[Edward]

An update for the revised and expanded five volume "After the Battle" series Battle of Britain Then and Now.

Andy Saunders fb page - 15 September 2026

"As it is 15 September, probably as good a time as any to update on progress - admittedly glacially slow - with the 'Battle of Britain Then and Now' update(s).

Volume 1 is just about ready to deliver and an all day meeting with the commissioning editor this week should push things on a bit. Vol 1 sweeps up all of the 'personnel' related subjects in one volume and Rob Pritchard has done a great of work adding in detailed lists of all RAF ground casualties.

Vol 2 will cover RAF aircraft losses, and Mark Kirby has added considerably to our sum of knowledge in respect of recovered artefacts. Also, Mark has worked hard in respect of
re-assessing previous understanding of aircraft losses, locations etc.

Vol 3 will cover Luftwaffe aircraft losses, and I will begin properly working on that with Mark Kirby - probably from next spring.

Vol 4 will cover airfields, whilst

Vol 5 will be commemorative issues, museums, preserved/surviving aircraft etc. etc.

No schedule for 4 and 5 exists, but I'd guess mid to end of 2028.

We are also pleased that Lord Ashcroft has written a foreword to the series.

We are often asked: why is it taking so long? That is not an unreasonable question!

However, this is very much a labour of love by those involved and we all have busy lives doing other 'stuff'. As editor, I don't have the luxury of being able to commit 24/7 to the project and need to earn a living doing other stuff for most of the time.

So, please be patient!

Of course, in 1979/80 a large team (I think around 12 people full time) put the original together - and we don't have that luxury.

Additionally, we have been hamstrung (to an extent) gathering some of the original source material in respect of images. Remember: 1980 was long before the digital age and copies were not kept of many of the photos. Also, most of the contributors are no longer with us and this presented another problem. So, getting all of that together has taken time, although we have all the images sorted for Vol 1, at least. However, NOTHING from the original volume was retained electronically, text or imagery, and reproducing (scanning) images from the original doesn't produce very satisfactory results.

But...we are getting there!"