Spitfire!

by Mike Walker (Writer), Amber Barnfather (Director), David Chilton (Composer)

A moving drama by Mike Walker about the most famous British fighter aircraft in history, first broadcast in September 2010 to mark the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain. Framed by recollections from veteran Geoffrey Wellum, the drama features specially made recordings of RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Spitfires, including the only Spitfire still flying today to have fought in the Battle.

Inspired by real people and real events, the drama traces RJ Mitchell's design from creation to legend and the fortunes of two young pilots who join a frontline Spitfire squadron just as the Battle of Britain begins. It stars Samuel West, Samuel Barnett, Rory Kinnear and Ruth Wilson.

Many factors were important in the Battle, but it was the excellence of the Spitfire which most famously evened the odds in the fight against the Luftwaffe. Mike Walker's drama takes us close to this magnificent aircraft and gives us a feeling of what it was like to fly the legendary plane which became, in test pilot Jeffrey Quill's words, 'a symbol of defiance and victory'.

Technical Advisor: Patrick Bishop
Original music and sound design: David Chilton

Producer/Director: Amber Barnfather
A Goldhawk Essential production for BBC Radio 4.

Credits

Pirate - Rory Kinnear
Ted - Joe Coen
RJ Mitchell - Samuel West
Tony - Samuel Barnett
Stanley Baldwin - David Horovitch
Air Marshal Dowding - David Troughton
Squadron Commander - Stephen Critchlow
Newsreel Announcer - Ben Crowe
Sammy - Lucas Motion
Alice - Abigail Thaw
Daphne - Ruth Wilson
Writer - Mike Walker
Director - Amber Barnfather
Producer - Amber Barnfather

Radio Drama

Published September 11, 2010

About the author

Mike Walker is a life-long desert dweller, raised in a family of creative, artistic, dramatic, and literary fellow humans. His particular combination of passionate curiosity and big imagination, while not always appreciated by teachers in his formative years, makes him an exceedingly interesting dinner guest and a formidable trivia opponent. After retiring, he landed the job he wishes he’d spent thirty years in at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. He lives a stone’s throw from said Desert Museum with his wife, who says it isn’t hoarding if it’s plants, and their acre of plants, wildlife, and the dog who oversees the whole operation. He misses reading bedtime stories to his (now adult) son, and is enjoying life so much that he wishes growing old took longer.