Battle of Britain:-

Reach for the Sky by Paul Brickhill - the life of Douglas Bader - very close to autobiography as so accurately portrayed... a book that had a definite effect on my life as it influenced me to opt for the R.A.F. as aircrew. One of the great young heroes of the 2nd WW.

The Last Enemy by Richard Hillary (1942 Macmillan). Another great WW2 Battle of Britain hero whose writing inspired many during the war. Likewise, an influence in wan ting to become a pilot.

One of the Few by Johhny Kent, very experienced and successful B. of B. fighter pilot and test pilot. He commanded the famous Polish 303 sqaudron which vistually bore the brunt of the Battle of Britain, His remarkable life in the R.A.F. in all areas is inspiring.

Boy and Going Solo by Roald Dahl - continuous autobiographical accounts of going out into the world and becoming embroiled as a pilot in the 2nd WW under almost the most difficult conditions imaginable. A hero indeed, and brilliant children's author too.

The Big Show by Pierre Clostermann, a Free French pilot in the R-A-F- fought from 1941 throughout the war. - Alongside Nine Lives, this is the most exciting of all accounts, considering his haibreadth escapes and breathtaking exploits. His Flames in the Sky was also excellent.

Nine Lives by Alan Deere - One of the most daring and successful Spitfire pilots in WW2. Nine lives is a very apt title, when his many escapes from death are counted.

Wing Leader by 'Johhny' Johnson - officially the highest scoring fighter pilot in the R.A.F. during WW2. Another remarkable seat-gripping read.

Other authentic accounts from World War 2:-

When the Snow Comes They Will Take You Away by Eric Newby. The original title 'Love and War in the Appenines' is fitting. The trials and joys of an escaped prisoner in Italy... remarkable scenes and people - gripping stuff.

World War 1

Memoirs of a Fox-hunting Man by Sigfried Sassoon, the great war hero of WWI who first spoke out to England about the real war and its utterly terrible sacrifices which were virtually unknown to the public. This is but first book of of his The Complete Memoirs of George Sherston. the next volume - Memoirs of an Infantry Officer - being a continued account of the horrors thought which he went and all that he saw. Probably only paralleled in authenticity and dread by Robert Graves, Edmund Blunden and Henry Williamson. Sasoon also wrote of his trials when he was treated for 'shell shock' and the accompanying problems cause for him by officialdom because of his outspokenness in Sherston's Progress

A Chronicle of Ancient Sunlight - by Henry Stephenson - a 15-volume account which is autobiographical though purports to be the war experience of his fictional mouthpiece, Philip Maddison. The volume A Test to Destruction, which describes the phase of the war in which my father suffered, is the most harrowing account of the war in the trenches, and the leaves in between - which caputure the inner struggles and the outer hell of circumstances through which he went (along with most of his kind). He was an extremely prolific and insightful author, quite apart for this 15-volume tour de force.

Undertones of War by Edmund Blunden Another inward-looking man and famous author who went through the hell of the 1st World War in Flanders It is just as good as Williamson's 'Destruction' and Sasoon's writing..

Goodbye to All That by Robert Graves is another gruesome account of the trench war in Flanders, completely convincing. It was as popular after the war as the most-read shocking novel from the german perspective All Quiet On the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

T.E. Lawrence's The Seven Pillars of Wisdom was an unavoidable book, of course.

The Time Has Come (The Memoirs of Dennis Wheatley - 1914-1919) A most outspoken account of his experience of the 1st WW and the officer class, the huge bungling and inefficiency of the top brass. Humourous and engaging altogether.

My Early Life, Winston Spenser Churchill (Brilliantly told brilliant achievements - all long before he became a gigantic figure in the two world wars!)