Caesar Hull, DFC (1914–1940) and Paterson Hughes, DFC (1917–1940) were Royal Air Force (RAF) flying aces of the Second World War. They were killed in action in the Battle of Britain on the same day, 7 September 1940. Raised in Southern Rhodesia, South Africa and Swaziland, Hull joined No. 43 Squadron in Sussex, England in 1935, and took part in the fighting for Narvik during the Norwegian Campaign in 1940. Hull was the RAF's first Gloster Gladiator ace and the most successful RAF pilot of the Norwegian Campaign. He later saw action as a Hawker Hurricane pilot during the Battle of Britain, in which he was killed while diving to the aid of an RAF comrade. Hughes was born and raised in Australia and took a commission with the RAF in 1937. Posted to No. 234 Squadron following the outbreak of war, he flew Supermarine Spitfires and was credited with seventeen victories during the Battle of Britain. His tally made him the highest-scoring Australian of the battle, and among the three highest-scoring Australians of the war. Hughes is generally thought to have died after his Spitfire was struck by flying debris from a German bomber that he had just shot down.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paterson_Clarence_Hughes

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1571:

Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, was arrested for his involvement in a plot to overthrow Queen Elizabeth I and replace her with Mary, Queen of Scots. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ridolfi_plot

1652:

Chinese peasants on Formosa (Taiwan) began a rebellion against Dutch rule before being suppressed four days later. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guo_Huaiyi_Rebellion

1778:

American Revolutionary War: France invaded the island of Dominica and captured the British fort there before the latter even knew that France had entered the war as an ally of the United States. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_Dominica

1940:

Second World War: The German Luftwaffe changed their strategy in the Battle of Britain and began bombing London and other British cities and towns for over 50 consecutive nights. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blitz

1999:

Three weeks after an earthquake struck northwestern Turkey, a major earthquake struck Athens, causing Greece and Turkey to initiate "earthquake diplomacy". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek%E2%80%93Turkish_earthquake_diplomacy

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

interstice: 1. A small opening or space between objects, especially adjacent objects or objects set closely together, as between cords in a rope or components of a multiconductor electrical cable or between atoms in a crystal. 2. (figuratively) A fragment of space. 3. An interval of time required by the Roman Catholic Church between the attainment of different degrees of an order. 4. By extension, a small interval of time free to be spent on activities other than one's primary goal. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/interstice

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Still falls the Rain — Dark as the world of man, black as our loss — Blind as the nineteen hundred and forty nails Upon the Cross.   --Edith Sitwell https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edith_Sitwell