I blame Ron Cundy

I am always on the lookout for someone to blame when it comes to my apparent inability to not go searching for new or previously unheard of books to buy or add to the wish list. I mean, it's only fair...

It occurred to me that while I can blame my wife, friends and family I can also land some squarely at the feet of a former Kittyhawk pilot. Ron Cundy, author of the magic A Gremlin On My Shoulder, is this pilot. Although I read his book about three years ago the references within its pages continue to resonate with me today (as well as his exploits). RC, an Australian, briefly flew Hurricanes in the UK before joining No 260 Squadron RAF in North Africa. His desert flying led to the award of a DFM and DFC although you would be hard-pressed to realise it in the book given the modest nature of the man and his writing.

This modesty, however, means he gives a lot of credit to other fine men ahead of himself. Two of the men who particularly stand out are his CO - the gloriously-named, Battle of Britain veteran Osgood Villiers 'Pedro' Hanbury DSO DFC* - and the baby-faced Canadian ace James Francis 'Stocky' Edwards DFM DFC*. Both obviously were close friends of RC and had a profound effect on his life in the desert.

Both had a profound effect on me too as I read so I decided to look into them further. As these things go, I am often distracted from such tasks by other fascinating aircrew but I at least noted that JFE had written a biography with a chap called Michael Lavigne. Kittyhawk Pilot was added to my wish-list and promptly pushed to the back of my head as something that I would eventually stumble across. Michael Lavigne, however, was very much at the forefront of my attention when I discovered he had written, with JFE, two 'bibles' about Canadians in the desert - Hurricanes Over The Sands and Kittyhawks Over The Sands. The period when I began lusting after these thick, A4-format hardbacks happened to be mid-2008 - and I spent most of 2009 unemployed after being made redundant. My investigations had determined these books were hard to find and necessarily pricey so, like Kittyhawk Pilot, they were kept at the back of my mind but ‘refreshed’ as I made long-distance enquiries through the wonderful people at Comox Air Force Museum in Canada as they seemed to be the only seller of the books.

This correspondence led to the eventual purchase of these two books and they arrived, after three months at sea, to a rapturous welcome and much joy. Starting a new and great job in early 2010 certainly added to the enjoyment as did an automatic email from Abebooks informing me it had found a copy of Kittyhawk Pilot within my (lowish) price range.

2010 was indeed a red-letter year as Grub Street released (or at least that's when I was made aware of it) Pedro: the life and death of fighter ace Osgood Villiers Hanbury, DSO, DFC and bar by Rhoderick Jones. I managed to contain my excitement - well, my credit card reflex - until just this month when Abebooks again came through with an affordable copy (less than A$20) and the book arrived on my doorstep last week. On top of all that I learned Vintage Wings of Canada fly their Kittyhawk in JFE's colours and even sell a t-shirt...

So, from the humble beginnings of reading the self-effacing biography of a truly great pilot and writer, to the discovery, 'chase' and final success in finding copies of these books, it has been a journey of three years. While, in the great scheme of things, I haven't devoted a lot of time and energy to finding these books, it's been most enjoyable and included a few doses of serendipity. The icing on the cake will be when I finally get the chance to read them one of these days! In the meantime, I can look at them on the shelf, leaf through their pages filled with fascination, remember the path that led me to them and think about the man who is responsible for it all. It's all your fault, Ron Cundy ... thank you.

A Gremlin On My Shoulder - Ron Cundy DFC, DFM, MID

First impressions of this book is that there's not a lot of pages which might make you turn to something else on the shelf that appears to offer better value for money. However, don't let the 170-odd pages fool you (and if you're a Desert Air Force nut like me you can't go passed it). This is a seriously good book and is well written with lashings of flying, humour and insight.

Ron Cundy grew up dirt poor in the depression. He often attended school barefoot but received a good education thanks partly to the sacrifices of his WWI veteran father and mother. His first job was with the New South Wales state government but when war came he was pretty keen to join up. His initial assessment, due to his below par maths marks, was an "O" for observer - a rating he was pretty distressed with. However, a chance meeting with a colleague, now an RAAF clerk, fixed this with one stroke of a pen...

Initial training and flying was in Australia before attending further training in Canada. Cundy then served a short time in the UK with a Hurricane squadron before his sense of adventure led to him volunteering to fly in Russia. When issued with tropical gear, he knew something was up but was still a little surprised to be headed to North Africa. There, he joined 260 Sqn on Hurris after, in his words, being lucky not to have to fly a Hurri across Africa to Cairo from the west coast (a fellow pilot was told to follow the trail of burnt out aircraft if he got lost). Cundy is realistic about his combat flying abilities and freely admits the first enemy aircraft he fired at stood little chance of being hit. He is also quite critical of the lack of training in this area and how under-prepared he was. This criticism aside, what comes through here is his very understated writing style. He gives full credit to the great men he flew with, and against, but doesn't dwell on his own actions. Indeed, he reports the many sorties he went on from his perspective of being a part of the bigger picture, rather than "I did this and then I did that". However, through this modesty, you can read/see and feel him becoming more capable as a fighter pilot. After 260 switches to Kittyhawks, he really seems to come into his own. I would hazard a guess to say this was to do with the hours Cundy was lucky to build up rather than the aircraft of course. As a Sergeant pilot, he leads the squadron on numerous occasions - something frowned upon from higher up.

Ron Cundy was good mates with Eddie Edwards, the Canadian ace and cover artist of this edition (and whose books I need to hunt down), and mentions him often along with many other interesting characters, the loss of whom Cundy laments but adds how they had to move on - that familiar coping mechanism mentioned below in the Tim Vigors review. He did not regard himself as a hero. At one stage, after standing by their aircraft in readiness and then diving into slit trenches to take cover from bombing and strafing '109s, Cundy tells how he was very reluctant to emerge when the order came to stand by again. However, this apparent 'fear' is countered by the fact that he got out of the trench and followed the order. He recounts many other brave exploits. Not his, though, his squadron mates.

The DFC came from attacking a lighter and setting it on fire - another sortie where he recounts in detail the action but makes no mention along the lines of "this was the action I got the DFC for". It was just another flight for him.

I know I keep going on about the modesty of his writing and it is nothing new for men of this calibre/generation/ilk. It is just so very pleasant to read and the book is particularly hard to put down especially when, with a bit of pre-emptive research, you know when he earned his DFC etc and you haven't got to that date/time yet!

After his 200 hours, Cundy stayed with 260 and flew a captured He 111 to 'supply' the squadron. There are some amusing anecdotes there. His return to Australia, stint instructing, time in Darwin on Spits, marriage and further instructing are all covered relatively quickly. He returned to the civil service after the war.

So, a small book but if you can get your hands on it and if, like me, these memoirs never cease to amaze/teach you, you will be hard pressed to find a better book. As an RAAF memoir of North Africa, it is invaluable. As an open, honest tribute to the men of 260 Sqn, it is priceless.

I first came across this book in Boffins' Bookshop in Perth, Western Australia, several years ago. For the life of me, I don't know why I didn't invest $15 at the time. I have since bought a copy off Ebay.com.au where it regularly comes up.

I will be including data blocks for each title reviewed shortly. Each block will include edition, publisher and ISBN details.

Available in Australia from Alexander Fax Booksellershttp://www.alexanderfaxbooks.com.au/