Canadian Airmen in Their Finest Hour: Battle of Britain
🎟️ No Membership Required – Registration Open to Non-Members
We are pleased to offer this first of two lectures for Wasaga Beach Lifelong Learning Lecture Series in Fall 2026, coordinated by the Wasaga Beach Public Library.
In his 22nd book of non-fiction, Battle of Britain: Canadian Airmen in Their Finest Hour, Ted Barris has assembled unknown stories of Canadian airmen, ground crew, as well as engineers, aeronautical designers, medical officers and civilians who answered the call and turned back the very real threat of Nazi invasion in World War Two.
“Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few,” are Churchill’s words that set the 113 days of the Battle of Britain in the summer of 1940 apart from all others… as the greatest aerial battle of WWII. As the German Luftwaffe sought to destroy the Royal Air Force, gain air superiority, and invade the British Isles, Commonwealth fighter pilots scrambled from U.K. airfields day after day and flew Hurricane and Spitfire fighter aircraft to thwart Hitler’s plan. They won… but paid dearly.
Among the 2,937 aircrew in this first test of Allied skill, resilience, and courage, over 100 pilots flew with the “Canada” patch on their shoulder, and another 200 ground crewmen and women kept those fighters in the air.
Join us to hear their stories.
For those who are interested, Ted’s latest book: Battle of Britain: Canadian Airmen in Their Finest Hour, it will be available for purchase at the event.
WBPL membership not required. Free to attend.
About the lecturer: Ted Barris has worked as a freelance journalist, broadcaster and author since the 1960s. He regularly contributes to CBC Radio programs and CTV News Channel. He taught journalism at Centennial College in Toronto for 18 years, and has written/published 22 non-fiction books. His other books include: Rush to Danger: Medics in the Line of Fire and was a finalist for the RBC Taylor Prize. His book The Great Escape: A Canadian Story won the 2014 Libris Award as Best Non-Fiction Book in Canada. His book Dam Busters: Canadian Airmen and the Secret Raid Against Nazi Germany received the 2019 NORAD Trophy from the RCAF Association. And his book Rush to Danger: Medics in the Line of Fire was listed for the 2020 Charles Taylor Prize for Non-Fiction in Canada. His 20th book Battle of the Atlantic: Gauntlet to Victory enjoyed weeks on the bestseller lists.
Ted has written a weekly newspaper column/weblog – the Barris Beat – for 40 years.
In October 2024, Ted was appointed Member of the Order of Canada.
