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George 'Grumpy' Unwin joined the RAF in 1929. He was one of the first pilots to fly the Spitfire. At the outbreak of War he flew with 19 sqn and took part in the great air battles over France and Dunkirk. He flew with 19 sqn throughout the Battle Of Britain. The 15th of September is commemorated now as Battle of Britain Day, and it was on this day in 1940 that George had his best day in combat. Starting with a Bf 109E-4 of 3/JG53 on his first sortie of the day he followed up with a further two 109s on his next mission. During this mission George narrowly missed being shot down himself after having barely escaped being surrounded by "...literally thousands of yellow nosed Messerschmitts...whistling by all around me less than 100 yards away..." George credited the Spitfire for saving his life that day because it could sustain a continuous rate of turn inside the 109 without stalling. After a period of instructing he resumed operations flying Mosquitoes with 16 sqn. George finished the war with 13 victories and retired from the RAF in 1961.
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