A BATTLE of Britain commemoration parade took place in Christchurch town centre today.

Veterans and members of Christchurch’s Royal Air Forces Association (RAFA) marched proudly from Saxon Square to the Priory Church, where a poignant service was held.

Then the parade made its way back to the mayor’s parlour, where Christchurch Mayor Cllr Denise Jones took the salute.

The Reverend Canon Raymond Hubble, conducting the service, said: “We are gathered here today to remember in the presence of God the victory given to us in the Battle of Britain, and to pray that we may have such devotion to duty that neither the loving kindness of God, nor the heroism of those who fought, may have been in vain.”

A RAFA dedication was also read out by Nicholas Bramall, of 171 Squadron (Christchurch) Air Training Corps.

He said: “In friendship and in service one to another, we are pledged to keep alive the memory of those of all nations who died in the Royal Air Force and in the air forces of the Commonwealth.

“In their name we give ourselves to this noble cause. Proudly and thankfully, we will remember them.”

Hundreds of Allied and German airmen were killed as the Battle of Britain raged in the skies over England during the summer and autumn of 1940.

RAF Fighter Command successfully repelled Germany’s attempts to gain air superiority, deemed necessary by the Nazi leadership ahead of its planned amphibious and airborne invasion of the UK.

Because of the actions of ‘The Few’ German dictator Adolf Hitler was forced to postpone and eventually cancel his invasion plans.

The term ‘The Few’ comes, in part, from a speech delivered by Britain’s wartime leader Sir Winston Churchill, where he said: “Never, in the field of human conflict, was so much owed by so many to so few.”