If you missed the first episode of Tea Time Talks you can watch the youtube recording below.
For our first episode we welcome Historian James Jefferies as he examines key moments of The Battle of Britain and exciting artefacts from the museum’s collection.
The Battle of Britain was a key moment of the Second World War. After the fall of France in the summer of 1940 Britain now faced the prospect of an invasion from Nazis Germany. To achieve this, the Luftwaffe (German air Force) was tasked with knocking out the Royal Air Force’s control over the skies of Britain so a seaborne invasion could take place. From July to October, these two air forces battled over the skies to decide Britain’s fate and whether it could fight on.
In this talk, historian James Jefferies, will provide an overview of the battle and ask questions such as whether Britain was alone or whether it was fully on the defensive during the battle? How did the RAFs key fighter the Supermarine Spitfire match up to the Luftwaffe’s Messerschmitt 109? James will also examine a number of items in the museum’s collection to highlight key moments from the battle to help bring to life the incredible events of 1940.
James is a research student at the University of Essex studying the British memory of the war in the air. He has given numerous talks on the battle of Britain including for the RAF Museum at Hendon, WW2 TV and for History Indoors. He is currently a historical consultant for a documentary “Real Engineering: The Battle of Britain” which will be released in 2022.
Tea Time Talks with the CMSM is an online series of talks that takes our artefacts and tells their amazing stories through the historical events that have shaped our world. Once a month we will be collaborating with historians and experts from all specialties to discuss cultural significance, incredible narratives, showcase some gadgets and more! Talks can be accessed through EventBrite and upcoming talks will be advertised here.
