Now these were the days... "The Polish pilots were initially - TopicsExpress



          

Now these were the days... "The Polish pilots were initially viewed with uncertainty by the British, but the two groups were soon devoted brothers in arms. When unwinding in clubs between sorties, RAF pilots would go ballistic if any of their fellow Brits forgot to stand up when the Polish anthem was given a whirl. A total of 145 Polish fighter pilots served in the RAF during the Battle of Britain, which was the largest non-British contribution. The English girls loved the Poles, the newspapers raved about their exploits, and King George VI visited them at their Northolt base and signed his name in the squadron diary. The Polish pilots - who had been groomed in the old school style by their officer corps back home - were very much a hit with the ladies, with their fearless spirit and hand-kissing gallantry. Such was their appeal to the natives that even British airmen pretended to be Poles in order to chat up the girls. As one hoity-toity head mistress admonished in a speech to parting pupils: "And remember, keep away from gin and Polish airmen!"
Posted on: Mon, 12 Aug 2013 20:33:11 +0000

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