“Here is something entirely new and dynamic, and yet still almost as mysterious and inexplicable as death itself. Never before have battles been fought six miles above the surface of the earth at a speed of over three hundred miles an hour… A new mould of men has been cast. The feats of their bravery haunt of, they baffle us, and satisfy completely the spirit of romantic daring inherent in our island race. Perhaps this British aptitude for flying is part of the sailing tradition and the feeling for freedom and adventure that is a heritage from Drake. Maybe there is a natural sequence from sea to air, and the Englishman who enjoyed drifting along with the breezes in his boat at four knots an hour is the father of the boy who now wishes to beat the winds in his Hurricane” – Cecil Beaton, preface to Winged Squadrons (1942).

Before the Second World War, Cecil Beaton (1904–1980) had been a glamorous society photographer, responsible for some of the most striking portraits of the 1920s and 30s. At the outbreak of hostilities he turned his considerable talent to the service of the Allied cause and became one of the most influential photographers of the war, with his lens largely shaping public perception of the conflict. His portraits of Winston Churchill and the Queen boosted morale at home, and a photo of a child injured during the Blitz “was said to have influenced American feeling concerning the war more than any other picture” (ODNB) when it appeared on the cover of Life magazine in 1940. Even more importantly, he traveled around the world photographing and interviewing fighting men and women, and “By his courage and dedicated approach he earned the respect of the three services”.