The Kiwi Who Saved Britain

Kiwi-born Keith Park commanded the Royal Air Force division which defended London during the Battle of Britain. His command is dramatised in this Greenstone telemovie. Historians Stephen Bungay and Vincent Orange offer accounts of what happened, alongside archive footage from World War ll. This excerpt sees Park hosting Winston Churchill as his forces are stretched to breaking point by a German attack. After returning home, Park went on to chair the Auckland International Airport Committee and serve as an Auckland City Councillor. John Callen directs and narrates.

If ever any one man won the Battle of Britain, he did. I don’t believe it is realised how much that one man, with his leadership, his calm judgment and his skill, did to save not only this country, but the world.

– Lord Tedder, head of the RAF, on Keith Park, at the New Zealand Society’s annual London dinner, February 1947

Key Cast & Crew

Stephen Papps

As: Keith Park

Robert Antony

Writer, Research

John Callen

Director, Additional Script, Narrator

Cass Avery

Producer

Kate Lumb

As: Ethel

Paul McDiarmid

As: Douglas Bader