There is a very select part of my bookshelving.
Just three volumes rest there. Derek Robinson ‘Piece of Cake’, Len Deighton ‘Bomber’ and Richard Bach ‘Gift of Wings’
This section of my library is entitled ‘The aviation fiction that has moved me most and that I reread time and time again and there is nothing that will persuade me to let them out of my care’
This weekend I have been making a little extra space as there is a fourth volume about to join them.
If you haven’t already got it, and you have an ounce of feeling for the WW2 period then just get out and order:
‘Under an English Heaven’ by Robert Radcliffe.
It is the story of a fictional 8th Air Force base in Suffolk and covers both the bomber ops and the effect on the local village and its people.
Now some of you might know that I both live in the area, and fly from one of the old bases, so I suppose it does have a particular relevance to me. But Saturday morning I was in a complete state of bliss.
Mrs Moggy was having a lie-in, but I was awake, the sun was up, birds were creating a resounding springtime commotion.
I grabbed the book, wandered down to the living room, and sat for three hours, transported back sixty years in time to another East Anglia, one that echoed to the roar of thousands of Wright Cyclones. The very oak beams over my head had vibrated to that orchestra of power just a few years before I was born.
I only stopped reading after three hours because I wanted to make the experience last. I could quite easily have sat there through to the last page.
Read it, read it, read it!
You won’t be sorry.
Moggy
By: Andrew-O - 25th May 2003 at 20:48
Thanks for the recommendation.
I’ve just read it – it’s a great book !
Cheers,
Andrew
By: Moggy C - 15th May 2003 at 10:12
Hi Skyboy!
You are quite correct. The political lords and masters in Ipswich closed down the airport in order to make money from selling it for housing with a vague promise about replacing it with one or other of the myriad of disused 8th Air Force bases in the area.
Needless to say they were lying through their teeth as there are no disused’s within the Ipswich Borough so when a great scheme to open Bent Waters (I know it’s one word, but if you type it like that the system obliterates it) as a Science and Industry Park with runways and large aircraft maintenance was proposed, Suffolk Coastal Council, (largely driven by a handful of retired luvvie-fanciers clustered around Aldborough, erstwhile love-nest of Benjamin Britten and Peter Peers, objected that the noise of aircraft might spoil their appreciation of Britten’s opera), turned the scheme down with a “Why should we bale-out Ipswich?” accompanied by a distinct nose-thumbing gesture..
Have you ever heard a Benjamin Britten opera? A Caravelle taxying at full throttle over a pen of alley cats would actually be more tuneful.
However there are plentiful grass strips, perfectly suited to a PA38. If you can’t sort them out from Pooleys/AFE/Lockyears, let me know and I’ll point them out for you.
Regards
Moggy
By: Chipster52 - 14th May 2003 at 22:45
suffolk airfields
hello moggy,
as a fellow flyer (PA38’s from Nottingham) can you tell me if Suffolk has an aerodrome with tarmac runways suitable for nose wheel aircraft. I was under the impression that following the loss of Ipswich airfield, Suffolk was the only County in UK without such an aerodrome.
all the best,
skyboy.
By: Ashley - 13th May 2003 at 13:57
I totally agree with you guys on ‘Under An English Heaven’…I finished reading it last week and thought it was just fantastic 🙂
Another favourite of mine is ‘Bluebirds’ by Margaret Mayhew…the story of a group of WAAFs through the Second World War…not a huge amount of aviation action, but still a fabulous book…
Ashley
By: Steve Beebee - 13th May 2003 at 10:04
Under An English Heaven – totally agree. A wonderful evocation of a time gone by, and written in ‘plain English’ so its there to be enjoyed by everyone (not just aviation nuts). Very moving and a fine feel for character.
By: Zippo - 12th May 2003 at 18:45
This weekend I have been making a little extra space as there is a fourth volume about to join them
Ever had a go at“Over to you” by Roald Dahl, or Michael Carreck’s “Blaze of Glory”?
The first is a collection of short stories, (“They Shall Not Grow Old” my favoured) which originally appeared in various publications soon after the war, before the author became known for his “Tales of the unexpected”, and his famous childrens books.
The second is a a very vivid fiction(?) book by an ex navigator in Wellingtons early in the war.Great reading.
Regards
By: kev35 - 12th May 2003 at 18:04
Moggy.
Too late! Already read it a couple of weeks ago and you are right, deserves to become a classic. The most enjoyable book I’ve read in a long time.
Regards,
kev35
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May 12, 2003 at 5:52 pm