Book description
Patrick Bishop looks at the lives and the extraordinary risks that the
painfully young pilots of Bomber Command took during the air-offensive
against Germany from 1940-1945. As featured on the BBC 1 documentary
BOMBER BOYS, presented by Ewan McGregor.
They came from every corner of Britain and its Empire. They were the
best of their generation…heading for one of the worst tasks of the WWII.
Like RAF pilots, the thousands of brave young men who joined Bomber
Command took to the air to help Britain triumph in World War Two. But in
the glow of victory, the fighter pilots were lauded for their efforts
while the Bomber Boys faded in national memory. Crucial in the heat of
combat, they were politically awkward afterwards.
Yet with an average life expectancy shorter than that of soldiers on
the Western front in WWI, these men faced death, injury and capture time
and again to send bombs through the shrieking flak onto enemy territory.
'Bomber Boys' is a tribute to their strength, courage and heroism -
filling in the historical blanks and immortalising their memory. 'A
superb human portrait.' Daily Mail
'A deeply humane, lucidly written and powerful tribute to some of the
unsung heroes of the Second World War.' Michael Burleigh, Sunday Times
'Superbly written and authoritative…the members of Bomber Command now
have a fitting commemoration of their heroic deeds.' Observer
'This is the best kind of military history - the kind in which the
author never loses sight of the impact of war on its victims, German as
well as British, and those who were left behind. “Bomber Boys” will
remind the survivors that they and their lost comrades are not
forgotten. And it reminds the rest of us what their war was all about.'
Daniel Johnson, Evening Standard
'This is a terrific book, so riveting, exciting and moving that it must
help bring back the Bomber Boys to their rightful place of honour. A
true war memorial.' Montagu Curzon, Spectator
'A compelling account of life in RAF Bomber Command.' Telegraph
Patrick Bishop is the author of the critically acclaimed and
best-selling 'Fighter Boys', '3 Para' and 'Ground Truth'. Previously, he
was a foreign correspondent for over twenty years, reporting from
conflicts all over the world.
