In the skies above the isle, Aces in exile prevail From near and far they arrived, joined the force Ready to serve the allied command Sent into training, though they already earned their wings They were ready to fly, they were fit for the fight Once in the air, the battle begins They have proven their worth, now they fly for revenge Fighter pilots in exile fly over foreign land Let their story be heard, tell of 303rd Fighter pilots from Poland in the Battle of Britain Guarding the skies of the isle Even at night shadows cover the ground And the fighting goes on from dusk until dawn With the claw of the Reich with the claw of the eagle They were ready to fly, they were ready to die Up in the air the battle goes on They have proven their worth, now they have their revenge Fighter pilots in exile fly over foreign land Tell their story again, tell of 310 Men from Czechoslovakia in the Battle of Britain Guarding the skies of the isle Over the battlefield brave men long way from home few are the chosen ones sent to the sky to die Fly, it echoes in history Turning the tide in the heavens above Fighter pilots in exile fly over foreign land When the battle has been won, tell of 401 Fighter pilots from Canada in the Battle of Britain Guarding the skies of the isle On wings of history they turned from home to live eternally skybound they roam In all of history, never before was more owed to so few Fighter pilots in exile!
Non-British personnel was included in the Royal Air Force and Fleet Air Arm before the beginning of World War Two and many of them served in the Battle of Britain in 1940. Many were volunteers from the British Empire and refugees and exiles from German-occupied Europe. Pilots from Poland, New Zealand, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Belgium, Australia, South Africa, France, Ireland, United States of America, Southern Rhodesia, Jamaica, Barbados, Newfoundland and Northern Rhodesia fought alongside British Pilots to defend Britain against the Luftwaffe in the end of June 1940. It is described as the first major campaign fought entirely by air forces. (Text credits: Gregory Sandoz)