Borne of a well-established partnership between the authors Colin Higgs
and Bruce Vigar, this evocative and beautifully crafted piece of work is
sure to appeal to the aviation fraternity as well as serving as a
memorial to the veterans whose exploits characterize this most daring
and iconic of raids. As we approach the 70th Anniversary of the 1943
Raid, it seems fitting that we should have such an account to mark the
occasion, consolidating the collective experiences of a selection of
aircrew who contributed to the proceedings.
The authors have set themselves the ambitious task of interviewing as
wide a cross-section of veterans as they can, in order to fill out a
book of representative recollections. Each chapter is dedicated to a
separate veteran, woven together with the author's supplementary
historical narrative, setting each account in context.
Complete with a selection of black and white photographs, set in plates,
the finished work presents itself as a kind of scrapbook - voices,
images, snippets of transcribed memoir whose cumulative effect is to
create a real sense of the times as hand, with authentic commentary from
those who engaged at the forefront of the action.
Veterans featured
Les Munro
George Johnson
John Bell
John Langston
Grant McDonald
Murray Valentine
Frank Tilley
Benny Goodman
Ken Lucas
Tom Bennett