The Revd Dr Joe Kennedy, has created a video service to commemorate the Battle of Britan, eighty years since the Battle of Britain – the air battle in the summer of 1940 which proved to be one of the great turning points in the Second World War.
Joe is the vicar of of Oxton St Saviour, but he used to live in Gravesend in Kent, which is where many air battles were fought. It was through living in Kent that Joe aquired a certain affinity and appreciation of what happen there during the war. When Joe realised that this year is the 80th anniversary, he wanted to do something to mark the occasion and so produced a service, available on video, to honour those who helped the war effort during those times.
Historians of the period tell us that over the three months and three weeks of the Battle of Britain, the serial successes of RAF Fighter Command forced the German offensive to change its aims more than once.
On Sunday, September 15th, one-and-a-half thousand Luftwaffe aircraft attacked London from morning till dusk. It was the most intense attack on our capital city during the Battle of Britain. Many lives were lost that day across London and in the skies above London. Considerable damage was inflicted on the ground. Nonetheless, the Germans failed to make the impact they had hoped for. It was a decisive moment. In the days following September 15th, Hitler felt forced to postpone Germany’s plans for the invasion of mainland Britain.
Joe asks; "Join me in praying in thanksgiving for the young men who flew into imediate danger during world war two in order to defend our freedom."
The eight minute service is available for viewing here: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=376284820415165