Category Archives: Prelude

Friday, 28 June 1940

North Weald

Squadron Leader E.V. Knowles flies his last operational patrol as CO of No. 56 Squadron, this one over Manston. To his contemporaries he is ‘Teddy’ Knowles, but his young pilots like Geoffrey Page have nicknamed him ‘Führer’.  Knowles has commanded 56 Squadron since September 1939, and is due to be posted.

Ringway

P/O Louis Strange flies to Hendon to visit the Air Ministry, to find out what he is supposed to be doing at Ringway. F/Lt O’Neill has already had a go, and returned to Ringway with no answer.

Monday, 24 June 1940

France

France and Italy sign an armistice. Italy’s crumb from the table of Nazi conquest is the old province of Savoy.

Four small scale raids are mounted against coastal targets between Boulogne and Berck-sur-Mer, with one at Plage du Merlimont, four miles south of Le Touquet.

RAF Ringway

Louis Strange arrives at Ringway. He doesn’t knows why he’s been sent there, and no-one there, not even the Station Commander, can tell him.

Sunday, 23 June 1940

No. 24 Squadron, Hendon

Following the final evacuation from France, No. 24 (Communications) Squadron is reduced to providing internal UK flights for VIPs. Fewer aircrew are needed. Pilot Officer Louis Strange is posted to Ringway.