Holidaying On The Continent - Richard Munro

Launched in October, this is the story of the author's father, Jim Munro, who was bomb aimer with 460 Squadron RAAF. Shot down by a night fighter over Berlin only Jim and two other crew members, all badly injured, survive and end up as POWs in Stalag IVB (will be interesting to compare his experiences to those of Gus Officer below). Published by Australian Military History Publications, you can be sure this is a story that needed to be told.

http://www.munroconsulting.com.au/Holidaying_on_the_Continent_Order_Form.pdf

Six O'Clock Diamond - Gus Officer

This review has been a while coming for a variety of reasons including the usual excuse – I was busy (and, as I write this, no internet connection). Well, I was. However, more importantly, I admit I actually struggled to come up with a ‘theme’ for this review. For those of you who have read a number of my reviews either here on ABR or elsewhere you’ll know I try to give each review a theme or goal the respective book tries to meet. Besides not being able to give the review my full attention over the past month or so I couldn’t ‘pin’ anything on Gus Officer’s Six O’Clock Diamond – The Story of a Desert Harasser. Then it hit me. That was it. This book is what it says it is – the story of a flyer with 450 Squadron RAAF (The Desert Harassers). What you see is what you get … and that is the impression you get of Gus – open, honest, refreshing and just a little brash.

The first chapter is, as Gus’ son, John, told me, for the family. It details the extended Officer family heritage and, when you think about it, provides an idea, knowingly or not, of how many people could be affected through the loss of a family member fighting for his country. This opening is not the easiest to read as many names and family connections are mentioned and I have to admit I got lost on several occasions. What has to be remembered, though, is that Gus wrote his manuscript to record what he could of the family history and his wartime experiences. The record as it stands is invaluable.

Gus begins his service with the 4th Light Horse Regiment and very quickly we see his strong work ethic coupled with a rebellious streak that often came to the fore with respect to the privileges of rank. Finally getting his call up to the RAAF, Gus passes through ITS “reasonably well” before being posted to No. 5 EFTS Narromine to “start the flying game” in early 1941. Gus had a remarkable knack for names and he regularly rattles off the other chaps on the course which can lead to some interesting further research especially since he also provides occasional biographical details. Among the fairly standard hi-jinks you’d expect from lads in Tiger Moths, Gus manages to pass out of the course with a mark just short of an ‘above average’ rating. Moving on to Wirraways – clearly progressing down the fighter path – our hero completes numerous navigation exercises over country New South Wales. Many of his routes took him to/near towns I now live close to so being able to relate in that fashion was fascinating. Graduating as a sergeant – and noting some of the new officers in the course were no more qualified than him – Gus is packed off to the Middle East. Arriving in Egypt in October 1941 he is assigned to No. 71 OTU to fly Hurricanes.

Gus is quite critical of some of the ‘classist’ RAF types he meets but this is tempered by a veritable who’s who of the Desert Air Force many of whom he has the utmost respect for. He is also critical of some of the practices of the OTU but, all in all, he learns his craft as a fighter pilot … well, as much as an OTU can teach in clapped-out Hurricane Mk Is. He also manages, with a mate, to steal rations to supplement their meager diet and go absent without leave to visit his uncle in Gaza. Unfortunately, upon return, he realises he has missed a posting to an aircraft delivery unit and someone else has been sent in his place. A posting to the new air firing school at Bilbeis is quickly forthcoming in January ’42, however, and it is here Gus finds himself towing target drogues but still flying old Hurricanes – including a well-used Malta veteran. While he appreciates the accumulation of experience Gus is not a huge fan of target-towing and this is exacerbated after returning from a 48-hour leave (official) to find he’d again missed out on a posting. This time it was to an operational squadron. While life at Bilbeis was certainly eventful – and he made the most of it – Gus was understandably itching to get into the desert war.

A stint in Palestine and a return to Egypt, still flying Hurricanes for the various ‘schools’, eventually leads to a treasured posting to 450 Squadron RAAF and its Kittyhawks but not before attending his Harvard ‘conversion’ flight feeling ever so slightly the worse for wear from the night before – “In fact I was still drunk…”. Finally, in September 1942, after nine months in North Africa, Gus arrives at LG 91 and becomes a Desert Harasser.

Enjoying the ‘Pilots’ Mess’ – no separate sergeants’ and officers’ messes, an idea created by 3 Sqn RAAF that spread across the DAF – Gus settles into squadron life easily and is soon operational. His hours towing targets and his general natural flying ability come to the fore and he clearly fits in well – “My time with the squadron remains one of my life’s fondest memories.” He is heavily involved in bomber and fighter-bomber escort and also flies strafing and bombing sorties with the squadron.

However his time with 450 does not last long as he is shot down in early November – a promising operational career cut short. Wounded, and parachuting into the middle of a group of German soldiers, Gus is delivered to an Italian hospital tent at Mersa Matruh where, upon seeing the condition of his tent-mates, realises how lucky he was. Moving through a variety of lice-infested camps and POW ‘cages’, Gus and his fellow POWs (of who he provides wonderful detail) arrive in Tripoli for a fortnight before a harrowing journey to Naples in the hold of a ship. This is followed by a train ride – in cattle cars – to Bari on the Adriatic coast and ‘Campo Prigioneri di Guerra 75’.

Sadly, despite the privations of camp life, the officers and men are treated differently which justifiably makes Gus angry. While dealing with the terrible conditions and the rank ‘issue’ his injured leg and its regular swelling (resulting in hospital stays) typically rates hardly a mention.

Camp PG 85 becomes home in February 1943. Conditions are slightly improved but Gus and a mate decide to escape and steal an aircraft from a nearby airfield. They are re-captured after several days on the run. After the requisite time in the ‘cooler’ – shared with cheery South Africans – Gus moves onto Campo PG 57 north of Trieste. Here he finds many Australians and New Zealanders and camp life – well described - continues until the Italian surrender. Any hopes of freedom are quickly dashed when the Germans arrive and bundle the prisoners onto a train for a 10-day journey to Stalag IVB. There Gus stays until sometime in April 1945, after 906 days of captivity, the camp is liberated by Cossacks on horseback. His time in the German camp is a fairly standard account of life as a POW but it is full of a lot of detail of his fellow prisoners and their activities which makes for interesting reading.

With the Russians now manning the guard towers Gus and some other prisoners decide to head west. Their travels bear witness to the brutal Russian occupation, the utter destruction of German infrastructure and the complete desperation of the German people. They eventually meet up with some Americans and deftly avoid the transit camps full of ex-POWs before a Dakota flight gets them to France, a Norseman delivers them to the coast and another Dak delivers the former prisoners to England on May 10, 1945 – roughly two years and seven months after Gus was shot down. This is not the end of Gus’ travels though as he spends several months in the UK before returning to Australia. Happily, he settles into civilian life and works for a bank all over country Victoria while studying accountancy. Time away from family proves too much and, after a trying time working in Melbourne, Gus starts work with an accounting firm in Horsham in mid-1949 where his life, love and family blossoms.

I commented above that I struggled with the first chapter of this book. To be honest, and in keeping with the honesty displayed throughout the book, it took me a bit longer to get into. Early on I found myself cringing at some of the grammar. The style of writing also threw me but this was my, perhaps misguided, journalism training coming out in me. As I read deeper into the book I realised what the publishers (Gus’ sons) had done. They had taken the manuscript written by Gus and, as they mention in the book, given it a very occasional tweak. The end result is a book that has maintained the integrity of Gus’ writing and in doing so has provided the perfect record of his life. Gus pulls no punches and writes how he saw it. He is opinionated, at times disagreeable but always refreshingly open and honest. I don’t think I have a read a book that better paints a picture of a man. You come away from the book feeling as though you’ve just sat down to several beers with Gus and he’s done all the talking while you sat there letting your beer go warm.

