Lancaster: The Forging of a Very British Legend - John Nichol

 

I have a confession, as an 8 year, I was taken to Finningley Airshow by my Mum.  The highlight of the whole day was seeing the Lancaster Bomber in flight.  I had never seen something so mesmorising and utterly beautiful.   The slow grace in which it flew with its bomb doors open, down the runway and away.   The noise of those 4 Rolls Royce Merlin engines will live with me forever.    Even now 45 years later seeing and hearing a Lanc takes me back to that moment with my Mum open mouthed in awe of that day.

John Nichol has written a book that takes me back to being that 8 year old.  The book tells the inspiring, passionate and profoundly moving story of the legendary Avro Lancaster, the heroic crews who flew her, the men and women who kept her flying and stories of taking the fight to the heart of Germany.

The writing in the book is outstanding.  The author not only tells you the story of the Lancaster but tells stories from those that were there, through their eyes.   There are stories of heroism, of sadness, of tragedy all through those that lived it.  This book really moved me to tears at times.   I didn’t realise how reading last letters home would affect me as much as it did and the stories behind them.

This book feels so well researched and there is so much in this book to take it both in terms of education, numbers, facts and figures but also to feelings and moods and the work of a large number of people that went into making the Lancaster the aircraft it was.

I have read many books on Lancaster’s and John Nichol has written a book right up there at the top.   The book is easy to read and very hard to put down. It opens into a window that many of us can only imagine.

This is a must read for all those that are interested in Bomber Command and its role, In aircraft and the Lancaster but don’t; be fooled this isn’t just a technical geeky book.  This is a book that captures beautifully the human stories. Those personal accounts and the impact they had.

A personal thank you from me to John Nichol for taking me back to such an amazing and awe inspiring experience.

 

Very highly recommended.





Location: Doncaster, UK

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