Half a platoon of the 1st Border, with their Waco glider in the background, in good heart shortly before take-off on the 9th July. Note the man staring at the photographer, just to the right of centre, holding an "escape axe" by its head; it is wondered whether the lives of himself and his comrades depended upon it in the coming hours if they landed in the sea. Just to the right of this man, in the background, their USAAF pilot can be clearly distinguished, wearing sunglasses. A Border soldier wears a British-issue pair in the centre. Copyright: IWM CNA993.