SOCD is not high literature but, importantly, it doesn’t claim to be and was never intended to be so. It doesn’t need to be. It is out there and, like Gus, it will make an impression on you from the moment you start reading. Again like Gus, the book just gets down to business and tells it like it is/was.

This is a beautifully-presented book and with three sections of photos is well-illustrated. The appendices are very-readable and provide surprising detail about the day Gus was shot down. I have no idea if Woolhouse Press has or will publish further books but they’ve set a very high benchmark with SOCD.

I don’t know how well the book has sold but John Officer indicated in a recent phone call that they were very happy with the result and rightly so. A direct link to SOCD's website is accessible by clicking the cover in the right hand column of this page. Alternatively, just click here - http://www.sixoclockdiamond.com.au/

Reviewed copy published by Woolhouse Press in 2008.
ISBN 978-0-646-50250-2

Hyland's Bookshop

Neil and the team at Hyland's were always helpful and friendly when we lived in Melbourne and I had the chance to pop in. I also recently received two nice emails after ordering A.G. Dudgeon's The Luck Of The Devil (to accompany his Hidden Victory and Wings Over North Africa). I have not visited a more extensive collection of military books in Australia and their RAF and Commonwealth aircrew titles are a fine mix of new and older titles.

If you're hunting books that are perhaps hard-to-get or are just after the latest from your favourite military publishers or authors, I recommend keeping Hyland's in mind. You can also search their catalogue online:
http://www.hylandsbookshop.com.au/

Bomber Barron - NOV 5: NOW ON SALE!

New Zealand author Richard Stowers, author of Bloody Gallipoli and Waikato Troopers, has just released his new book about Wing Commander Fraser Barron. Barron flew 79 raids over Europe before his death in a collision over Le Mans, France, in May 1944. His stellar wartime career saw him rise from Sergeant to Wing Commander and receive his multiple honours in just three years of service.

Fraser was an outstanding bomber captain whose skill, bravery, determination and complete disregard for his personal safety were paramount. He was one of those young airmen who never showed fear and didn't know when to call it quits.

The book consists of 156 pages in a landscape format with more than 80 photographs and illustrations. Available direct from the author Bomber Barron is NZ$35 plus NZ$4 postage within New Zealand or NZ$15 for airmail to Australia. Please contact Richard by email for postage charges to other countries.

Mr Richard Stowers
62b Matangi Road
RD4
Hamilton 3284
New Zealand

rstowersATxtra.co.nz (replace AT with @ of course)
+64 7 8566133

Under A Bomber's Moon

A new release from Exisle Publishing this book takes the reader to the deadly night skies over Germany as experienced by a Kiwi navigator and a German night fighter pilot. Well worth a look if you're after something new and beyond the norm. http://www.exislepublishing.com/process/shop/productView.html?itemId=12943

Chasing Shadows - Stephen Lewis with Bob Cowper

There’s something to be said about being different. Do it well and you’re hailed as a visionary. Do it badly and, well, it all falls in a heap and is appreciated by very few for the brave attempt it was. There’s nothing wrong with being different at all but it is a particular risk if you are doing it commercially. Will it work? This was my first impression of Chasing Shadows when it arrived in the mail. At first glance it is immediately different – not the ‘expected’ paperback dimensions at all. However that’s where any fleeting doubts vanish because once you open this book you’ll see it’s not just the dimensions that are different – everything is handled with a fresh approach … and it works.

The subject is at once intriguing. A good-looking Australian night fighter ace who crashes in the desert but goes on to fly Beaufighters and Mosquitos with considerable success while twice being awarded the DFC, marrying his sweetheart and earning the right to be a member of the Late Arrivals and Caterpillar clubs. Such a story deserves to be told and told well. Fortunately, this Lewis/Cowper collaboration does just that.

