The Final Few: The Last Surviving Pilots of the Battle of Britain Tell Their Stories

During the summer of 1940, Britain stood alone, defying the Luftwaffe’s aerial assault – the prelude to a proposed seaborne invasion. Fighter Command faced this challenge against overwhelming odds with immeasurable courage and tenacity, the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, immortalising these young Spitfire and Hurricane pilots as ‘The Few’. Some 2,927 aircrew comprised the ‘Few’, 544 of whom made the ultimate sacrifice that fateful summer, now known as the Battle of Britain. A further 791 would perish before the war’s end.Today, precious few indeed remain alive worldwide. Veteran aviation historian Dilip Sarkar, however, has spent a lifetime recording the stories of casualties and the memories of survivors.In this important book, Dilip brings us more original research and new interviews with ‘The Final Few’. This is likely to be the last such work produced, as sadly but inevitably Churchill’s ‘Few’ fade from living memory.

Dilip Sarkar has been fascinated by the Battle of Britain since childhood, he remains both moved and inspired by the story of Churchill's fabled Few, those young airmen who stood between freedom and a Britain dominated by Nazi Germany. Since the 1970s he has met and interviewed more Battle of Britain pilots than any other historian. He has researched the subject thoroughly and has published over thirty books, titles which include the only biographical works formally endorsed by the families of both Group Captain Sir Douglas Bader and Air Vice-Marshal Johnnie Johnson. In 2003, Dilip was made an MBE for services to aviation history, and elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Historical Society in 2006. He lives in Worcester. For more information please see www.dilipsarkarmbe.co.uk.