Editing Battle of Britain (section)

== Memorials and cultural impact ==
{{Main|Battle of Britain Day}}
[[file:Never was so much owed by so many to so few.jpg|thumb|upright|Second World War poster containing the famous lines by Winston Churchill]]
[[file:The Battle of Britain Monument. Victoria Embankment, London.JPG|thumb|Victoria Embankment, London]]
[[file:Battle of Britain Memorial.jpg|thumb|Capel-le-Ferne, Kent]]
[[file:Armadale Castle - Battle of Britain pilot memorial 1.jpg|thumb|Armadale Castle]]
[[file:Battle of Britain Memorial Window - geograph.org.uk - 355743.jpg|thumb|Westminster Abbey]]
[[file:Bomb blast - St James's Church.jpg|thumb|St James's Church, Paddington]]
[[file:R.A.F. Memorial, Croydon Airport - geograph.org.uk - 1208193.jpg|thumb|Croydon Airport]]
[[file:Monument of Polish Pilots in Northolt.JPG|thumb|Monument of Polish Pilots, Northolt]]

[[Winston Churchill]] summed up the battle with the words, "Never in the field of human conflict was [[Never was so much owed by so many to so few|so much owed by so many to so few]]".<ref>Speech to the House of Commons on 20 August 1940.</ref> Pilots who fought in the battle have been known as ''[[The Few]]'' ever since, at times being specially commemorated on 15 September, "[[Battle of Britain Day]]". On this day in 1940, the Luftwaffe embarked on their largest bombing attack yet, forcing the engagement of the entirety of the RAF in defence of London and the South East, which resulted in a decisive British victory that proved to mark a turning point in Britain's favour.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/events/battle_of_britain_day "Battle of Britain Day"]. ''BBC''. Retrieved: 18 March 2015.</ref><ref>[http://www.britishlegion.org.uk/remembrance/battle-of-britain-70th-anniversary "Battle of Britain 70th Anniversary"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131115041910/http://www.britishlegion.org.uk/remembrance/battle-of-britain-70th-anniversary |date=15 November 2013 }}. ''The Royal British Legion''. Retrieved: 18 March 2015.</ref> Within the [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]], Battle of Britain Day has been observed more usually on the third Sunday in September, and even on the 2nd Thursday in September in some areas in the British [[Channel Islands]].

Plans for the Battle of Britain window in [[Westminster Abbey]] were begun during wartime, the committee chaired by Lords Trenchard and Dowding. Public donations paid for the window itself, which replaced a window destroyed during the campaign, this officially opened by King [[George VI]] on 10 July 1947. Although not actually an 'official' memorial to the Battle of Britain in the sense that government paid for it, the window and chapel have since been viewed as such. During the late 1950s and 1960, various proposals were advanced for a national monument to the Battle of Britain, this also the focus of several letters in ''[[The Times]]''. In 1960 the Conservative government decided against a further monument, taking the view that the credit should be shared more broadly than Fighter Command alone, and there was little public appetite for one. All subsequent memorials are the result of private subscription and initiative, as discussed below.<ref>{{harvnb|Campion|2015|pp=186–194}}</ref>

There are numerous memorials to the battle. The most important ones are the [[Battle of Britain Monument in London]] and the [[Battle of Britain Memorial, Capel-le-Ferne|Battle of Britain Memorial at Capel-le-Ferne]] in Kent. As well as Westminster Abbey, [[St James's Church, Paddington]] also has a memorial window to the battle, replacing a window destroyed during it. There is also a memorial at the former [[Croydon Airport]], one of the RAF bases during the battle, and a memorial to the pilots at [[Armadale Castle]] on the [[Skye|Isle of Skye]] in Scotland, which is topped by a raven sculpture. The Polish pilots who served in the battle are among the names on the [[Polish War Memorial]] in west London.

