This is actually a book I read back in 2008, but with all the commemarations of the 70th anniversay of the Battle of Britain it seems like a good time to give a review of it.
The book had also been turned into a very good drama by the BBC, who interspersed the drama with interviews of Wellum taken today looking back.
The book details Wellum as a 19 year old pilot in the battle flying Spitfires. Covering his training, assignment to squadron, and then the description of what it was like as a pilot in these times.
They were tough times, hardly a chapter goes by without loss of pilots and you get the sense of what a close run thing the battle was - Britain was barely able to keep a supply of pilots to fly the planes.
Wellum himself survived 18 months of operations before being allowed to go back to a training role, this must be put against the life expectancy of weeks for a typical pilot.
A great read, truly in awe of these guys - and of course a good way to remember those not to have survived, giving their lives so that we can live ours freely.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment