BATTLE OF BRITAIN DAY - a model tribute in trains and planes!

"A collection of stunning model locos and aircraft visits Neville Grove to celebrate Battle of Britain Day, and mark the 75th anniversary of the high-profile ceremonies held by the Southern Railway to launch its new Battle of Britain locomotives in 1947. In this very special video, guest edited by ‪@MrTBrearley‬ you'll see bespoke Hornby models renamed and numbered, running alongside highly realistic model Spitfires and Hurricanes - as well as exciting aerial footage of the real thing, and some rich archive material.

Our OO scale is close to the popular Airfix, Tamiya and Revell aircraft kits of the Fighter Planes - yet how often do you see them together with trains? It was fun to turn the layout into that little known base - RAF Fighter Command, Neville Grove!

By 1947, 15th September was already established as the commemoration day for the Battle, and so the Southern decided to hold three naming ceremonies, of three aircraft each, around the anniversary.

Lord Dowding - whose strategic genius was key to defeating the Nazi Luftwaffe - went to Waterloo to unveil "Winston Churchill" and his own locomotive. His right hand man, Sir Keith Park was at Brighton to unveil his loco, and he was joined by Douglas Bader, 'the legless wonder', who fought the battle with artificial tin legs after a suffering terrible flying accident before the war. You can see his irrepressible spirits as he climbed onto the footplate of 'Fighter Command' to pose as a member of the loco crew.

It was a brilliant PR coup for the Southern Railway as Bulleid's Light Pacifics took on a new guise, honouring the men, machines, squadrons and airfields that were contributed to Britain's "Finest Hour".

You'll see a poignant photo of Douglas Bader holding the nameplate of Fighter Pilot, which was given back to him only 16 years after the naming - in 1963. The loco had suffered a failure and, with the end of steam in sight, was deemed a write-off.

With thanks to:

Tim Hillier-Graves - author and Bulleid expert for the original Southern Railway publicity material

Graham Muspratt - Southern Railway modeller, for photographs of his beautiful West Country Pacifics.

‪@WingsTVChannel‬ for the real thing. Check out their YouTube channel for more wonderful footage

Tim Brearley - for not only the hard work in organising and editing this video, but for lending his superb collection of aircraft and locomotives.