Casemate UK Battle of Berlin: Failed to Return - various authors

[Paul A H]

Battle of Berlin

Failed to Return

by Steve Bond, Steve Darlow, Sean Feast, Andrew Macdonald, Robert Owen, Nicole Russell and Howard Sandall, published by Fighting High Publishing Ltd

 

 

As dusk fell over RAF Grimsby on the night of 3 September 1943, twenty-two Lancasters of 100 Squadron slipped into the night sky, bound for Berlin - the 'Big City'. Twenty aircraft returned safely the following morning, while two - Y-Yorker and N-Nan - were never seen or heard from again. Aboard N-Nan was Air Gunner John Hayton, just twenty years old and one of over 55,000 aircrew of Bomber Command who made the ultimate sacrifice during the war with Nazi Germany. This book tells the story of a handful of those thousands of young men who climbed aboard their aircraft and never returned. The authors have drawn down on a rich mixture of official records, personal documents and testimony from the families of the airmen who were killed or captured while serving their country. 

 

 

My tutor at university once told me that it was impossible to understand the impact of the Holocaust until you understood what was lost; thousands of communities and their culture, art, literature and society all wiped out in the space of a few short years. This book helps to make the same contribution to those seeking to understand the sacrifice of the men of Bomber Command. 55,000 is a number. A number cannot tell you what it was like in the hallway of 11 Athelsan Walk in Welwyn Garden City when Charles Hayton received the telegram informing him that his son was missing in action. Nor can it communicate the anguish of countless families whose loved ones' remains were never recovered or who didn't even have a known crash site. This book makes a valuable contribution to its subject by eschewing the facts and figures of most works of military history, focussing instead on the human impact of the war fought over the skies of central Europe. 

 

Conclusion

 

This book is a valuable addition to any collection of works on the history of Bomber Command. It does not seek to provide a comprehensive history of Bomber Command and nor is it intended to provide a rich source of material for modellers. This book will, however, provide plenty of inspiration to those interested in the subject with its tales of heroism and sacrifice. 

 

Review sample courtesy of