One of the Few: A Story of Personal Challenge Through the Battle of Britain and Beyond

I turned into the attack The German formation split up and a general m l e ensued, grey shapes with black crosses on them flashed past only feet away, next the brown and green of a Hurricane flashed across the sights so confused was the fight that one had little or no chance to see if one s fire had taken effect before having to take wild evasive action to avoid either the enemy s fire or a collision.

Group Captain Johnny Kent joined the RAF in the 1930s and went on to become a flight commander of one of the most successful fighter squadrons of the Second World War. In this role, he helped the famous 303 Polish Squadron play a decisive part in the Battle of Britain, and this earned him the highest Polish military award, the Virtuti Militari, as well as the affectionate nickname Kentowski .

Group Captain Kent s fascinating memoirs, originally published in 1971, tell the story of his life in the RAF, from his struggles as a boy on the Canadian Prairies to get into the air, detailing his experiences as a test pilot in Farnborough and his constant efforts to excel at what he did. In this new edition, alongside the classic tale of derring-do, Kent s daughter provides supplementary material that places his extraordinary story into the broader context of his life as a son, husband and father. Poignant questions are raised about what it meant to be One of the Few for both the men themselves and those to whom they were closest.