Hello I'm James Rogers and this is the history hit World Wars podcast.

Now from July to October 1940 was the Battle of Britain.

That tense period of the Second World War where there were no guarantees of victory as a luthwaer for launched wave after

wave of attack against the UK.

Famously, Winston Churchill showed his appreciation for Britain's brave airborne fighters who were trying to repel these endless ruthless

offensives by stating never in the field of human conflict was so much owed

by so many to so few.

As we approach Battle of Britain Day on September 15th,

we have a very special podcast

where Dan talks with Wing Commander Thomas Neil,

one of the few to whom we owe so much.

Wing Commander Neil was a flying ace in the Royal Air Force during the Battle of Britain,

shooting down 14 enemy aircraft as the nation battle for survival and ultimately victory. Did you always want to be a fighter pilot when you were young?

No, no. I was born in 1920.

The only son did the only child of Thomas and Florence Neal who were born 1890,

1890s and 1991. They died in the 70s that we were married for what is it 60 odd years.

I was the only child as I say and we had the most loving wonderful family and we lived in those days

in the north part of Liverpool, the rather fashionable bootle as it was then, it's

less fashionable now, which was full of big ships, the Mauritania, the Aquitania, the titanic, that sort of thing.

And they all moved in 1927, I think it was the Southampton because you couldn't dredge the mercy to allow people

to go ashore from other than later, going backwards and forwards to the ship.

So the White Star Line and the Kennard Line moved all their ships to Southampton.

...