Attention has been rightly drawn recently to the part Scottish pilots and Scottish squadrons played in the Battle of Britain (Letters, September 22). I fully share the admiration and gratitude towards all the Allied airmen who risked their lives to save us from Nazi invasion.
It seems to me that the crucial part played by two Scottish individuals is being overlooked.
I refer first to Robert Watson-Watt, the brilliant scientist who developed radar as a workable system for the detection of enemy aircraft approaching Britain.
Secondly, Air Chief Marshal Hugh Dowding, head of RAF Fighter Command in 1940.
He saw how to use radar effectively for the defence of Britain and ordered the construction of a chain of radar stations along the coast. He created a system to channel their information to control centres which could direct our outnumbered aircraft efficiently to where they could do the most damage to the German raiders. Furthermore, he had the courage to stand up to Winston Churchill and reject his demand to send more squadrons to fight an unwinnable battle in France. He saw that these units would very soon be needed to defend Britain.
Watson-Watt and Dowding did not themselves take to the skies in 1940 but, without the outstanding work of these Scots, the Battle of Britain would surely have been lost.
Donald R Buchanan,
75 Antonine Road,
Bearsden.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel