Battle of Britain: This is why a Spitfire will be on Preston's Flag Market this weekend

From 1pm on Saturday, a memorial service and parade will be led by Rev David Dickinson to the war memorial on the Flag Market, where the city is invited to honour the memory of the brave men and women who defended our skies 83 years ago.

This will be followed by a concert, singing all the favourites to suit all generations, young and old.

In addition, a real, full size Spitfire aircraft will be on display on the Flag Market, courtesy of Hangar 42.

These are the planes you can see at Southport Air Show this weekend

Colonel (Retd) David Waters, President CLanAF Veterans and President of the Royal Engineers Association (Preston Branch) said: “It’s very important that our youngsters learn about things like this. To prevent things like this happening again, we have to learn lessons from the past.”

Lancashire’s contribution

As part of the occasion, a presentation including film footage will take place in UCLan’s Harrington Auditorium tomorrow (September 8) to explain the build up to, the dire consequences of failure for Britain and its allies and the reasons why the RAF were successful in defeating the German Air Force in the Battle of Britain in 1940.

The presentation will be led by Wing Commander (retd) Colin Cummings of the Royal Air Force Historical Society who will explain the context of why Britain was again at war with Germany and why victory in the Battle of Britain was so critical

He will be supported by Wing Commander Steve Chaskin RAF who is currently the Officer Commanding 611 (West Lancashire) Squadron.

611 Squadron was formed in 1936 and was a Battle of Britain Squadron – it claimed the 1,000th German aircraft shot down in the war.

Steve will explain the aircraft types including the armaments on either side and in the end, what brought about the outcome that saved Britain from invasion and allowed us to carry on the fight.

By way of a contrast, the RAF’s current fighter aircraftm the Typhoon, and the future fighter ‘system’ (Tempest) will be explained by a team from BAE Systems led by Dave Holmes, the Technology and Manufacturing Director.

Doors will open at 6pm with the presentation commencing at 6.30pm. Tickets are £10 including a hot supper. Click here to buy.