0:00:04 > 0:00:06In the summer of 1940,
0:00:06 > 0:00:10RAF Duxford in Cambridgeshire played a vital role in one
0:00:10 > 0:00:12of the most pivotal times in
0:00:12 > 0:00:14World War II - the Battle of Britain.
0:00:16 > 0:00:20If I had been standing here exactly 76 years ago,
0:00:20 > 0:00:25I might well have seen and felt the roar of 30 Merlin
0:00:25 > 0:00:29engines as Hurricanes and Spitfires just tore down the runway
0:00:29 > 0:00:32on their mission to defend the skies of Britain.
0:00:34 > 0:00:36On Battle of Britain Memorial Day,
0:00:36 > 0:00:40I'm at Imperial War Museum Duxford to remember a campaign
0:00:40 > 0:00:45in which one in five pilots died and we hear the moving stories of
0:00:45 > 0:00:50two people whose lives were changed by the events of that summer.
0:00:50 > 0:00:53And I'll be discovering how singer Laura Mvula has
0:00:53 > 0:00:55gone from the church to the charts.
0:01:05 > 0:01:09Back in 1940, my mum and dad lived in Kent which was the county
0:01:09 > 0:01:13that bore the brunt of attacks from waves of German fighters
0:01:13 > 0:01:18and bombers, and my mum rarely spoke of the time that she watched
0:01:18 > 0:01:22as a German plane was shot down in front of her and the pilot killed.
0:01:23 > 0:01:27But in her 80s when she was very ill, she was hallucinating
0:01:27 > 0:01:32and I watched as she relived the whole horrific experience.
0:01:32 > 0:01:33But that's war for you.
0:01:33 > 0:01:36You think you've buried painful memories
0:01:36 > 0:01:39and yet some just can't be forgotten.
0:01:39 > 0:01:41And it is important that we remember,
0:01:41 > 0:01:44so we're going to start today with an RAF hymn
0:01:44 > 0:01:47recorded in Kent in Holy Trinity Church at Folkestone.
0:01:47 > 0:01:51The words come from Psalm 46 but the tune is
0:01:51 > 0:01:55that iconic melody from Eric Coates' the Dam Busters March.
0:04:11 > 0:04:15Here at Imperial War Museum Duxford, in one of the original
0:04:15 > 0:04:17hangers, are the aircraft flown by both
0:04:17 > 0:04:21sides in the Battle of Britain including the plane that has
0:04:21 > 0:04:25become the symbol of British wartime defiance, the Spitfire.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28To be in this cockpit is quite a revelation
0:04:28 > 0:04:31because there are so many controls ahead of you,
0:04:31 > 0:04:33that the thought that one man had to fly the plane,
0:04:33 > 0:04:36had to be constantly on the lookout for enemy aircraft
0:04:36 > 0:04:41and be able to shoot and hit the right target is quite something.
0:04:41 > 0:04:43And sadly there are so few pilots left now who can tell us
0:04:43 > 0:04:47how it felt to be in a high-speed dogfight in the thick of battle.
0:04:50 > 0:04:55Altogether, there were 3,000 pilots, not just from the RAF
0:04:55 > 0:04:58but also from occupied Europe and the British Empire.
0:04:59 > 0:05:03Their bravery prompted Winston Churchill's famous
0:05:03 > 0:05:05words in a speech to Parliament.
0:05:05 > 0:05:08Never in the field of human conflict,
0:05:08 > 0:05:12when so much owed by so many to so few.
0:05:15 > 0:05:19Geoffrey Wellum was one of the few.
0:05:19 > 0:05:24He joined the RAF in August 1939 aged just 17.
0:05:24 > 0:05:26It's very vivid.
0:05:27 > 0:05:33The tranquillity and peace of predawn and quite often you'd look
0:05:33 > 0:05:37up at the sky and think it's clear, it's going to be a lovely day again.
0:05:39 > 0:05:40Oh, God!
0:05:40 > 0:05:42And you'd offer up, probably...
