Battle of Britain Remembered

Crowds packed into Horsefair on Sunday (17 Sept) as a Lancaster bomber provided vivid memories of the 1940s and World War Two.

The spectacular flypast was part of Banbury’s annual commemoration of the Battle of Britain which was fought in the skies above southern England in the summer and autumn of 1940.

The RAF’s defeat of the Luftwaffe was a major factor in preventing Hitler’s forces from invading England.

Earlier on Sunday, hundreds of people lined the streets to applaud as a military and civic parade marched through the town to St Mary’s Church for a memorial service.

The Lancaster flypast revived memories of the part played by Banbury in the war.

In the early years of WW2, the town’s aluminium factory (then the NAC, later Alcan and Sapa) was the largest producer of aircraft metal in the country and produced aluminium for the manufacture of RAF planes including Spitfires and Lancaster bombers.

It has been said that if the Banbury factory hadn’t existed, or had been bombed, the outcome of the Battle of Britain would have been very different.

Sunday’s event was organised by Banbury Town Council.

Town mayor Fiaz Ahmed who took the salute in High Street, said: “It is important to remember those who defended this country in the most courageous way. Many lost their lives and they and those who survived the battle must never be forgotten.

“Banbury is one of a number of towns across the country that commemorate the Battle of Britain every year and we are proud to do so.

“The town’s aluminium factory has gone, but we should not forget the part it and its workers played in the war.”