Ray Holmes

Sergeant Ray Holmes became famous for one of the most dramatic moments of the Battle of Britain. On 15 September 1940 — now commemorated as Battle of Britain Day — Holmes rammed a Dornier Do 17 bomber that was heading for Buckingham Palace. Having run out of ammunition, he deliberately flew his Hurricane into the bomber, cutting off its tail.The Dornier crashed near Victoria Station. Holmes bailed out of his disintegrating fighter and landed by parachute in a Chelsea dustbin. The incident was filmed and became one of the iconic images of the Battle of Britain. His Brighton connections come through his post-war residence in the south coast area.