The Battle of Britain – Help from Overseas
The South African, Group Captain Adolph Gysbert (Sailor) Malan, around 1941.
Copyright : Pic ref or accession no.: P010290
The bravery and courage of Polish pilots particularly those of the famous No. 303 Squadron have been rightly celebrated and commemorated, but many other nations also took part in this conflict. Albert van den Hove d’Ertsenrijck of Belgium and Jaroslav Sterbacek of Czechoslovakia are two such pilots who travelled hundreds of miles and across the sea to be able to fight the Luftwaffe.
Pilot Officer Sterbacek was a veteran by the time he reached England in 1940. He served in the Czech Air Force and then, after the German invasion, travelled to France and served in the Armee de l’Air. When France collapsed, refusing to give up, he travelled to England and joined the Royal Air Force.
Armee de l’Air, Morane Saulnier fighters, September 1939.
Copyright : Pic ref or accession no.: PC71/41/1
Albert van den Hove d’Ertsenrijck’s journey to the Royal Air Force was one that showed even more courage and determination. He was a veteran of the Belgian Air Force and had joined in 1928. After the German invasion, he with his squadron retreated to southern France. A senior officer then informed them that they were expected to surrender. He and many of his colleagues decided to ignore this. They took money from mess funds and vehicles to aid their journey to England. This act would see van den Hove d’Ertsenrijck and his comrades branded as thieves and deserters by the Belgium authorities. These charges were not dropped until 1948. Royal Navy officers and the Belgian embassy in England assisted the men and enabled them to arrive in England in July 1940.
Pilot Officer Sterbacek joined No. 310 (Czech) Squadron on 31 August 1940. He was given no chance to further his fight against the Luftwaffe. On the same day, he was killed in combat over the Thames Estuary. He was the first Czech pilot to be killed while serving with the Royal Air Force.
Within two months the Belgian veteran Pilot Officer van den Hove d’Ertsenrijck had claimed three enemy aircraft while serving with No. 43 Squadron, a Junkers Ju 87, a Messerschmitt Me 109 and a Messerschmitt Me 110. On 11 September 1940, he was posted to No. 501 Squadron based at Kenley. On his first patrol, he was shot down and killed. He is laid to rest in Belgium.
The stories of these two men illustrate that the Battle of Britain was fought by people from a range of countries; New Zealand, Canada, Australia, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), Jamaica, Barbados, Newfoundland, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Belgium, France, Austria, South Africa, Ireland and the United States.
Without them, their bravery and sacrifice, the Battle would have had a different outcome.
