The 85th anniversary of the Battle of Britain is during September, when the outnumbered RAF thwarted the Luftwaffe and prevented the German invasion in 1940.
The exhibition is being staged by Rainham’s local historian and author Richard Smith on September 6 and 7 at the site of the air base that was in the front line.
‘The Battle of Britain in 1940 still holds a special place in the history of this nation,” Richard told the Recorder. “It was the time Britain stood alone after Hitler’s armies had conquered most of Europe.
“But the people of Britain came together and held off the Nazi invasion before the USA had even entered the war the following year.”
Prime minister Winston Churchill said in his famous speech about the RAF fighter pilots outnumbered three-to-one: “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.”
The air battle continued to the end of October 1940 which saw off the Luftwaffe and forced Hitler to postpone indefinitely his Operation Sea Lion.
The exhibition over the weekend of September 6 and 7 highlights the stages of the air battle with photographic displays and both RAF and Luftwaffe memorabilia such as uniforms and relics from planes that were shot down.
It will be open from 10am until 4pm both days, admission £2.50 (children free), hosted by Richard and his wife Kim at the Ingrebourne Valley Visitor Centre in Hornchurch Country Park — the site of the aerodrome where RAF squadrons of Spitfires and Hurricanes took off to join the battle.