"Catching the eye was the splendid spire of Chichester Cathedral about two miles in the West. Having taxied in, we began to get the feeling of our new surroundings. Our predecessors, 145 Squadron, flying Hurricanes, had lost 12 of their aircraft destroyed, with 11 pilots killed in the three days 8th,11th 12th August. [1940]

"On the 12th the day previous to our arrival, 512 enemy planes had been plotted on the radar. 145 Squadron had I recall only four pilots left and they were forthwith despatched to Dyce in Scotland for recuperation"

The words of one of the ‘Few’ Nigel Rose, who in 1940 was a Pilot Officer, flying with 602 (City of Glasgow) Squadron based at RAF Westhampnett, now known as Goodwood Aerodrome.

"For a green pilot, just joined the Squadron without the benefit of an Operational Training Unit, (as happened to some of us immediately following the evacuation of Dunkirk) it was an awesome sight. To see the serried ranks of hostile aircraft, made all the clearer at times by being silhouetted against a blanket of white cloud.

"The Commanding Officer would divide the Squadron so that one flight was allocated to the fighters, one to the bombers. If the bombers were slower and easier targets, they still had the protection of their turret gunners. More often than not in 602 we seemed to find ourselves tangling with the fighter escort.

"Having selected your target, you would turn your gun button on the control column to ‘fire’ and the next most important action was to ensure as best you could that you were not being targeted yourself!

"The instant reaction if you were being attacked was to go into the steepest turn you could manage to try and get on the attacker’s tail. This would usually mean losing consciousness temporarily."