Arriving in Britain
The nationalities of the Spitfire pilots reflected the global nature of the Second World War. In the Empire, many thought of Britain as 'home' and volunteered. Some came from countries that had been invaded. Others were from states not actually at war, but were committed to fighting Nazism. From Belgium to India, Poland to the Caribbean, men volunteered quickly and the RAF was able to swell its numbers by an estimated 160,000 pilots.
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The scene on board a ship just arrived at a British port, bringing a thousand West Indian members of the RAF, 1944
IWM |
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