0:05:42 > 0:05:47I did more often than not, a little prayer.
0:05:47 > 0:05:49"It's going to be a very busy day overall.
0:05:49 > 0:05:54"If I forget you, don't you forget me."
0:05:54 > 0:05:58Just give me this day, please, give me this day.
0:05:58 > 0:06:01TELEPHONE RINGS
0:06:01 > 0:06:05Once the telephone went and you were scrambled,
0:06:05 > 0:06:07you felt a different person.
0:06:08 > 0:06:13In total war, mixed up with aeroplanes all over the sky,
0:06:13 > 0:06:17traces, smoke trails, bullets flying around.
0:06:17 > 0:06:22You were far too busy trying to do your job and shoot down the enemy
0:06:22 > 0:06:25and at the same time, trying to survive to do it another day.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31I was frightened at one time when I got caught by a
0:06:31 > 0:06:34Messerschmitt 109 that was right behind me.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38And I remember thinking, "I'm going to die."
0:06:38 > 0:06:40It was quite calm.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47After I'd managed to get away from him, then I felt fear...
0:06:48 > 0:06:50..stark, staring fear.
0:06:54 > 0:06:57But we never ever, at any time,
0:06:57 > 0:07:00thought we were going to be defeated.
0:07:01 > 0:07:05There was a sort of bond as one between you all.
0:07:06 > 0:07:12You can't go to war with a lot of blokes in Spitfires
0:07:12 > 0:07:14and expect to forget about it.
0:07:15 > 0:07:17It stays with you forever.
0:07:20 > 0:07:24Tommy Lunn, Roy Mottram, Tony Bartley, Bob Holland,
0:07:24 > 0:07:29Johnny Kent, Jock Sherrington, me.
0:07:32 > 0:07:36I remember them all. I can do better than that and see them.
0:10:07 > 0:10:10That was Faithful One by Canadian songwriter, Brian Doerksen,
0:10:10 > 0:10:14and it's a wonderful expression of God's enduring love.
0:10:14 > 0:10:18But, of course, it is sometimes very hard to feel God's presence
0:10:18 > 0:10:21and when Brian found himself in need of spiritual comfort,
0:10:21 > 0:10:24he turned to the old Testament book of Psalms.
0:10:25 > 0:10:27SINGING
0:10:34 > 0:10:37It's really the oldest and most loved Psalm book in the world.
0:10:38 > 0:10:43It survived for about 3,000 years.
0:10:43 > 0:10:50Here is a book of songs, poems, prayers that contain all
0:10:50 > 0:10:54the diversity of human emotion from the heights of joy,
0:10:54 > 0:10:58to the depths of sorrow and pain.
0:11:02 > 0:11:08A few years ago, I went through a number of combined crises,
0:11:08 > 0:11:14things that didn't have easy answers and I had no words left,
0:11:14 > 0:11:17no songs to write, no ideas for songs.
0:11:18 > 0:11:24And then I found, in the Psalms, these honest prayers.
0:11:24 > 0:11:28The ancient words are there and they're totally current.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31# Stronghold in times of trouble... #
0:11:31 > 0:11:34And I had this kind of crazy notion.
0:11:34 > 0:11:37I don't need to write a new song.
0:11:37 > 0:11:39Why don't I go back to the beginning?
0:11:39 > 0:11:42And rather than cherry pick my few favourite Psalms,
0:11:42 > 0:11:47I'll just trust that as I work my way through the Psalms in sequence,
0:11:47 > 0:11:51all of the different things I'm going through will be addressed.
0:11:53 > 0:11:56Brian and his band, The SHIYR Poets, began adapting each Psalm
0:11:56 > 0:11:58and setting it to music.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01Audiences more familiar with Brian's worship songs weren't quite
0:12:01 > 0:12:03sure what to expect.
0:12:03 > 0:12:08When we set about to sing the Psalms, people maybe thought,
0:12:08 > 0:12:10"Are they going to like chant them,
0:12:10 > 0:12:12"are sing them like a traditional choir?"
