October 23, 201213 yr #1 OK...I know he was not an American (remember ....that some American pilots flew in the "BoB" too) but without Flt. Lt. Walker and his fellow pilots we might not be enjoying the kind of freedoms we enjoy today...both American and British alike! Famously christened "The few" by Winston Churchill, these young men held out against the might of Hitler's Luftwaffe in 1940 and effectively kept Britain in the war. This then enabled the war to be carried to Germany and provided the springboard for the successful invasion of the continent following the American build-up in Britain between '42-'44. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20040676
October 23, 201213 yr #2 Very sad day indeed. RIP Just a small point but although individual American's served in the Battle of Britain no Eagle Squadrons did, the first one was not operational until early 1941. Rich
October 23, 201213 yr Author #3 Very sad day indeed. RIP Just a small point but although individual American's served in the Battle of Britain no Eagle Squadrons did, the first one was not operational until early 1941. Rich Thanks Rich...I corrected that error.
October 23, 201213 yr #4 A landmark passing! A breed of men are gone, never forgotten, and irreplaceable !! RIP FLT LT Walker!
October 23, 201213 yr Author #6 Flight Lieutenant Walker (NB. pronounced "Lef-tenant" in the British military)
October 23, 201213 yr Author #8 "High Flight"......written by American pilot John Gillespie Magee Jr. who served with the RCAF before America entered the war. He was killed in a flying accident over England in 1941 and is buried in the county of Lincolnshire. Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings; Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth of sun-split clouds, — and done a hundred things You have not dreamed of — wheeled and soared and swung High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there, I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung My eager craft through footless halls of air.... Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace. Where never lark, or even eagle flew — And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod The high untrespassed sanctity of space, - Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.
October 23, 201213 yr #9 Flight Lieutenant Walker (NB. pronounced "Lef-tenant" in the British military) With that moustache, he looks EXACTLY like how we imagine an RAF pilot would look.
October 23, 201213 yr #10 "High Flight"......written by American pilot John Gillespie Magee Jr. Beautiful poem! Anyone who has flown can imagine touching God while on high. ....Kat
October 23, 201213 yr #11 Cheerio, Flight Lieutenant. Good show! Per ardua ad astra. For the sake of complete accuracy, Flight Lieutenat Walker was the OLDEST surviving BoB pilot, NOT the last as far as I am aware. Happy Landings! Respectfully, Bagman
October 23, 201213 yr Author #12 Cheerio, Flight Lieutenant. Good show! Per ardua ad astra. For the sake of complete accuracy, Flight Lieutenat Walker was the OLDEST surviving BoB pilot, NOT the last as far as I am aware. Happy Landings! Respectfully, Bagman You would be right in that assumption Bagman...poor semantics on my part!!
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