The Battle of Britain was in full-swing when a stricken German fighter howled earthwards and broke apart over Eastbourne during the summer of 1940. It was a truly alarming event for those on the ground, as Andy Saunders describes.
WORLD WAR TWO | BATTLE OF BRITAIN
For thirteen-year-old Hugh Cecil-Weavers, the lazy hot summer holidays of 1940 saw days of memorable high drama unfolding in the skies above as the Battle of Britain was fought out on a daily basis, often providing thrilling spectacles for the civilians below who had a grandstand view. Playing a game of cricket in fields near Polegate, East Sussex, on Friday, 16 August, Hugh and his pals were interrupted in their sport as distant air raid sirens sounded, gunfire could be heard and the rising and falling note of aero engines filled the air. Now, there was better ‘sport’ to watch! Doubtless, the lads were now glad they had not gone to the Tivoli Cinema to watch the latest Boris Karloff film; ‘Black Friday’. Hugh takes up his story:
‘It was a beautiful late summer’s afternoon, hot, and with a slightly hazy blue sky. When the sirens sounded we had a feeling that this was going to be major stuff – then, heavy gunfire and very many ‘planes high up…
