Richard Hillary - A Fighter Pilot's Story
A documentary from 2000 describing the life of Richard Hillary who was born in Sydney, Australia, in 1919.
He was sent to boarding school in England and went to Trinity College, Oxford in 1937. He was still at Oxford when the Second World War broke out and, with other members of the R.A.F Volunteer Reserve, was immediately called to duty.
He flew Spitfires in the Battle of Britain before being shot down and horribly burned. He underwent several operations by the great plastic surgeon, Archibald McIndoe.
Following a slow and very painful recovery, Hillary begged to be allowed to return to active service. He was killed, at the age of 23, when his Bristol Blenhiem crashed during a night training operation.
He was the author of probably one of the best books written about the Battle of Britain "The Last Enemy" and has been a hero of mine since my childhood.
Apologies - I've included the commercial breaks too!