{"id":4251,"date":"2022-03-14T13:03:09","date_gmt":"2022-03-14T13:03:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/englishhistory.net\/?p=4251"},"modified":"2022-03-14T13:03:26","modified_gmt":"2022-03-14T13:03:26","slug":"churchill-the-few","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/englishhistory.net\/20th-century\/ww2\/churchill-the-few\/","title":{"rendered":"Churchill – The Few"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

“Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few” – this well known quote by Winston Churchill<\/a> was delivered on August 20th<\/sup>\u00a01940. In order to celebrate the part played by the brave men of the RAF, Churchill addressed the House of Commons<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This speech honoured bravery and sacrifices of Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain and Bomber Command in its attacks on Nazi Germany. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This speech is recognised as one of his greatest speeches during world war two and is almost as well known as his speech “….we\u2019ll fight them on the beaches\u2026we\u2019ll never surrender\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Below is just a few paragraphs from the full speech including the now infamous Churchill quote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The gratitude of every home in our Island, in our Empire, and indeed throughout the world, except in the abodes of the guilty, goes out to the British airmen who, undaunted by odds, unwearied in their constant challenge and mortal danger, are turning the tide of the World War by their prowess and b~ their devotion. <\/p>

Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few. <\/em><\/p>

All hearts go out to the fighter pilots, whose brilliant actions we see with our own eyes day after day; but we must never forget that all the time, night after night, month after month, our bomber squadrons travel far into Germany, find their targets in the darkness by the highest navigational skill, aim their attacks, often under the heaviest fire, often with serious loss, with deliberate careful discrimination, and inflict shattering blows upon the whole of the technical and war-making structure of the Nazi power. <\/p>

On no part of the Royal Air Force does the weight of the war fall more heavily than on the daylight bombers, who will play an invaluable part in the case of invasion and whose unflinching zeal it has been necessary in the meanwhile on numerous occasions to restrain.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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