0:12:12 > 0:12:15No, we're going to sing them in our mother tongue, which is
0:12:15 > 0:12:19folk rock style and influenced by popular music.
0:12:19 > 0:12:23# Great things the lord has done... #
0:12:23 > 0:12:27The Psalms and the words within don't easily
0:12:27 > 0:12:30fit into a three-minute pop song format.
0:12:30 > 0:12:32They're not neat and tidy.
0:12:32 > 0:12:38They've got rough edges but they always lead us
0:12:38 > 0:12:42into a place of hope and redemption.
0:12:42 > 0:12:46So far, Brian's group have written around 30 of the Psalms
0:12:46 > 0:12:50and they're not shying away from covering all 150.
0:12:50 > 0:12:53- # Why... - Why...
0:12:53 > 0:12:57# Do you stand...? #
0:12:57 > 0:12:58Some people have said to me,
0:12:58 > 0:13:00"This is quite a task you've undertaken",
0:13:00 > 0:13:02and I go, "Yeah."
0:13:02 > 0:13:06# Far away... #
0:13:06 > 0:13:08You know, it would take us...hm...
0:13:09 > 0:13:12..15 to 20 years.
0:13:12 > 0:13:14"OK, let's go for it, then."
0:13:14 > 0:13:18- # Why... - Why... #
0:13:18 > 0:13:19When you think about the psalms,
0:13:19 > 0:13:22that are full of these dark and difficult emotions,
0:13:22 > 0:13:24one of the great concerns people have,
0:13:24 > 0:13:28"Oh, if you sing these, everybody is going to get depressed."
0:13:28 > 0:13:31But the exact opposite thing happens.
0:13:31 > 0:13:32So this is the thing, you know, -
0:13:32 > 0:13:37like, I have never had such a good time singing sad songs,
0:13:37 > 0:13:41because those sad songs lead me to joy.
0:13:42 > 0:13:47- # Arise... - rise...
0:13:47 > 0:13:51# Lord, my God
0:16:20 > 0:16:25This used to be the officers' mess here at RAF Duxford,
0:16:25 > 0:16:29where the pilots would come to try and get as much rest as possible
0:16:29 > 0:16:32before they were called out for yet another flight.
0:16:34 > 0:16:38But the pressure they faced must have taken its toll.
0:16:38 > 0:16:41On hand to support and counsel where the RAF chaplains,
0:16:41 > 0:16:44like Guy Mayfield, here at Duxford, whose diaries captured
0:16:44 > 0:16:48the reality of what these young men were going through.
0:16:50 > 0:16:53Peter appeared with a beer, and questions,
0:16:53 > 0:16:55following on Trenchard's death.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58It was a relief to be able to talk realistically to him
0:16:58 > 0:17:00about the things which we keep concealed for the most part,
0:17:00 > 0:17:02beneath the surface.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05"What happens when you die?"
0:17:05 > 0:17:07"Is it wrong to be frightened of dying?"
0:17:07 > 0:17:10"How should you live if you are 20
0:17:10 > 0:17:12"and will be dead by the end of the summer?"
0:18:06 > 0:18:09CHOIR SINGS:
0:18:21 > 0:18:25ALL SING:
0:19:25 > 0:19:29We often feature solo singers on Songs Of Praise
0:19:29 > 0:19:33and usually, it is easy to describe their style of music,
0:19:33 > 0:19:38but Birmingham-born Laura Mvula has a sound that is all her own.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41David has been to meet her.
0:19:41 > 0:19:43# Take me outside
0:19:43 > 0:19:45# Sit in the green garden... #
0:19:45 > 0:19:48In the last two years, Brit award winner Laura Mvula
0:19:48 > 0:19:51has become a critically acclaimed artist,
0:19:51 > 0:19:54respected and loved by some of the biggest names in music.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57Her star continues to rise,
0:19:57 > 0:19:59but while Laura's songs are in the charts,
0:19:59 > 0:20:01her inspiration comes from the church.
