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The Few on film           Wing Commander Peter V Ayerst DFC FIRST OF THE FEW Peter Ayerst joined the RAF in 1938, and was posted to 73 Squadron in August 1939, flying Hurricanes. He went to France with the squadron, scoring his first victory in April 1940. After a spell instructing, when he shared in the destruction of a He111 with two other instructors, he had postings with both 145 and 243 Squadrons. In July 1942 he went to 33 Squadron, before promotion to flight commander with 238 Squadron, both postings with further combat success. After a period in South Africa, he returned to the UK, joining 124 Squadron flying Spitfire MkVIIs in defence of the invasion ports, where he scored his final victory; then flew Spitfire MkIXs on bomber escorts to Germany. He later became a Spitfire test pilot at Castle Bromwich. Peter finished the war not only a brilliant fighter Ace, but also one of the most highly regarded wartime instructors in the RAF. His final victory tally stood at 5 destroyed, 1 probable, 3 damaged and 2 further destroyed on the ground.               Squadron Leader John G Pattison DSO DFC Legion d'Honneur New Zealand fighter pilot and squadron commander of the Second World War. At the time of his death he was one of the few surviving New Zealand veterans of the Battle of Britain.[1] He was also actively involved in the Invasion of Normandy. By the end of the war he had been credited with two enemy aircraft destroyed along with an unspecified number of ground vehicles.[2] He was shot down twice during the war.[3][4] He commanded the No. 485 (NZ) Spitfire squadron late in the war.[1] Pattison worked on his father's farm before and the war, and had just 20 hours of flying time when the Second World War began. He was sent to England in June 1940, and was rushed through training because of the shortage of pilots. He had just three hours on a Miles Master training aircraft before joining the RAF's 266 Squadron at the height of the Battle of Britain in late August 1940           Squadron Leader John G Pattison DSO DFC Legion d'Honneur Squadron Leader Geoffrey Wellum DFC Sergeant John Stanley Gilders A tale of 3 Squadrons - Biggin Hill Big Wing.... 21st September, 1940. 66, 92 and 72 Squadrons fly out of Biggin Hill in Big Wing (Seldom used in 11 Group during the Battle). Focus on three of the pilots who flew that day, including Geoffrey "Boy" Wellum, ( 'First Light').               Sergeant John Stanley Gilders Called up on September 1st 1939, he was posted to No 1 ITW at Cambridge on November 6th. Gilders went to 3 ITS, South Cerney on February 1st 1940 and with the course completed he joined 72 Squadron at Acklington on June 15th. The squadron moved south to Biggin Hill on the 31st. Gilders claimed a Do17 damaged on September 2nd, a Me110 destroyed on the 4th, he shared a Do215 on the 10th, claimed a Me109 destroyed on the 11th and a He111 forced down on the 15th. He damaged Do17’s on the 24th and 25th and claimed a Me109 and a Ju88 destroyed over Sevenoaks on the 27th. 72 Squadron moved to Leconfield on October 19th. Gilders went to 616 Squadron at Kirton-in-Lindsey on November 8th but on the 26th he joined 41 Squadron at Hornchurch. Gilders was killed on February 21st 1941 when his Spitfire P7816 dived into soft ground near the Great Stour River at Chilham, Kent and buried itself. In April 1994 the site was investigated with a new owners permission and Gilders' body was found. The recovery operation (by Mark Kirby) was done with the co-operation of the Gilders family. On May 12th 1995 Gilders was buried in Brookwood Military Cemetery, with full military honours.         Flight Lieutenant William James (Bill) Green Interview courtesy of Fighting High a British Battle of Britain Fighter pilot, who served with the RAF. Flight Lieutenant Green flew Hawker Hurricanes for 9 days during the Battle of Britain, between the 20th and 29th August, 1940. During that time he was shot down twice: the first time on 24th August 1940, crash landing at Hawkinge and the second time on the 29th August over Deal in Kent. Fl. Lt. Green had joined the Royal Auxiliary Air Force as an engine fitter in December 1936, and later trained as a pilot. On joining No. 501 Squadron RAF on 19th August 1940, Flight Lieutenant Green had flown only about 5 hours on Hurricanes and had only flown one for the first time the day before but was sent into action regardless on 20th August 1940. Green considers himself to have been one of the least trained pilots during the Battle of Britain and lucky to have survived.       Wing Commander Richard  Pinkham DFC Interview courtesy of Fighting High A Bomber remembers Richard is credited with 62 bombing operations, flown during the Battle of Britain period, the escalation of the air offensive against Germany, and in North Africa. He then went on to carry out fascinating accident investigation duties in the Far East. (For further details go to http://www.fightinghigh.com/FH%20Pub...%20Fortune.htm)