The young Bob Cowper grows up in semi-rural South Australia and has a fairly typical childhood for the time. He leaves school at 16 but joins the RAAF on his eighteenth birthday. With initial training completed in Western Australia, he sails to Canada where he learns to fly the Harvard before becoming a Pilot Officer at 19 and joining 60 OTU at East Fortune in Scotland. We find him in late 1941 flying Defiants before his first operational posting to Ballyhalbert, Northern Ireland with 153 Squadron. He is perhaps lucky to achieve this ‘quiet’ posting rather than a baptism of fire as he has the chance to hone his flying skills – skills he will very much have to call upon in the years to come. Fortunately the squadron is re-equipped with Beaufighters and one F/S Bill Watson arrives to replace Bob’s Defiant gunner. The chemistry is immediately obvious. Watson, older, agreeable in nature but with sharp opinions in debate becomes the source of much hilarity throughout the book and the strength of his character is conveyed very well.

The other major relationship Bob develops during his time in Northern Ireland is with his future wife Kay. Seeing her ‘Australia’ shoulder flash in the Ballyhalbert Ops room, he introduces himself with a “Hello Australia” … and draws a shy response. He persists and romance blossoms. He does, however, have a hard time meeting her friends as Watson would regularly ‘brief’ him on his various conquests of said girls!

Yearning for something worthwhile to do to assist the war effort – “Nothing’s bloody well happened again” – the Beaufighter crew volunteer for a Malta posting which they are subsequently offered. The January 1943 flight is uneventful until leaving Gibraltar supplied with incorrect headings and drift calculations. Unable to work out their actual drift due to heavy cloud, the boys become hopelessly lost before force-landing in the Sahara. Forced to burn everything they can't carry they begin to walk to friendly territory. On the way they ‘collect’ a couple of ‘Arabs’ (dubbed “new friend with gun” and “new friend with bloody big sword”) who at first follow them and then engage them with rifle fire before finding the boys’ discarded cigarettes and realising they are “Englessi”. Here, despite the desperate situation they find themselves in, Watson is at his humourous best and the intelligence and good-nature of the two airmen win the desert people over.

When they finally arrive in Malta, it doesn’t take the Bob and Watson long to open their account in the night skies over the island. Island life and its hardships are well described. Barely six months after his desert escapade Bob, flying with another observer due to Watson being sick, shoots down a Ju88 which explodes and takes the Beau with it. The observer, P/O AW Farquharson DFM, is killed and Bob, at 21 years old, barely makes it out of the doomed aircraft. Picked up by a hospital ship the next day, he returns to active flying six nights later but suffers recurring problems from his rapid exit from the disintegrating Beaufighter.

The pair return to the UK in August of 1943 having well and truly earned their rest tour. Bob’s input to the text of the book is valuable and the detail he provides combines well with Stephen’s ability to blend everything together to form a seamless timeline. Case-in-point – training new pilots on Merlin-powered Beaufighter Mk IIs. There is barely any rest during this posting and it reads as well as the ‘action’ sequences with Stephen working together flying, marriage, parties and hi-jinks to create perhaps the best account of a rest tour I have come across.

This is all foundation though because Cowper and Watson are reunited with a posting to 456 Squadron RAAF in May 1944. The experienced crew must have been a godsend as the squadron re-equipped with Mosquitos and worked up for the Normandy invasion. This was to be an interesting time for the squadron. D-Day onwards was a stellar period for 456 – particularly for the Cowper crew – despite being commanded by an Australian Wing Commander who, while successful in his leadershp, was a bit too ‘gung-ho’ for everyone’s liking. Immense detail is provided of Cowper and Watson’s successes with combat reports and logbook extracts being provided (more on the illustrations later).

At 22, Bob becomes a father in November 1944 soon after returning from a terrible night’s flying over Arnhem – a flight that shook the experienced crew to the core. Bob is tired from a long war but his little family brings him joy even on the coldest days when the bitter cold in their tiny house freezes the pipes and turns the clothes on the line to ice. He continues flying intruder trips over Germany but the war’s end brings frustration at not being able to return to Australia and, when finally being able to travel, having to do so separately to his girls.