0:20:01 > 0:20:04# She flies, ha-ha! #
0:20:04 > 0:20:06'My parents were quite keen for us
0:20:06 > 0:20:12'to attend several different churches.'
0:20:12 > 0:20:18I grew up listening to worship music of Matt Redman,
0:20:18 > 0:20:19Graham Kendrick,
0:20:19 > 0:20:24and also Kirk Franklin, Richard Smallwood,
0:20:24 > 0:20:26Kim Burrell, Israel Horton...
0:20:27 > 0:20:29This was church, to me.
0:20:30 > 0:20:33How did that eclectic mix
0:20:33 > 0:20:37of various strands of, you know, Christian music
0:20:37 > 0:20:38impact your music?
0:20:38 > 0:20:41For me, that meant, I think,
0:20:41 > 0:20:44that there are no limitations growing up.
0:20:44 > 0:20:49There was nothing that was not right, musically,
0:20:49 > 0:20:52and, um...when I was old enough
0:20:52 > 0:20:55to be asked to lead a church service from the keyboard,
0:20:55 > 0:21:02that was where I learned how to truly, creatively express myself.
0:21:02 > 0:21:04How much of that stays with you?
0:21:04 > 0:21:08And how is your faith influenced today by that?
0:21:08 > 0:21:10I feel so grateful...
0:21:12 > 0:21:17..for my experience, um...growing up in church,
0:21:17 > 0:21:20- and I don't mean just growing up in the building.- Mm-hm.
0:21:20 > 0:21:24I mean, being a part of a community that raised me in love,
0:21:24 > 0:21:27and in the love of God,
0:21:27 > 0:21:31and I can say, in my songs that I write,
0:21:31 > 0:21:35that are in the charts, it is the same energy.
0:21:35 > 0:21:39It is the same love. It is the same freedom.
0:21:39 > 0:21:42Laura, tell us about the song you're singing, Show Me Love.
0:21:42 > 0:21:46It's a journey of yearning for a love,
0:21:46 > 0:21:50yearning for deep love, losing love,
0:21:50 > 0:21:53and then the hope of love in the future.
0:21:53 > 0:21:57The beauty I'm discovering more and more in the song,
0:21:57 > 0:22:00as I sing it, is that...
0:22:00 > 0:22:05It reminds me that we all universally understand
0:22:05 > 0:22:09what that feels like, you know?
0:22:09 > 0:22:11So Show Me Love, for me,
0:22:11 > 0:22:17probably is the most exposing song on my new album, um...
0:22:17 > 0:22:21And it is the only one where you hear voice and piano,
0:22:21 > 0:22:24which really is where most of my songs start.
0:22:26 > 0:22:29# I need to belong to someone
0:22:29 > 0:22:32# I miss the breath of a kiss
0:22:32 > 0:22:35# I miss the wonder of a future with somebody
0:22:35 > 0:22:38# Oh, God, show me love
0:22:42 > 0:22:44# I miss belonging to someone
0:22:44 > 0:22:47# I miss the kiss of another
0:22:47 > 0:22:50# I miss the morning
0:22:50 > 0:22:52# I miss the waking up
0:22:52 > 0:22:57# I need someone to hold my hand, bigger than mine
0:22:57 > 0:23:00# Oh, God, where are you?
0:23:04 > 0:23:06# Show me love
0:23:08 > 0:23:10# Show me love
0:23:15 > 0:23:21# If it wasn't real then why does it hurt so bad?
0:23:21 > 0:23:27# Cos the thing that we had, it was everything
0:23:27 > 0:23:30# Never thought we would be
0:23:30 > 0:23:34# Torn apart by a change in the wind
0:23:34 > 0:23:36# Or a cloud in the sky
0:23:38 > 0:23:40# We were always
0:23:42 > 0:23:49# And you showed me love of the deepest kind
0:23:51 > 0:23:58# And I will never find another love like you showed me love
0:24:00 > 0:24:03# And now I see you
0:24:07 > 0:24:10# Now I see you
0:24:14 > 0:24:16# You showed me love
0:24:17 > 0:24:22# You showed me love of the deepest kind
0:24:25 > 0:24:30# And I will never find a love like you
0:24:32 > 0:24:35# You showed me love, you...
