Shropshire Magazine

Edward Fox as Pilot Officer Archie in Battle of Britain, released in 1969.

Edward Fox pictured at his London home. Picture: Jenny Goodall/Daily Mail/Rex Features.

Carl Jones talks to an iconic actor whose thoughts are concentrated on Shropshire – past and present

Hollywood legend Edward Fox has played some of the most iconic characters in screen history. Frederick Forsyth’s ruthless assassin The Jackal, notorious British monarch Edward VIII, and James Bond’s boss M all feature on the glittering CV of a diverse career spanning nearly half a century.

But it is one of his smaller roles, in war epic Battle of Britain over 40 years ago, which has possibly left the biggest impression on his life – and which next month will focus his thoughts on what he describes as the “truly wonderful” county of Shropshire.

“Although only three years old when the Battle of Britain was fought, I later developed an enormous regard for those courageous young men – immortalised as ‘The Few’ – who flew so valiantly in the summer of 1940 to preserve our freedom and way of life,” explains the 72-year-old.

“So, when I was offered a role in the major motion picture Battle of Britain in 1968, I was both delighted and honoured.

“It was only during the filming that I became fully aware of just how close our country came to defeat at the hands of the numerically superior Luftwaffe in that fateful summer of 1940.

“For had ‘The Few’ not prevailed in those dark days, there can be no doubt that the war would have been lost and Britain subsequently occupied by the most evil and bestial regime ever known to man.”

Edward, who played Pilot Officer Archie in the landmark film, was approached by the Battle of Britain Historical Society 12 years ago to become a member of the fledgling organisation, and accepted without a moment’s hesitation.

He is now proud to be chairing its Battle of Britain Concert Appeal, which turns its attention to Shropshire on September 26 [see below] for what looks set to be a rousing commemorative musical occasion, at Telford’s International Centre, celebrating the achievements of the Salopians who flew heroically during the conflict.

“People may be wondering what connection Shropshire may have with the Battle of Britain,” Edward says.

“The answer is quite simple: the highest-scoring fighter ace of the 3,000 Battle of Britain pilots was born in Bayston Hill. With 29 victories to his name, Eric Lock was by far and away the most successful.”

Friend

Edward is no stranger to Shropshire. He was a close friend of the late playwright John Osborne, whose 1956 work Look Back In Anger is credited with transforming British theatre.

“John lived for many years in the Clun Valley, as I recall. We were great friends, and I remember visiting him and his wife at their Shropshire home, with my younger brother [fellow actor James Fox], quite a few times. 

“I also got to know Shrewsbury when I did one or two of my one-man shows in the town. I love the county of Shropshire – it’s a truly wonderful rural place.” 

Edward’s busy diary means he won’t actually be able to make it to next month’s Shropshire concert, but he remains committed to doing everything he can as a high-profile figurehead for the society.

He was a key member of the fundraising committee which helped to create the Battle of Britain Monument on London’s Embankment, near Westminster Bridge just over three years ago, and does everything he can to raise the profile of the society’s ongoing work.

“The society’s charitable objective is to preserve the memory of that amazing aerial conflict for future generations,” he explains.

“Only by showing young people how the precious freedom they take so much for granted would not exist today, had it not been for the heroic efforts of young men – some barely out of school themselves – can we pay tribute to those 3,000 RAF fighter pilots who changed the course of world history.”

He adds: “Over 400 of ‘The Few’ are buried in private graves which are not under the jurisdiction of the wonderful Commonwealth War Graves Commission. The majority of these graves no longer have family or friends to maintain them, so their condition has steadily deteriorated over the years.

“Our members have ‘adopted’ such graves and renovated them so that they are now in a condition as befitting the heroes buried there. Many of the sites had been unvisited for 30 years or more, and in many cases were so badly overgrown that it was almost impossible to find them.

“It is extremely gratifying that the youngsters who saved our country from being conquered by an implacable enemy are now visited regularly by society members, and that the long-forgotten airmen now receive due homage for their sacrifice.”

Edward recalls his experience on the set of Battle of Britain, alongside the likes of Laurence Olivier, Michael Caine and Kenneth More, with great fondness. 

“It was a very well made film. Guy Hamilton, who learned his trade alongside Carol Reed on The Third Man, is one of the best directors I have worked with. The widescreen technology these days makes it easy to multiply people and planes to give the impression of a large-scale battle, but back then this was at the cutting edge of possibilities. A real achievement.”

And what of his other films? Any favourites – or nightmare stories to share?