There are also two museums to the battle: one at Hawkinge in [[Kent Battle of Britain Museum|Kent]] and one at [[Stanmore]] in London, at the former [[RAF Bentley Priory]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Battle of Britain Museum opened by Prince Charles|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-24038255|work=BBC News|date=12 September 2013|access-date=8 August 2015}}</ref>

In 2015 the RAF created an online 'Battle of Britain 75th Anniversary Commemorative Mosaic' composed of pictures of "the few" – the pilots and aircrew who fought in the battle – and "the many" – 'the often unsung others whose contribution during the Battle of Britain was also vital to the RAF's victory in the skies above Britain', submitted by participants and their families.<ref>{{ citation  |title = Battle of Britain 75th Anniversary Commemorative Mosaic  |url = http://www.raf.mod.uk/mosaic  |publisher = Royal Air Force  |access-date = 3 September 2015  |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150920130648/http://www.raf.mod.uk/mosaic/  |archive-date = 20 September 2015  |url-status=dead  |df = dmy-all }}</ref>

Other post-war memorials include:

* [[SR West Country and Battle of Britain classes|Battle of Britain Class steam locomotives of the Southern Railway]]
* [[Battle of Britain Memorial Flight]]
* [[Battle of Britain Memorial, Capel-le-Ferne]]
* [[Battle of Britain Monument, London]]
* [[Kent Battle of Britain Museum]]
* [[Polish War Memorial]]
* [[Spirit of the Few Monument]]

The battle was the subject of the film ''[[Battle of Britain (film)|Battle of Britain]]'' (1969), starring [[Laurence Olivier]] as Hugh Dowding and [[Trevor Howard]] as Keith Park.<ref name="BOBFilm">[https://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2004/05/19/battle_of_britain_SE_1969_dvd_review.shtml Battle of Britain: Special Edition DVD (1969)] BBC. Retrieved: 22 December 2011</ref> It also starred [[Michael Caine]], [[Christopher Plummer]] and [[Robert Shaw (actor)|Robert Shaw]] as squadron leaders.<ref name="BOBFilm" /> Former participants of the battle served as technical advisers, including [[Adolf Galland]] and [[Robert Stanford Tuck]].

In the 2001 film ''[[Pearl Harbor (film)|Pearl Harbor]]'', American participation in the Battle of Britain was exaggerated, as none of the "[[Eagle Squadrons]]" of American volunteers saw action in Europe before 1941.<ref name="life1942110237">{{cite magazine | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JkAEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA37| title=Eagles Switch to U. S. Army | magazine=Life | date=2 November 1942| page=37}}</ref>

{{As of|2003}}, a Hollywood film named ''The Few'' was in preparation for release in 2008, based on the story of real-life US pilot [[Billy Fiske]], who ignored his country's neutrality rules and volunteered for the RAF. Bill Bond, who conceived the [[Battle of Britain Monument in London]], described a ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' magazine outline of the film's historical content<ref>Fleming, Michael. [https://variety.com/2003/film/markets-festivals/new-flight-plan-for-cruise-1117892183/ "New flight plan for Cruise."] ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'', 9 September 2003. Retrieved: 28 December 2007.</ref>  as "Totally wrong. The whole bloody lot."<ref>Moreton, Cole. [http://arts.independent.co.uk/film/news/article55566.ece "Hollywood updates history of Battle of Britain: Tom Cruise won it all on his own."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071218173843/http://arts.independent.co.uk/film/news/article55566.ece |date=18 December 2007 }} ''[[The Independent]]'', 11 April 2004. Retrieved: 28 December 2007.</ref>

The 1941 [[Allied propaganda film]] ''[[Churchill's Island]]'' was the winner of the first [[Academy Award for Documentary Short Subject]].<ref name="NFB">[http://www.nfb.ca/playlist/its-oscar-time/viewing/Churchills_Island/ "Churchill's Island."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090221182520/http://nfb.ca/playlist/its-oscar-time/viewing/Churchills_Island/ |date=21 February 2009 }} ''NFB.ca'', National Film Board of Canada. Retrieved: 17 February 2009.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Campion|2015|pp=103–104}}</ref>