Book description
The Last Enemy is the story of Richard Hillary, one of
Sebastian Faulks' three 'fatal englishmen'. In this extraordinary
account, the author details his experiences as a fighter pilot in the
Second World War, in which he was shot down, leading to months in
hospital as part of Archibald McIndoe's 'Guinea Pig Club', undergoing
pioneering plastic surgery to rebuild his face and hands.
The Last Enemy was first published in 1942, just seven months
before Hilary's untimely death in a second crash and has gone on to be
hailed as one of the classic texts of World War Two.
Richard Hillary was born in Sydney, Australia, in 1919. He was sent
to boarding school in England and went to Trinity College, Oxford in
1937. He was still at Oxford when the Second World War broke out and,
with other members of the R. A.F Volunteer Reserve, was immediately
called to duty. He blew Spitfires in the Battle of Britain before being
shot down and horribly burned. He underwent several operations by the
great plastic surgeon, Archibald McIndoe. After a slow and very painful
recovery, Hilary begged to be allowed to return to flying. He was
killed, at the age of 23, when his plane crashed in a night training
operation.
