The Battle of Britain: Ottawa’s Beechwood Cemetery ceremony remembers Canadian contributions [Video]

The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) marked 84 years since the Battle of Britain in a ceremony on Sunday at Beechwood National Military Cemetery.

“It was a defining moment when ordinary men and women through extraordinary acts of heroism ensured that the freedom of democracy would prevail,” said retired sergeant, Wendy Jocko.

The event honoured the heroes who defended the skies in the more than three-month long campaign in 1940, during the Second World War.

The first major battle fought almost exclusively in the air and the contribution of the RCAF No. 1 Squadron marked the first time Canada sent a squadron into battle.

“I saw them jump out of the airplane- hit by aircraft. I wonder how they made out after the war. Did they get home?” said veteran Ronald Moyes.

It’s what Moyes thinks about on this day. The ones he never met and the ones who never …