Deere was one of 135 New Zealanders who fought in the Battle of Britain as part of the RAF’s Fighter Command. Many others served with Bomber and Coastal Commands. Their participation reflected this country’s vital interest in the outcome of this struggle for control of the British skies in the northern summer of 1940. New Zealand had gone to war in September 1939 determined to support the British cause and defend the British system upon which it depended for both economic and physical security. With the United Kingdom now at risk, New Zealanders followed the events of July-October 1940 with deep apprehension. They needed no reminding of the disastrous consequences that would follow a German conquest of the ‘mother country’. The Battle of Britain - The Battle of Britain | NZHistory, New Zealand history online
