Paul Richey (1916–1989)

Outstanding narration of the first days of WW2, when the British were on their way to Dunkirk and had not yet realized the how overwhelming the Nazi Blitzkrieg would be. Vignettes of bucolic life in the BEF air groups during the "Phoney War". Lunching at the local French local cafes after flying mostly uneventful missions under the "Gentlemen of the Air" rules of WW1. All this ended abruptly when the Germans started bombing villages and strafing refugees on the road. Despite some early show more deficiencies, wooden props, lack of armor, the Hurricane fighter proved itself a match the Luftwaffe. A key decision, to bring experienced warfighters back home to train others, would make an enormous difference in the forthcoming Battle of Britain. show less

This memoir of a RAF pilot's experiences in France from 1939 to his flight back to England after being severely wounded, was developed from a daily diary he kept during this period. If you have ever wished to be in a cockpit of a Spitfire closing on German bombers, you won't be closer than this without actually being there. His opinions of his French civilian friends and pilots are very positive. He expresses admiration for the RAF bomber pilots flying to almost certain death in1939.

A sombre, personal, account of the air war prior to the fall of Paris. The restriction on this 1941 publication means that authorship (S/Ldr Paul Richey)was not stated. Succinct use of English and liberal use of idioms. Read within two days. Fine B/W plates.

The account of a ploughing team caught out in an air-raid is particularly disturbing.

Revised and expanded version of the 1941 original.
This edition now probably represents the original text as it was before the wartime censors started hacking at it. All names, squadron identifications, places and comments, some of which might not have been politically acceptable at the time, have been restored. No index (1980 edition, but added in a later edition), many additional relevant illustrations and a map.
The book retains the immediacy of the original edition and actually feels show more similar to the WW1 memoirs of the previous decades. The tiredness and intensity of later WW2 memoirs is missing, instead you have the freshness and excitement of a young pilot (Richey was 24 when he wrote the book) doing what he has spent years training for. show less