As in war, peace brings success for Bob and Kay. The grow their family and prove handy cattle breeders and racehorse owners. Happily, Bill Watson is not forgotten and his tumultuous post-war years are well-documented and match the long years of peace the Cowpers experience.

Chasing Shadows uses a very effective literary device in its first chapter – the detailing of an exciting/harrowing experience in Bob’s flying career. This really draws the reader in. Tim Vigors uses it well in his book Life’s Too Short To Cry when he opens his story by baling out of his burning Buffalo – the end of his operational flying career. Stephen begins CS with the Sahara forced-landing and, through the beautiful use of language, captures exactly what I imagine it must have been like to be lost over a dark sea and with fuel rapidly diminishing - the self-doubting begins, smooth running engines suddenly sound a bit rough, pinpricks of light are beacons of hope and the fuel gauge seems to drop like a stone. Admittedly, Stephen had Bob handy to recount this episode in detail but to put it down on paper effectively and generate trepidation in the reader is truly something else. Fortunately, the writing continues at this level throughout and is well-supported.

Well-supported? Indeed. The use of illustrations in CS extends beyond the ‘simple’ use of relevant photos of aircraft, the Cowpers, Watson and related subjects. The effort has been made to include black-and-white maps and photos of memorabilia like forage caps, medals, documents, period advertisements, newspaper clippings, badges and even telegrams. The collection included within the pages of CS is superb. There is not a two-page spread throughout the book that is not illustrated in some way. Further detail is provided by separate paragraphs or pages which provide context or an interesting biography of a person featured in the text. These ‘sidebars’ do not interrupt the flow of the main body of text but they certainly add to the overall story. I found myself unable to pass them up until the end of each chapter so my reading of the main text had regular ‘interruptions’. A more disciplined reader will find the text flows nicely!

Stephen Lewis runs a publishing company in Adelaide and has made a fine effort at writing and presenting the story of Bob Cowper. We can be grateful he took the time to produce this outstanding piece of work and we can be grateful Bob saw fit to tell his story. So many of his colleagues never did.

This book was sent to me as a review copy signed by Stephen and Bob. It is a thick 160+ pages long and is finished most attractively. The only thing I will mention with regard to its production is that the inside-front and inside-back covers are brown and face white pages. I have found, possibly due to our recent move, that the brown has transferred/rubbed onto the white pages in places so I strongly recommend you place a piece of paper between the two to prevent this happening. It takes nothing away from the book itself but if you like to look after your books like me…

CS is available from Stephen’s printing business. See the ad in the right margin of ABR or click on the following – http://www.digitalprintaustralia.com/bookstore/non-fiction/biographies/chasing-shadows.html?vmcchk=1

Reviewed copy published by Digital Print Australia in 2007.
ISBN 1-921207-15-9

Jack Davenport, Beaufighter Leader - Kristen Alexander

If you ever get into collecting sooner or later you’ll end up with favourite works or examples of a genre. My book collection, while not layered with rare first editions, extends beyond aviation. Naturally I have my favourite fiction authors and avidly await their next instalments. Looking over my shelves as I type this I can see numerous books by Clive Cussler, Tom Clancy, Jack Du Brul, Alexander Fullerton, Patrick O’Brian, Douglas Reeman, Patrick Robinson etc etc. My wife, a much faster reader than me, is building her numbers of Kathy Reichs, Di Morrissey and Jodi Picoult, among others. The same applies to our non-fiction titles, namely the aviation ones. Over the years, I’ve developed small piles of Brian Cull, Steve Darlow, Lex McAulay and Mark Lax to name a few and am always excited to hear of new titles being published. To this list of favourite authors I can now add Kristen Alexander. With the release of her second book, Jack Davenport, Beaufighter Leader, Kristen has firmly established herself as a quality writer shedding new light on the exploits of Australian wartime airmen.

