18th October 1941: British Propaganda film shows how the country is resolute in 'hitting back' against Nazi Germany - and wins an honorary Oscar
∙ Paid
A well-known figure during the war. Group Captain Percy Pickard stands by his Mosquito FB VI during a refuelling stop at Exeter in 1943, preparing to lead No. 487 Squadron’s daylight strike on the Pont du Château power station. A subsequently colourised image.
Pickard portrays the bomber pilot of F for Freddie in ‘Target for Tonight’, leading his crew with calm assurance despite the flak.
With little activity in the ground war in the West, Britain needed to show it was hitting back against Germany. This mattered not just for morale on the Home Front, but for a worldwide audience that looked sceptically at Britain's ability to sustain a war against Germany. Looking at the map, it sometimes seemed that Nazi Germany was all-conquering and unstoppable.
An image of occupied Europe from the 1942 US Department of War information film ‘Why We Fight’.
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