The Great Adventure, by Alan Spencer, subtitled 'A contemporary account of a naval pilot's training in World War II'
Published privately by the author in 1991, 104 pages. A4 size spiral bound booklet (S6498)
In this book the author provides an account of his training to become a naval pilot during the Second World War. Alan volunteered to be a pilot for the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy, and as there wasn't enough space in Britain to train all the volunteers coming through, the 'Empire Air Training Scheme' was established, allowing RAF and Fleet Air Arm pilots to go to the far flung places of the British Empire to learn how to fly.
In this account of his experiences, Alan writes about doing his basic training in Britain, and then being shipped off to Canada, where there was huge amounts of open space to build the necessary airfields required to train the volunteers like him....
From Alan's foreword: This is the story of a Great Adventure. It happened to me in World War II, and to thousands of men like me. We were all volunteers to be pilots in the Royal Air Force or Fleet Air Arm, and we had to be trained. It was elarning to fly that, for us, was the great adventure - that there was a life after we had won our coveted wings, and that this life might be somewhat hazardous, rarely entered our heads. Jut to be a pilot, proudly wearing our wings on breast or sleeve, ws the whole of our ambition, and all our efforts went into this glamourous goal
The book includes several pages of printed black and white photographs
Condition of the booklet is generally good. The cover has some minor scuffs and blemishes, and some light nibbling and wear along the edges, but the spiral binding is tight and intact and all pages are intact, unblemished and tightly bound. Please note that this book was privately produced, and so lacks the 'finish' of proffessional publications (but this in no way detracts from its fascinating contents!)
| Condition | New |