"It is one of the very few accounts to have been written by one of ‘the many’ without whom ‘The Few’ could not have succeeded. The author joined up in late 1941 and was trained as an armourer, initially serving at a gunnery school. However, shortly before D-Day he joined a ‘Free French’ Spitfire squadron with which he served until the end of the war. The second half of this highly readable account is in effect a detailed history of the Free French Spitfire Wing during the last year of the war. That in itself is hugely welcome, but even more so is the description of the itinerant life of a 2nd Tactical Air Force fighter unit in the months after D-Day and the often-miserable conditions endured by the hardworking and ever faithful groundcrew. No less valuable is the earlier description of life for a working-class family in London during the inter-war years. A peach of a book that was unputdownable."
Andrew Thomas - Author and Historian

I have just read [this] book in one sitting; informative, logical and persuasive. A veritable "tour de force" which adds to our knowledge and appreciation of events past and challenges ahead. I was particularly interested in the US perspective, of which I was mainly ignorant and the slightly internecine Falkland TG aviation tangles. I have had no qualms about my distaste and mistrust of the Crabs; the book confirmed all that I knew. I was impressed with the strategic conclusions which not only confirms my view about Whitehall and what needs to be done. I take nothing away from the overt support for the trans-Atlantic alliance, I would just add that, although admittedly a tangential matter for this book, the dependence upon the efforts of European continental powers to make up the whole alliance of northern hemisphere democracies is pivotal. I believe passionately that a European dimension to sea based air already exists and should be further exploited - CDG is a single but highly capable.. Read more
Commander Paul Fisher

Read the full review [link=https://bmmhs.org/book-review-sir-charles-portal-by-richard-milburn/]here.[/link]
British Modern Military History Society

Article featured: Liz McConaghy named 2023 Inspirational Women in Defence by the Defence Discount Service.
RAF News - July 28, 2023

‘I have immensely enjoyed reading this high octane account of life as an operational Royal Navy Wasp and Lynx Pilot.’
Cdr Paul Tremelling RN(Retd) Sea Harrier Pilot. Author Harrier: How to be a Fighter Pilot