Aircrew Book Review: Evader

19 October 2026

Evader – Chris Newey

Exactly three years ago today, I was sitting in a Lancaster in Auckland. Sure, I'd seen six Lancs before (and this one ticked off the third of the three southern hemisphere aircraft) and even crawled through a Shackleton, but this was something that truly brought all of my reading and research to life. Crawling over the spar in shorts and t-shirt was hard enough (partly from not wanting to scratch the paint too!), let alone imagining doing it in full flying kit. The experience really hit home how such a large aircraft was so constricting for its crew.

The person responsible for organising this treat was Chris Newey, the respected No. 75 (NZ) Squadron historian. We had been talking about a book he was working on when I mentioned I'd be in Auckland during a cruise stopover. It was a holiday that had already offered so much with three B-17s I'd not seen before, visits to museums I'd been reading and writing about for decades and experiences we still talk about as a family. Chris was kind enough to offer to arrange the tour of the Lanc at MOTAT (Museum of Transport and Technology), yet another museum I'd always wanted to visit.

Since then, I've worked on two of Chris's books as he strives to share the lesser-known stories of New Zealand's most famous squadron. The latest addition is the tale of Ron Clark, a pilot shot down flying his 'second dickey' op with a very experienced crew on 27/28 May 1944, and the network of civilians who risked everything to help him. These civilians never knew what happened to Ron, but it was a query from one much later in life, and the interest of descendants, that led to this book being written, minds laid to rest and the discovery of betrayals, intrigue and, amazingly, some service 'misrepresentation' by one of the crew. Using Ron's own 'brief account' of his adventures, written for his family at their request, Chris pulls together everything needed to tell the story of a bomber crew, with the added complication of tracing their fates after the Lancaster fell to a night fighter and getting to grips with the complications of resistance operations in Belgium.

A softback of 150 pages, the book features period monochrome and modern colour images throughout and is available locally/worldwide as a print-on-demand edition (via Bomber Command Books from Aviation Books Ltd.), thereby keeping the cost of postage as low as possible. Evader is very much worth your while.

ISBN 978-1-91533-5-883

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Welcome

Welcome to one of my silly ideas. I have been an avid reader of aircrew memoirs from the Second World War for as long as I can remember (not counting the various other interests that I have flitted to over time). I started collecting titles as found on Amazon but in the past few years have concentrated on books about the members of the RAF, FAA and Commonwealth air forces. I still maintain an interest in the operations of the USAAF, USN, Luftwaffe and Japanese forces but, as an Australian, you can probably understand where my heart lies!

Around about 2000, when I started collecting in earnest, I stuggled to find vast amounts of books on the subject. For those of you in the know this is a ridiculous thing to say as there are thousands of titles on the RAF alone.

In the past four or five years I have been fortunate to make some excellent friends in the UK and Australia who have helped broaden my knowledge of what's available and, in some cases, spend my money for me. In doing so, I have also corresponded with and met several authors and gained some insight into what it takes to put a well-researched book together. One of these days I hope to do the same but for the time being writing reviews and the occasional article will see me through as I gather what I need.

I have worked as a journalist in the past and run my own online magazine which was very time consuming and eventually led to another blog which is much easier to maintain. My interest in the aviation of the Second World War began with a school library book on The Battle of Britain when I was nine. Numerous plastic models, museum visits, magazine subscriptions, movies and Commando comics later I branched out into books like Squadron Signal's 'In Action' series (cheap for a teenager) and generalist titles covering certain aircraft. My first memory of a memoir (ha) was an oldish, secondhand copy of Alex Henshaw's superlative Sigh for a Merlin bought at a primary school market - incidentally, still the best Spitfire book I have ever read. I devoured it and although I haven't read it since (early 1990s) I can still vividly remember many of Alex's adventures testing this greatest of aircraft. One of these days I'll read it again.

My time as a journalist proper was short-lived as I had to make some decent money but it followed time as an accountant, truck driver and recruitment researcher. As of March 2010, I have stepped into commercial accounting which is a different kettle of fish and certainly not all spreadsheets and numbers (to be honest, the best job I have ever had).

Throughout my various incarnations I have maintained a fascination for what aircrew experienced during the war. I have been fortunate enough to meet several veterans and have even worked alongside some on a couple of major aircraft restorations down here in Australia. To a man I have found them friendly, modest and, at times, wondering what all the fuss is about. A gross generalisation perhaps but any variance would be understandable considering what they lived through. I know I could certainly not have done what they did in their late teens/early 20s. Fortunately, I have not had the opportunity to prove this otherwise and that's largely because of what these men (and women) sacrificed for what we have today.

Each book is a pleasure to read (even the not-so-great ones) and I try to convey what each is like to read without giving the game away too much. I also endeavour to let you know when or where I bought my copy and where it is available now as I try to review a mix of old and new titles (basically whatever takes my fancy at the time although when review copies come in, these take precedence). Honesty is at the core of everything I write on here so if something doesn't sit right with me or I feel it affects the 'experience' of the book, I will mention it.

Please feel free to recommend titles I may not be aware of or that you think would complement a reviewed title.

Cheers

Andy Wright

19 October 2026

Evader – Chris Newey

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