In the summer of 1940, when France was falling
to the Germans, the British sent over all their
available squadrons of Spitfires to aid in the
battle. Churchill asked
the RAF to tell him the
minimum number of
squadrons they would
need to defend Britain
if France fell, and the
answer was that with
25 squadrons they
could guarantee the
air defense of England,
but
with
anything
less, the Germans
would probably win.
Churchill kept those 25
squadrons in England.
He sent every other
available
plane
to
France, but despite enormous pressure from the
French, he kept those last, essential squadrons
in England. In the end, of course, France did
fall, but the Battle of Britain was won by those
25 squadrons Churchill had kept in reserve.
There is a basic amount of strength and physical
mobility that you need to keep in reserve for the
years beyond 80. If you do, the physical limitations
of true old age will be inconvenient, but will not
fundamentally change your life. Interestingly, this
HYLAND
