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Article: Wild Wales: Fruit fight; How the bilberry helped win a war.(Features)
- Article from:
- Daily Post (Liverpool, England)
- Article date:
- July 9, 2005
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 MGN Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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DURING World War II British flying aces discovered an innocent hillside fruit gave them an edge over the enemy. They found their night vision was vastly improved after eating bilberry jam so the Royal Air Force pushed for the preserve to become a core part of every fighter pilot's diet.
But as soon as the war was over the medicinal properties of these tiny fruits were almost forgotten.
In the decades since Hollywood has sought to change history by turning the heroics of Douglas Bader and his ilk into American successes. And the years have been equally unkind to the bilberry, overshadowed by American marketing. The bilberry has now lost its place in our ...