THE stories take your breath away. Glasgow heroes, caught up in the most decisive air battle of the Second World War, hundreds of miles away from home, faced unimaginable challenges. The Battle of Britain began 81 years ago today – but while the action happened mainly in the skies over England’s south coast, Glasgow and its people had a key role to play. City lawyer-turned-Wing Commander Hector MacLean of 602 Squadron, for example, displayed enormous courage when his Spitfire was attacked by an Me109 and his right foot blown off. Nevertheless, using his scarf as a tourniquet, he managed to steer the badly damaged aircraft back to base.