Political correspondent Aaron Newbury flew a Spitfire over Sussex and discovered what he believes is the true meaning of the Brexit vote: an unbridled British spirit of freedom. Ten years after Britain voted to leave the European Union, Newbury took to the skies in Spitfire T9 NH341, named Elizabeth, from Goodwood Aerodrome in West Sussex.
An Assault on the Senses
Newbury described the experience as an assault on the senses. The Merlin engine roared to life, the airframe trembled, and fumes washed through the open cockpit. As the canopy clicked shut and the grass fell away, he felt the aircraft's every movement through his spine.
Flight Lieutenant Antony Parkinson MBE, known as Parky, piloted the flight. With over a thousand hours on the Eurofighter Typhoon and time in the Phantom, Tornado, and Red Arrows, Parky was a reassuring presence. He cheerfully noted the Spitfire could reach 280 miles per hour, calling it a marvellous machine.
The Few and Their Legacy
Newbury reflected on the young pilots of the Battle of Britain, some just 19 years old, who scrambled in minutes to defend the country. He felt their sacrifice acutely at 3,000 feet, looking down at the same fields they died to keep. Winston Churchill called them the Few, and the phrase felt literal from inside their machine.
Parky handed Newbury the controls, and he banked left and right, curving around a cloud. The joy of flying the Spitfire made him forget deadlines and work, grinning like a child. Parky performed a victory roll, a corkscrewing turn that returning aces used to signal success.
The Spirit of Brexit
Newbury saw the Spitfire as a symbol of what the Brexit vote was about: freedom and a yearning to rediscover British identity. The aircraft captures the unbridled spirit that makes the nation who it is, defended in those same skies during the war.
He concluded that the Few gave everything so that generations could enjoy such freedoms. Their duty was in the air; ours is on the ground. The least we owe them is to be worthy of their sacrifice, fighting for the country's future and character.
