The way we view – and portray – the men who fought in that conflict is more nuanced, and less romanticized, than it once was. The Second World War was a vast and brutal conflict that has taken seventy-five years to come to terms with. The Crew is written at a time when we can look back on our wartime achievements with justifiable pride, but also view them through a lens of sometimes critical analysis. Where real-life events did not quite match up to the cinematic demands for excitement, fictitious accounts like 633 Squadron entertained the baby-boomer generation with a fast-paced storyline and stirring soundtrack. They were led by Guy Gibson, a figure who fulfilled the traditional heroic role of a successful military leader. An intrepid band of airmen overcame strong German defences to achieve what had seemed impossible. At its heart, it contained all the elements necessary for a successful book and film. Arguably, the most famous is the The Dam Busters, a beguiling story of British technology at its most ingenious. The plethora of books and films about Bomber Command has tended to focus on events that easily capture the imagination. I wished the emphasis to be not on ‘war heroes’, whose exploits placed them head and shoulders above their comrades, but, rather, on ordinary men who did extraordinary things, and who have not previously attracted the attention of historians. In examining one such crew, it was my desire to represent the thousands of others who served quietly and bravely throughout the Second World War. The lives of these men became intertwined in the formation of a crew, each with its own characteristics and unique personality. They were all volunteers who exposed themselves to extraordinary dangers. They were trained thoroughly and then asked to perform extraordinary technical feats while packed into a flying metal tube. To Trish, long-suffering but ever supportiveĪn Invitation from the Publisher A Note from the Authorīomber Command drew young men from all over the Commonwealth, tens of thousands of them who thrilled at the thought of flying. (Science & Society Picture Library / Getty Images) 1943 (Photo by Haywood Magee/Picture Post/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)Īn Avro Lancaster heavy bomber seen from above during a Second World War bombing raid over Hamburg, Germany. Original Publication: Picture Post – 1437 – The Last Hour In A Lancaster – pub. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.Ī catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.įront cover image: : Sergeant John McKintosh of the RAF starts the engine of his Lancaster bomber after a painstaking check of the plane’s systems. The moral right of David Price to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988.Īll rights reserved. This is an Apollo book, first published in the UK in 2020 by Head of Zeus Ltd 'A remarkable insight into the bravery, determination and skill of British Bomber Command crews during WWII' Waterstones. 'A fascinating and fast-paced account of the exploits of an Avro Lancaster bomber crew from 97 Squadron RAF' The Herald. This book has a heart and soul' The Times. Price has given the bomber offensive a human face. 'A sensitive account of the bomber's life. The drama and anxiety of individual missions – to Kassel, Munich and Augsburg as well as Berlin – is evoked with thrilling immediacy while the military events and strategic decisions that drove the RAF's area bombing campaign against Nazi Germany are interwoven deftly with the narrative of the crew's operational careers. Gloucestershire-born bomb aimer Ken Cook, hard-bitten Australian pilot Jim Comans, Navigator Don Bowes, Upper Gunner George Widdis, Tail Gunner 'Jock' Bolland, Flight Engineer Ken Randle and Radio Operator Roy Woollford were seven ordinary young men living in extraordinary times, risking their lives in freedom's cause in the dark skies above Hitler's Reich.įrom their earliest beginnings – in places as far apart as a Cotswold village and the suburbs of Sydney – through the adventure of training in North America and the dread and danger of the forty-five bombing raids they flew with 97 Squadron, David Price describes the crew's wartime experiences with human sympathy allied to a secure technical understanding of one of the RAF's most iconic aircraft. The Crew, based on interviews with Ken Cook, the crew's sole surviving member, recounts the wartime exploits of the members of an Avro Lancaster crew between 1942 and the war's end. A moving tribute to the sacrifice and bravery of the fliers of RAF Bomber Command.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |