Procopius Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 I was pondering what titles a list of the best books about the Battle of Britain written by participants might include. There are some obvious inclusions, like First Light by Geoffrey Wellum or Gun Button to Fire by Tom Neil, but what are some of your other recommendations, and why? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Boak Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 The Last Enemy by Richard Hillary. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Dapple Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 I very much enjoyed Ian Gleed's "Arise to Conquer"; it's not exactly reliable for dates and some details but I thought he did convey the excitement and terror of air fighting very well. Cheers, Stew 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogsbody Posted August 7, 2018 Share Posted August 7, 2018 Not a published book, but I do have this small booklet. It was printed in my home province of Nova Scotia, some time during the war. There is no date on it. Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Procopius Posted August 7, 2018 Author Share Posted August 7, 2018 3 hours ago, dogsbody said: Not a published book, but I do have this small booklet. It was printed in my home province of Nova Scotia, some time during the war. There is no date on it. Chris Is that not the Air Ministry pamphlet on the Battle? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted August 7, 2018 Share Posted August 7, 2018 I once bought / received a copy of the novel "The Hardest Day" - The Battle of Britain 18 August 1940 by Alfred Price. Its probably not the best overall campaign piece of work as it mainly concentrates on one date in time, however its not bad. Having re-read your post you may be after books written by participants rather than historians. I'll give Mr./Dr. Price the benefit of the doubt that he may belong to the latter category. Cheers (and good thread)... Dave 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Procopius Posted August 7, 2018 Author Share Posted August 7, 2018 12 minutes ago, Rabbit Leader said: I once bought / received a copy of the novel "The Hardest Day" - The Battle of Britain 18 August 1940 by Alfred Price. Its probably not the best overall campaign piece of work as it mainly concentrates on one date in time, however its not bad. Having re-read your post you may be after books written by participants rather than historians. I'll give Mr./Dr. Price the benefit of the doubt that he may belong to the latter category. Cheers (and good thread)... Dave It's a great book, as is his Battle of Britain Day, about 15 September, but yes, it's not a memoir. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Law Posted August 7, 2018 Share Posted August 7, 2018 (edited) Group Captain Alan C.Deere. 'Nine Lives'. I seem to have a first addition of this. My favourite modern book is 'Dennis Knights Battle of Britain Sketchbook'. Then there are the 'Battle of Britain combat Archive' series. This is an on going day by day record of the battle. Edited August 7, 2018 by Greg Law 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Boak Posted August 7, 2018 Share Posted August 7, 2018 I would add David Crook's Spitfire PIlot, and Roger Hall's Clouds of Fear (recently republished as Spitfire Pilot, presumably as a more saleable title). The latter is far from the usual combat memoir, but all the more impressive for that. I understood that Deere's Nine Lives was ghost written, but would appreciate the truth of that. It's sadly true that many such books are, which doesn't make them valueless but unlikely to provide deep insight. I do know that Beamont was later dismissive of his early biography. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pauls9cb Posted August 7, 2018 Share Posted August 7, 2018 For my sins, my study shelves sag under the weight of a variety of BoB memoirs and biographies, amongst which are: Tally Ho - Bob Foster; One of the Few - Johnny Kent; A Willingness to Die - Brian Kingcombe; Hurricane Combat - Ken Mackenzie; Fighter Pilot - Bob Doe; Spirit of the Blue - Peter Ayerst; Glorious Summer Laddie Lucas & Johnny Johnson. Of these (and others), I think I found the first 2 perhaps the more informative, with many of them showing how the passage of time sometimes confuses the actual timing of some of the events described. This is perhaps unsurprising in view of how long ago all this occurred and how detailed the internet has allowed more recent research to progress. The anorak pit is probably waiting for all os us. I also enjoyed the view from the other side through Ulrich Steinhilper's Spitfire on my Tail. I'm sure there are many with different views/perspectives. Paul 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogsbody Posted August 7, 2018 Share Posted August 7, 2018 13 hours ago, Procopius said: Is that not the Air Ministry pamphlet on the Battle? It may be a re-print for the Colonies. All it says about it is on the bottom of the back cover. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Russell Posted August 14, 2018 Share Posted August 14, 2018 I would second Tally Ho as being pretty good. Peter Townsend's Duel of Eagles is as much about others' experiences as his own but is quite interesting, as is Keith Park's eponymous autobiography which covers a lot more than the Battle of Britain. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ventora3300 Posted August 14, 2018 Share Posted August 14, 2018 How about 'The First and The Last' by Adolf Galland - I must read it again but it did contain his view of the Battle of Britain from the other side. Also, the internal machinations of the Luftwaffe were interesting and he seems to have been at the centre of the key Western Front activities after the BoB. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fightersweep Posted August 14, 2018 Share Posted August 14, 2018 (edited) Second vote for Al Deere's "Nine LIves". First read when I was twelve years old after borrowing it from the school library. No idea how many times I've read it since. Also helped by living close to Southend Airport (Rochford Aerodrome) and my grandparents lived on the edge of the old Hornchurch aerodrome, so all familiar locations for me. It's just a great read too. Also, Geoffrey Page's "Tale of a Guinea pig" is also a great book. Best regards; Steve Edited August 14, 2018 by fightersweep Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinback Posted August 15, 2018 Share Posted August 15, 2018 Don't forget "Fly For Your Life " ! - this is about Bob Stanford Tuck and is definitely worth a read 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seahawk Posted August 15, 2018 Share Posted August 15, 2018 I'll just toss in Sandy Johnstone's Spitfire Into War. Recreated from diaries of a pilot on 602 Squadron and still in a daily format which gives immediacy and some idea of the tempo of things. Also a number of incidental details for modellers on things like addition of armour, rear view mirrors, constant-speed props, cannon armament. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PLC1966 Posted August 15, 2018 Share Posted August 15, 2018 Blimey, there are a lot of books missing from my collection... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fightersweep Posted August 15, 2018 Share Posted August 15, 2018 There's also "Paddy" Life and times of Wing Commander Paddy Barthropp". A great read and also very entertaining autobiography. Having met Paddy Barthropp a few times, I can say with certainty that his unique character comes through in his writing. He was quite a card with a very interesting life story to tell. "Dizzy" Allen's book "Ten Fighter Boys" is also a good, frank read. HMSO also published several little books based on transcripts of contemporary interview with aircrew, some Battle of Britain types. It's doesn't credit who the interviewees are, but most are easy to work out from their stories. Al Deere, for instance, recounts the rescue mission he escorted of 74 Squadron's CO from France on 23rd May 1940. Steve 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Procopius Posted August 15, 2018 Author Share Posted August 15, 2018 48 minutes ago, fightersweep said: There's also "Paddy" Life and times of Wing Commander Paddy Barthropp". A great read and also very entertaining autobiography. Having met Paddy Barthropp a few times, I can say with certainty that his unique character comes through in his writing. He was quite a card with a very interesting life story to tell. "Dizzy" Allen's book "Ten Fighter Boys" is also a good, frank read. I have a very early US edition of Ten Fighter Boys, but haven't read Barthropp's book (though I've wanted to). I understand he's very critical of Fighter Command? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhaselden Posted August 15, 2018 Share Posted August 15, 2018 Wellum's "First Light" is my personal favourite but I'd also strongly recommend Jim Bailey's "The Sky Suspended" which is unusual because Bailey was a Defiant pilot. It's a small volume but I thoroughly enjoyed it. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Procopius Posted August 15, 2018 Author Share Posted August 15, 2018 6 minutes ago, mhaselden said: I'd also strongly recommend Jim Bailey's "The Sky Suspended" which is unusual because Bailey was a Defiant pilot. It's a small volume but I thoroughly enjoyed it. And purchased! Thanks for the tip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sprue Posted September 5, 2018 Share Posted September 5, 2018 I would recommend Lonely Warrior by Jean Offenberg I think its a classic. It tells the story of a Belgian fighter pilot who escaped to Britain and carried on fighting. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beard Posted September 26, 2018 Share Posted September 26, 2018 How about Brian Lane's Spitfire. Perhaps not really a memoir as it was written at the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pauls9cb Posted September 26, 2018 Share Posted September 26, 2018 Can't disagree with all the suggestions above, some of which I don't have. Just a couple of comments. I recently re-read Alan Deere's "Nine Lives" for research reasons and found it a weel written and compelling account of his early career over France and in the BoB. A worthy addition. The other thing that occurred to me along the lines of Adolf Galland's book was "Spitfire on my Tail" by Ulrich Steinhilper which stood out for me since he was not perhaps one of the most famous Jagdwaffe pilots but, in a way, his observations are perhaps less sellf-serving as some. Paul 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GREG DESTEC Posted September 26, 2018 Share Posted September 26, 2018 Try Spitfire Squadron. It is not written by any one person but it is edited by David Guthrie. Each short chapter is accounts by individuals who flew in a Spitfire Squadron between 1940 and 1941. The book is only 142 pages long but each account or chapter of each individual is quite powerful. My copy is a Corgie paperback from 1976 catalogue no. 0 552 10326 8. Also perhaps more obviously Richard Hillary's The Last Enemy as it gives an authentic flavour if that's the right word of the era. Cheers Greg 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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