Diplomatically, Edward says: “The Day of the Jackal was five months of solid, wonderful work which I thoroughly enjoyed. But much like the story of the Battle of Britain pilots, it’s not really the subject matter that stands out, rather the people you get chance to meet and work with along the way.”

He does, however, recall the tense, testing atmosphere during filming of Sean Connery’s final James Bond film, Never Say Never Again, in 1983, when he was recruited to play spymaster M.

“It was not a well-written script, so I rewrote the lot – all of my lines. The director seemed to take it fairly well. It had to be done. The script had been written by Americans, and this needed to be a very British kind of film. I just wanted to make M into as believable a character as I could.”

And with that, he was off to continue his well-earned break, recharging his batteries after a successful run on the West End stage.

But he’s quick to point out that he’s only at the end of the phone, if the Battle of Britain Society need to come calling. 

“Every little bit helps, and if a byproduct of my fame as an actor can help to raise the profile of the society and its work, I’m only too delighted to give my time.”

Great actor he may be, but this is definitely the real Edward Fox talking.

 And then there were none . . . [by Toby Neal]

Peter Dawbarn, Shropshire’s last surviving Battle of Britain pilot, died on July 4 at the age of 88. And it is the same all around the country. Those surviving representatives of The Few are getting fewer every day.

For them, it is the march of time which is a deadly enemy. The living link with those momentous days of 1940 in which Spitfire and Hurricane pilots defied the might of the German air fleets is being lost.

But their fame is immortal. They were not many in number, but their heroism had a dashing air of gladiatorial glamour which captured, and continues to capture, the imagination of the public.

Many of them were not destined to reach old age, or any age at all. Experience and skill counted for nothing if you were unlucky.

Newport-born Peter Dawbarn was lucky – if you count crash-landing a Hurricane and receiving injuries which keep you in hospital for six months as good luck.

There were other Shropshire heroes for whom fate was less kind. 

Shropshire Spitfire hero Eric Lock.

Most famous of all was Flight Lieutenant Eric Lock, a farmer’s son from Bayston Hill, one of the greatest aces of the Battle of Britain – some say the greatest.

Shot down during the height of the battle, he parachuted into the sea safely. Next day he was shot in the leg, but it was a minor wound which only kept him off duty for a couple of days.

After yet another battle, his plane was shot up wounding him in an arm and both legs. He crash-landed and was to spend five months in hospital, undergoing 15 operations.

He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and Bar (in effect, a second award of the medal) and the Distinguished Service Order.

Lock returned to operations the following summer. But he seems to have been a changed man.

Premonition

His younger sister Mrs Joan Statham recalled: “He aged. He looked like somebody in his 40s, rather than 22. I think I had a premonition. The last time he went from home I stood on the lawn as his car went through the gate and just felt I wouldn’t see him again.”

She was right. She was to cherish the memory of her older brother until she herself died on July 1 this year.

Eric Lock, who had between 25 and 29 victories to his name (accounts vary), failed to return from operations over occupied France in August 1941. His body has never been found.

Laurie Whitbread of Ludlow was another whose name lives forever more.

“Hope to get seven days leave in a month’s time when things have quietened down,” he said in his last letter home to his mother.

He was shot down and killed by the German ace Hans “Assi” Hahn near Rochester on September 20, 1940.

Afterwards Laurie’s devastated mother Mimsie always kept his cap and coat hanging up in the hall as if he had just come in.

Pilot Officer Donald Smith was the son of the headmaster of Highley School.

“Donald lived for flying. ‘Per Ardua ad Astra’ was something more than a mere motto him him. He loved the Royal Air Force – he lived for it and finally died for it,” Major Frederick Smith said just days after Donald’s death from wounds in September 1940. He had only just rejoined his Spitfire squadron after being shot down and wounded previously.

He was buried at Highley.

Others, like Flight Lieutenant David Crook DFC, of Shrewsbury, have no known grave. After surviving the Battle of Britain, he went missing in December 1944.

Over the years, time has taken its steady, remorseless toll. Wing Commander Cyril Babbage DFM of Ludlow died in 1977; Group Captain Geoffrey Brunner AFC of Bridgnorth in 1989; Air Commodore James Farmer DFC of Shrewsbury in 1999. 

The sun has not quite set. Flight Lieutenant Ron Smyth, who is not a Salopian but now lives in Shropshire, is a Battle of Britain veteran.

Heroes all.

• Tickets for the Battle of Britain Concert at Telford International Centre on September 26, 2009, are priced £16.50 and available from the box office on 01952 561700. Visit www.southwatereventgroup.com or email tic.reception1@southwatereventgroup.com

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