The Battle of Britain will be remembered with a church service and parade by the Royal Air Force in Bury St Edmunds this weekend.

East Anglian Daily Times: The parade and service commemorates the 1940 battle where the outnumbered RAF saw off the aerial might of the Luftwaffe Picture: LAC JAMES LEDGERThe parade and service commemorates the 1940 battle where the outnumbered RAF saw off the aerial might of the Luftwaffe Picture: LAC JAMES LEDGER (Image: © UK MOD Crown Copyright 2018. This image may be used for news purposes only. It may not be used, reproduced or transmitted for)

Personnel from RAF Honington will parade from the Abbey Gardens to St. Mary's Church at 10.30am on Sunday September 15, accompanied by the USAF Honor Guard and led by the Voluntary Band of RAF Honington.

The 11am service will be preceded by a march past Angel Hill where civic dignitaries accompanied by station commander Group Captain Matt Radnall will take the salute.

The Battle of Britain in 1940 was one of Britain's most important victories of the Second World War.

Following the fall of France to Nazi Germany a major offensive was launched by the Luftwaffe to smash the RAF and clear the way for an invasion of Britain.

East Anglian Daily Times: The parade consists of personnel from RAF Honington plus personnel from the US Air Force at RAF Mildenhall and Lakenheath, plus cadets and scouts from the local area Picture: LAC JAMES LEDGERThe parade consists of personnel from RAF Honington plus personnel from the US Air Force at RAF Mildenhall and Lakenheath, plus cadets and scouts from the local area Picture: LAC JAMES LEDGER (Image: � UK MOD Crown Copyright 2018. This image may be used for news purposes only. It may not be used, reproduced or transmitted for)

The culmination of the Battle of Britain came on September 15 when the Luftwaffe launched a daytime raid of 600 fighters and 500 bombers against London.

The RAF responded by sending up 620 fighter aircraft to intercept them, and over the course of the day the skies above London and the south east were filled with dogfighting aircraft.

Following the failure of the raid, and the continued failure of other raids to destroy the RAF or British spirit, Hitler cancelled the planned invasion of Britain and the Luftwaffe stopped carrying out raids during daylight hours.

A spokesman for RAF Honington said: "The Battle of Britain served not only as an example of the importance of airpower in warfare, but also highlighted the important role played in the battle by the members of allied nations.

"Pilots who had escaped from Poland, France and Norway joined British and Commonwealth pilots in defending Britain from invasion, as well as beginning the fight back against Germany."