Michael Wainwright served with the RAF during WWII; he fought bravely and valiantly in the Battle of Britain, one of the most frightful chapters of the Second World War, and the first time British forces faced the terrifying Luftwaffe. During the interview, Michael recalls the horrifying moment at which war was announced; he joined the RAF in 1936 at the age of 37 where he trained flying a Hawker Fury. Although, in his early career, Michael flew the notorious Bristol Blenheim, a bomber plane. He was later assigned to 64 squadron where he would take up the cockpit of a spitfire in order to defend the English boats crossing to France. He talks about his friend and leader: sub/Lt. Dawson-Paul who was shot down during the conflict, and taken prisoner by a German patrol boat in the English Channel. As his career continued, Michael made the decision to move to 102 glider OTU and take up the role of an instructor, teaching budding new pilots how to safely glide their planes in the event of being shot down or engine failure - he also teaches them how to defuse situations with angry farmers when landing in their fields.

Jimmy Taylor joined the RAF at 19 to avoid being drafted into the army or working in a coal mine. Motivated by his passion for aviation, he secretly enlisted at a recruiting centre in Reading. His training took him across the UK and eventually to Canada and the United States. Jimmy experienced the harsh discipline of American military training, but despite these challenges, he excelled and became an instructor. He volunteered to instruct American cadets, as the RAF needed to supply 10% of its graduates to train new students. Jimmy trained 20 cadets, enjoying every moment, especially teaching formation flying and buzzing the airfield with his students beside him. In October 1943, he returned to England. His role in the Second Tactical Air Force involved long-distance reconnaissance, mapping future battle areas and updating outdated maps with accurate photographs. While weather often hindered flights, he maintained a vigilant watch over German jet airfields, which included managing risks from German radar detection. On one occasion, while photographing airfields near Rhina, he experienced engine failure and opted to bail out, eventually landing in a field in occupied Holland. After avoiding capture, he planned his escape westward toward Utrecht, aware of the dangers posed by locals and the ongoing German occupation.

Even though Michael was in a protected occupation he joined the RAF as soon as possible. He trained as a flight engineer and was assigned to a Halifax bomber squadron, aged eighteen, in 1942. On their ninth flight the crew had to bail out over Britain due to lack of fuel. His parachute malfunctioned and did not initially open. It opened just in time and he went to a nearby farm. The rest of the crew thought he had been killed. His aircraft flew several sorties for Special Operations Executive, dropping agents into occupied France before D-Day. These missions were at low altitude and attracted a lot of fire from German light anti-aircraft guns. Many of the shells went right through the Halifax without causing too much damage. Eventually Michael and his crew completed a ‘tour’ of forty missions, although this took a toll on him, especially when he would notice some of beds in the barracks had not been slept in, meaning that those men were not returning. Michael was often physically sick at the start of a mission and kept a tin in the plane for this purpose. During his tour he went to see the base Medical Officer (MO) and said that he was not feeling well, to which the MO replied that it was Lack of Moral Fibre. Michael told him to f*** o** and just left. Michael wonders that, if there is a God, why he let all the killing of the war take place.