William Meade Lindsley Fiske III (4 June 1911 – 17 August 1940) was an American combat fighter pilot and Olympic bobsledder.

When World War II broke out in 1939, Fiske traveled to the UK and joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, claiming to be Canadian in order to be permitted to enlist.

For the next season, they hired guides, including Swiss ski champion André Roch, then studying at Reed College in Oregon.

[9] Fiske competed again at the 1932 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid, New York, USA, where he carried the United States' flag at the opening ceremony.

The format of the race was altered to a four-man team, but again Fiske and his team-mates, Clifford Gray, Eddie Eagan, and Jay O'Brien[10] took gold.

[13] Shortly before the outbreak of World War II, Fiske was recalled to the New York offices of Dillon, Reed & Co, but on 30 August 1939 he returned to England aboard the Aquitania accompanying a bank colleague who was also a member of No.

As an American citizen, he "duly pledged his life and loyalty to the king, George VI,"[6] and was formally admitted into the RAF.

In his diary, a joyous Fiske wrote, "I believe I can lay claim to being the first U.S. citizen to join the RAF in England after the outbreak of hostilities.

[6] The Squadron destroyed eight Junkers Ju 87 Stukas, but after just 15 minutes of flying time, a German gunner put a bullet through Fiske's fuel tank.

[17] With his aircraft badly damaged and his hands and ankles burnt,[18] instead of bailing out, Fiske nursed his Hurricane home, gliding over a hedgerow to the airfield.

Fiske was taken to the Royal West Sussex Hospital in Chichester for treatment, but he died from surgical shock shortly afterwards, on 17 August.

The decision to unveil this plaque on American Independence Day was probably a political one; the United States had not officially joined the war and the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, was keen to popularise Fiske's story.

Other tributes to Fiske include a memorial tablet dedicated to him in the crypt of the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, New York.

The United States Bobsled and Skeleton Federation also created the Billy Fiske Memorial Trophy as a posthumous tribute to him.

Bill Bond, who conceived the Battle of Britain Monument in London, described a Variety magazine outline of the film's historical content[30] as "Totally wrong.

Remarks were presented at the private event by The Honorable Matthew W Barzun, 66th Ambassador to the Court of St James, sculptor Jenna Gearing as well as by Billy Fiske Foundation President and Honourary Group Captain Kevin Billings, OBE.