Jack Davenport had a childhood in country and metropolitan New South Wales that is largely familiar to the men who fought in the Second World War. Living through the Depression, the Davenport family was perhaps more unfortunate financially than the norm with bailiffs making their entrance on more than one occasion and numerous changes of address before things began to settle down in the second half of the 1930s. A natural athlete and a good student through sheer determination, Jack’s leadership ability begins to appear when he is made class prefect. His ambition and application sees steady progress within the ranks of the Commonwealth Bank and he readily accepts additional responsibility while in the militia. Joining the RAAF, he is initially mustered as an observer but is told if he does well he will be reassigned for pilot training. The Davenport determination steps in once again and Jack graduates first in his course … and then goes flying.

Now, you’d assume any young bloke learning to fly would want to progress to fighters right? Perhaps, but not Jack. Modestly claiming he ‘scraped’ through Tiger Moths with a first-in-class pass of 88 per cent, Jack is chasing a challenge and succeeds in being assigned to multi-engined training. Being responsible for other people beyond himself appeals to Jack and this theme, which first appeared at school, continues throughout the book. There is a reason why ‘Leader’ is mentioned in the title!

Anyway, training on Ansons in Canada follows where Jack is again recognised for his leadership abilities and also begins his passion for helping the community. Arriving in England and making the most of the requisite stay in Bournemouth, Jack is posted to 14 OTU for conversion to Hampdens. A woefully inadequate aircraft for bombing mainland Europe, the Hampden was filling the gaps in Bomber Command while the squadrons waited for large numbers of the new heavies – Stirlings, Halifaxes and Lancasters. Inadequate as she may have been, there wasn’t time to wait for something better. Besides, Jack was one of many fine men who flew her and was able to get the best out of the Hampden. With less than 19 hours on type – and an almost fatal spin in which Jack ordered the crew to bale out but stayed with the aircraft when he realised his navigator had not heard the message – Jack and his crew are assigned to 455 Squadron RAAF.

Jack’s beginnings with Bomber Command are not the greatest but the ‘sprog’ pilot with the ‘sprog’ crew soon gains in confidence and experience and his skill as a pilot is evident. After several ‘shaky dos’ they are perhaps lucky when 455 Squadron is transferred to Coastal Command – lucky in terms of the enforced rest and removal from the Ruhr’s defences as opposed to a lucky transfer. What lies ahead for Jack and his colleagues is torpedo training and the risky operations any torpedo crew will of course face. 455 doesn’t have long to perfect its new-found abilities before it, in conjunction with 144 Squadron RAF, is ordered to Russia to help defend the Arctic convoys. Now a senior pilot with the squadron, Jack’s experiences traveling to, and serving in, Russia are eye-opening and a very valuable record. While not much was achieved militarily, these flights to Russia will forever be remembered.

Returning from Russia in January 1943, Jack meets his future wife which adds another ‘angle’ to the unfolding story. Flying continues with Jack leading detachments and commanding the squadron as needed (getting a taste for command while the current CO is hospitalised). In a very short time, he had come a long way. With the loss of close friends and because of his senior position, Jack struggles to write letters to the next-of-kin. He feels the loss of his friends and colleagues keenly and, through happy (for want of a better word) circumstance, is able to commemorate those lost with a moving ceremony at the Dundee War Memorial – a ceremony that is still fondly remembered. This is a most moving part of the book and the culmination of a chapter that analyses Jack’s growth as a leader.

Tour-expired, Jack instructs at 1 Torpedo Training Unit where he has an instrumental effect on lowering the accident rate – another example of him taking an innate interest in the men under his command. Now Acting Squadron Leader Jack Davenport DFC, and with more time on his hands, his romantic life comes to the fore and his relationship with one Sheila McDavid grows ever stronger. A proposal is accepted and arrangements made. A posting to command 455 Squadron arrives and the Beaufighter makes its entrance en force.

