By Genevieve Holl-Allen
Copyright yahoo
Robert Jenrick has criticised the “neglect” of British history after a poll revealed most people under the age of 40 have no idea what the Battle of Britain was.
Almost two in three under-40s in Britain do not know about the air campaign against the Luftwaffe, considered one of the most significant British victories in the Second World War.
Over 40 per cent of adults do not know if the UK won the Battle of Britain, and 64 per cent do not know what it refers to.
Mr Jenrick, who commissioned the polling, said: “For too long our history has been neglected. We have allowed our past to become a source of shame, even as the rest of the world still looks to us with admiration.”
To mark the Battle of Britain Memorial Day, 85 years on, Mr Jenrick flew in a Spitfire, the aircraft the RAF said was “critical” in defeating the Luftwaffe in 1940.
The shadow justice secretary has called for the aerial battle to become a compulsory part of the national curriculum to ensure it can “live on as a source of inspiration”.
Writing in The Telegraph, Mr Jenrick said: “When so many of the next generation are ignorant of our history, and led to believe that is a source of shame, is it any wonder they are so susceptible to Left-wing agitators who tell them that Britain and the West are the source of evil in the world?”
He added the story of the Battle of Britain was “one of triumph in the face of hopeless” and represented “near the pinnacle of our Island story, yet it isn’t treated as such”.
There are few specific historical events that must be taught in schools.
The national curriculum demands schoolchildren are taught about the Holocaust, but other subjects such as “the wartime leadership of Winston Churchill” and “the creation of the welfare state” are only recommendations for teachers.
Mr Jenrick said: “A child can attend 12 years of school in our country and not once learn of how we prevailed over the Nazis.
“In its stead, teachers can tell our children only of the ‘bad’ elements of our history. No more. Every child should learn of the greatness and uniqueness of Britain’s wartime contribution.”
Nearly 3,000 airmen in the RAF took part in the Battle of Britain, the first decisive battle fought entirely in the air that came to an end on October 31, 1940.
The majority of pilots were British but other Allied nations also assisted, including from France, Canada, Poland and Czechoslovakia.
Churchill called those who fought in the battle “the Few”.
The Battle of Britain Memorial Trust will hold a service at the Battle of Britain Memorial in Dover on Monday morning.
The annual thanksgiving service at Westminster Abbey will take place on Sunday.
