When I was a kid, I did yard work for an elderly couple down the street and took piano lessons from the lady. I later found out, the elderly man's brother was in the Eagle Squadron and was KIA in 1942 whilst on a mission.
No Eagle Squadrons participated in the Battle of Britain. The first Eagle Squadron - No. 71 Squadron RAF Fighter Command - was formed in September 1940, about a month before the Battle of Britain ended (on 31 October 1940), but did not become operational until 5 February 1941, some five months after the Battle of Britain was over. Ultimately, three (3) Eagle Squadrons were formed with the RAF: No. 71 as noted above, then No. 121 Squadron was formed in May 1941 and finally, No. 133 Squadron formed in July 1941. The first Eagle Squadron pilot to be lost in combat was Pilot Officer Mike Kolendorski of No. 71 Squadron RAF, who was shot down and killed over the Netherlands in May 1941. The first confirmed victory by an Eagle Squadron pilot occurred on 21 July 1941 when Pilot Officer William R Dunn shot down a Messerschmitt Bf 109F over Lille in France. This is not to say that no American pilots served with the RAF during the Battle of Britain: they did. Depending on the source, either seven (7) or eleven (11) US pilots did so, but not as members of Eagle Squadrons. Rather they did so, as pilots who accepted His Majesty The King's Commission to serve as British Officers of regular RAF squadrons in Fighter Command. Please note that I did not say that these American pilots were British: I said they served as British Officers, who had accepted the King's Commission. I know all this, because one of these first American pilots to join the RAF was in my own father's RAF squadron during World War 2. My father and he remained in touch for over fifty years after the war was over. To my shame and embarrassment, I cannot remember his name but I do know that that initially, he was nicknamed 'Yank' by his British comrades. Since he hailed from Texas, he pointed out very firmly that he was certainly not a 'yank' of any description. For reasons that are not immediately obvious and which surpasseth all understanding, he was promptly nicknamed 'Alabam' instead - a nickname that stuck with him for the rest of the war. After the US entered the war in December 1941, Alabama' decided not to transfer to US forces but to remain with the RAF and see out the entire conflict with British Forces. When he was eventually demobilised after VJ Day, he returned to Texas only to find himself recorded as officially having gone AWOL sometime back in 1942 and charged in absentia with desertion by US military authorities, as a consequence. Alabam’ pointed out to US authorities that he had gone AWOL not to run away from military service, combat and the enemy, but rather to run toward same with the purpose of engaging in combat with the enemy, all the sooner. I am delighted to be able to tell you that - upon producing evidence of his war record with and his discharge from the armed services of the UK with the gratitude of HM King George VI - the US JAG saw the light, and all charges against him were dropped. Alabama' was then accorded the status of an Honorable Discharge from US military service, as well.
Was written for the Eagle Squadrons (Americans) who volunteered to serve in the RAF during the Battle of Britain. America had not yet entered WWII so those men men were risking their lives on their own volition to help our close English brothers.
Not all Americans-nor a majority, nor even a plurality-consider the English to be “brothers”, let alone “close brothers”. Many would even go so far as to consider Britain to be an enemy.
@@julianrakowskijevdh4373yep. They received the same training as the RAF and were considered RAF members like any other soldier. They were not required to denounce their citizenship and wore full RAF uniforms with the exception of wearing the special eagle squadron patch. After the US joined the war the survivors were transfered to the US army air corp and served the remainder of the war in US service.
Sad no one made a tutorial on how to play this song on instruments besides how they risked their lives for many British people. Besides this should probably be better than some soviet marches
Royal Marines Band Service: The Best of The Best. After all, they were the only Musicians authorised to sail on Her Majesty's Royal Yacht Britannia when it was still active, and thus are the only active Band in the British Forces authorised to wear a tab on their uniform shoulders with a Royal Crown and the words "ROYAL BAND" underneath.
This march was written by British composer Frederick Joseph Ricketts, who composed and published under the pen name of Kenneth J Alford. Although an Englishman and a Cockney from the East End of London, Ricketts joined the Royal Irish Regiment in 1895 at the tender age of 14. Ricketts attended the Royal Military School of Music (Kneller Hall) in 1904, and rose to be Bandmaster of the 2nd Battalion Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders in 1908, sailing to South Africa to join the regiment on active service in the then-Orange River Colony. In 1927, Ricketts was commissioned into the Royal Marines and in 1930, he was posted to the Band of the Plymouth Division, Royal Marines as Director of Music. During his tenure as Director, he made the band world famous, leading it on tours to countries all over the world. In 1942, Ricketts/Alford composed the march "Eagle Squadron" as a tribute to those Americans who joined the RAF to fight the Second World War, before the US entered the fray. Ricketts very deliberately wrote the tune in the style of US military composer John Philip Souza, and included a few bars of the US national anthem and the Star Spangled Banner as flourishes, deliberately to give the tune a more American 'feel'. The huge catalogue of music composed by Ricketts also included the unique and globally-famous march "Colonel Bogey", which he wrote back in 1914, and in 1942, Ricketts gave Henry Purcell's 1688 tune "Lillibullero" a unique and modern arrangement. Ricketts died on 15 May 1945, one week after VE Day, at the age of 64.
@@dennyduranflores That's a very touching gesture. As an American I feel kinda the other way around it was an honor for us to have been allowed to do so.
@@warrenchambers4819 Dedicated to those brave American volunteers, if that fits your bill. There's a reference to the Star Spangled Banner in there if you can find it.