You get the feeling Jack’s first tour is almost ‘marking time’. It is the foundation for which everything is built on and pales in comparison to what is accomplished during Jack’s second tour – even with the trip to Russia. Rated as exceptional by 1TTU and at just 23 taking command of 455, Jack, like his beloved squadron, comes of age. Re-equipping with Beaufighters, the squadron is a mix of experienced anti-shipping types (particularly the two excellent flight commanders Lloyd Wiggins and Colin Milson) and new boys but Jack and his flight commanders work hard to instill discipline and professionalism into the crews and, in the end, this pays off with the Leuchars Strike Wing (455 with 489 Sqn RNZAF) earning an enviable reputation among the labyrinthine Norwegian fjords. Never one to rest on his laurels, Jack, while bedding in the ‘new’ 455, marries Sheila. This is where the author’s writing shines. She gives the wedding ceremony and anecdotes from the honeymoon (low-flying mice on nuisance raids) as much importance as Jack’s military achievements. This firmly rounds out the understanding of the man, his life and character.

With 455 operational again, the Beaufighter crews waste no time getting among the enemy shipping. The attacks are well documented and largely successful although not without some controversy which is well-handled by the author (friendly fire). Importantly, Jack’s role in the development of rocket attack tactics against surface vessels is well-documented. Really, a better pilot could not have been chosen – the consummate professional always keen to improve his already considerable abilities. As always during this frenetic time (before and after the invasion of Europe), Jack is close to his crews and well respected in return. The inevitable losses are moving and Jack’s efforts to rescue a colleague and subsequently earn the George Medal are told with typical detail and just a hint of modesty – a reflection of the man himself.

The ace ship-buster’s success and influence on anti-shipping tactics led to a role as operations planner for the Group, a role he took on with typical dedication and care for those he was sending into the cauldron. War’s end sees his eventual return to Australia where the now young family settled and Jack began his work in industry. Applying the same drive and ability as he had shown in the service, Jack became one of Australia’s most respected business leaders – his achievements in industry perhaps only equaled by his commitment to his family and the greater community. His passing left a void that could never really be filled. He was mourned by several generations of Australians many of whom had the privilege of knowing a truly great man.

I mentioned in the review for Kristen’s first book, Clive Caldwell, Air Ace, that the author had developed a style capable of providing immense detail in a very readable way. I also commented how well I thought this style could be applied to a lesser-known personality. Happily, my guess was correct. This book is so easy to read - devour - and yet, as you can see from the ‘summary’ above, there is so much going on and so much to get across that it could easily have come off the rails. That it didn’t is testament to Kristen’s ability to keep a tight rein on everything – operations, Jack’s character, romance, the context of the conflict. Despite one technical detail hiccup, the writing is precise and Kristen has certainly found a style that not only conveys her research (again, great endnotes and variety of sources) but also makes it easy for a wider audience to be drawn into the world of Jack Davenport.

This book will appeal to aviation historians and enthusiasts keen to learn about 455 Squadron, its members and the Davenport family (Jack had two brothers who also flew … there’s a story in itself) as much as it will attract a more general audience of readers looking for a bit of realistic adventure. With an excellent cover typical of A&U (how often do you see a Hampden on the cover?) and three sections of brilliant photos this is a well-presented book and the perfect way to honour one of our great leaders.

I noted with some surprise a quote from Sir Arvi Parbo - patriarch of the Australia's modern mining industry - on the back cover. I met Sir Arvi in the late '80s when he was Chairman (or equivalent) of Western Mining Corporation of which my Dad was a senior geologist. At the time, of course, being 11 or 12 years old, I was only just getting into the aviation of the war and it would be years before I heard of Jack Davenport. The fact that I met and admired someone who knew him has, as I hint at above, only just come to my attention and I can't help but wonder what Sir Arvi might have thought if he knew the little kid in front of him was into aeroplanes from, then, forty years ago.

I was sent this book as a review copy but due to the move etc, have only just been able to sit down to write this review. JDBL can be purchased direct from the author at http://www.alexanderfaxbooks.com.au/ or is easily available online from a variety of sources. Do yourself a favour and invest in a copy. You will not be disappointed.

Reviewed copy published by Allen & Unwin in 2009.
ISBN 978--775-776-7