Quote:
Originally Posted by Osprey
Klem, I am assuming that you aren't an englishman because your geography is all over the shop.
1. Duxford is in the East, not the South-East You may consider it the South East but people in England consider it Eastern, especially those who proudly live there. To put things into perspective it is as far north as Coventry and they speak funny up there 
2. The South West is not on this map. The South West (where I live) extends to Wiltshire and that's it. Everything else to the East is considered Southern and South Eastern.
3. Historically 12 Group squadrons didn't get all that involved in the fighting over the South Downs. Winny covered this point very well.
In order to include Duxford the map would have to extend another 50 miles northward. To put things into perspective RAF Croydon is 50 miles from the South Coast at Brighton. |
Oh gawd I promised myself I wouldn't say any more on this but your points are a bit different.
I am English, I now live on the South Coast near to Brighton. I was born in SE London under what had been the V1/V2 alley and 300 yds from a major triple railway junction that got plastered several times. I played on bombsites and have got p*ssed in Croydon. I work as a volunteer at an aviation museum that was an 11 Group Sector Station and has a hall dedicated to the BoB. I know exactly where Duxford is, I have visited it several times and my daughter went to Uni at nearby Cambridge. I drove past Duxford many times.
My english said 'the main defensive Battle, in the South East,' meaning I accept that we don't have the North Eastern LF5 raids or the offensive bombing raids into Germany (don't ever suggest to Bomber Crew of the time that Bombing played no part in the Battle, I have met a couple and they don't like it).
I know the South West is not on the Map and I haven't worried about 10 Group although the map touches on that.
The 12 Group squadrons did not, indeed, get much involved over the South Downs, their task was to defend the 11 Group Airfields, particularly those to the South of London down to Surrey and mid Kent.
Look guys, we can kick this football around for another week. We all have our opinions about whether 12 Group was important or not. Some of your your views are interesting and to me somewhat surprising at how little importance you attach to 12 Group's involvement in the Battle, as it was fought, or to how it might otherwise have been fought.
However, mine was a simple question to Oleg. The only thing I am really interested in now, expecting that we won't get an important part of 12 Group, is how Oleg, knowing the Battle, intended us to represent Squadrons outside 11 Group that took part, e.g. how did he envisage us representing the Duxford Wing.
That's it, I'm done.