The Battle of Britain – Home Page

https://www.raf.mod.uk/history/battleofbritain75thanniversary.cfm

Battle of Britain Day – September 15th

From the (original) page:
Even though it appeared that Fighter Command was getting the upper hand, the experience of flying in battle was playing on the minds of they young pilots as one father stated:

He (son) wondered just how much longer he could take it. Each day someone fails to return, often another empty seat at the table. He was relieved when often they would turn up, apparently they had safely baled out, or injured in a crash landing. But many died horrific deaths, slowly burnt alive being trapped in their cockpits. He thought that he would rather have died instantly, or went in nose first into the ground rather than being burned alive.
He was a changed lad, time took care of that taking him from a young man with a bright future before the war to a man that seemed full of hatred, he said that he felt as if he was a human killing machine and said that if he ever dies, then put on his headstone “Here Lies Another Human Killing Machine”.
On leave he could not sleep, or he would scream out in the night. How he died we will never know, he went out on a mission, and never came back, and that’s the sad part, we do not even have a grave where we know that he is at last resting in peace.

Edited: January 2018 to reflect changes at the RAF site