MASONIC HALL | SEPTEMBER 27th --°$ P.M. iN / B.C., president of the: Federated . it,' 3 ret | Ot TEMISKAMING PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE : ASSOCIATION ay ' is the advice offereas "by : rity eat es Ke pe the driver from the back seat can , we ram WS a wife should indulge in pleasant ° conversation 'to keep ithe driver ' alert; and pay special attention to ' the children to' keep them 'quiet > Bring Results : en mary RU A