0:24:35 > 0:24:38# You showed me love
0:24:38 > 0:24:40# You showed me love
0:24:44 > 0:24:45# And I thank you
0:24:47 > 0:24:50# And I need you
0:24:51 > 0:24:53# And I miss you
0:24:57 > 0:25:00# You showed me love. #
0:25:13 > 0:25:19This is one of many operations rooms dotted across the south of England,
0:25:19 > 0:25:22and it was here that strategic decisions were made,
0:25:22 > 0:25:25that the movement of planes were plotted,
0:25:25 > 0:25:27and orders given for pilots to scramble.
0:25:27 > 0:25:30Many of the staff who worked here were women,
0:25:30 > 0:25:33members of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force,
0:25:33 > 0:25:35affectionately known WAAFs.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41Edith Kup was one of those WAAFs.
0:25:41 > 0:25:43She was just 21 in 1940,
0:25:43 > 0:25:47working as a plotter in the Debden operations room in Essex.
0:25:48 > 0:25:51All right, scramble four squadrons, Debden.
0:25:51 > 0:25:56We had the headphones, so that once our aircraft were in the air,
0:25:56 > 0:25:59you shut up and you could hear the whole battle...
0:26:02 > 0:26:05..because they shouted at each other all the time.
0:26:05 > 0:26:06SHE LAUGHS
0:26:10 > 0:26:12You just hoped that they'd all get back safely,
0:26:12 > 0:26:15which, of course, they didn't all get back safely.
0:26:17 > 0:26:22We knew all the pilots, so whoever was shot down,
0:26:22 > 0:26:24it-it was...
0:26:26 > 0:26:27..heartbreaking, really.
0:26:30 > 0:26:31It was whilst at Debden
0:26:31 > 0:26:35that Edith met a young Spitfire pilot called Dennis.
0:26:37 > 0:26:39Apparently, he saw me,
0:26:39 > 0:26:43and he thought he'd like to have a word or two.
0:26:47 > 0:26:52We were engaged to marry as soon as possible.
0:26:55 > 0:26:58And as he said, "It would just be a small wedding,
0:26:58 > 0:27:01"we don't want a lot of fuss, you see."
0:27:02 > 0:27:05That was fine, to me.
0:27:05 > 0:27:07Anyway, sadly, it didn't happen
0:27:07 > 0:27:11because he was...shot down.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20I got a bit special leave and went and told his parents,
0:27:20 > 0:27:22because I didn't want them to get a telegram.
0:27:27 > 0:27:29I often think about Dennis
0:27:29 > 0:27:32and one day, I suddenly was conscious of him,
0:27:32 > 0:27:35and he was standing just beside the bed,
0:27:35 > 0:27:40and he leaned forward and kissed me and I actually felt it,
0:27:40 > 0:27:44and then he grinned at me and faded away.
0:27:46 > 0:27:49He was the love of my life, definitely.
0:30:30 > 0:30:34We've heard some remarkable and moving stories in this programme,
0:30:34 > 0:30:37from both the past and present.
0:30:37 > 0:30:42But let's leave the last word, and the choice of our final hymn,
0:30:42 > 0:30:44to our Spitfire pilot, Geoffrey Wellum.
0:30:46 > 0:30:50This is a hymn that... always brings back to me
0:30:50 > 0:30:52those final minutes in the air,
0:30:52 > 0:30:55coming back to Biggin at the end of the day,
0:30:55 > 0:30:58having survived, in the early dusk
0:30:58 > 0:31:03and the peace between landing that aircraft and the next dawn.
0:32:40 > 0:32:43MEN SING:
0:32:55 > 0:32:58WOMEN SING:
0:33:11 > 0:33:14ALL SING: