Another review of Australian Eagles. The Sunday Tasmanian, 4 August 2013

The latest review of Australian Eagles appeared in the Sunday Tasmanian, 4 August 2013. Another good one: 'it is an important book ... comes fully recommended' by Tasmanian historian Reg A. Watson. They used my favourite photo too!

 

 

I first met the author, Kristen Alexander, at the unveiling of a plaque at Hutchins School to commemorate an old school boy, Stuart Crosby Walch.  Stuart was the only Tasmanian to be killed in the Battle of Britain.  With the annual ceremonies looming for that historic event mid September, the release of Australian Eagles is timely.

Kristen has listed and written on six Australians, they being Jack Kennedy, Dick Glyde DFC, John Crossman, Desmond Sheen DFC and Bar, James Coward and our own Stuart Walch.  The author is the Australian representative for the Battle of Britain Historical Society. The Battle was fought over the skies of England in the summer and autumn of 1940. Those pilots who participated were called by Winston Churchill “The Few”. Out of the 2940 who fought, 36 were Australians. Of Fighter Command, 544 airmen were killed, among them were thirteen Australians.

The Chapter on Stuart Crosby Walch is number two of six. Walch was born 16^th February 1917 in Hobart. He was of the prominent business family of the city. Outstanding at sport he was a well known figure around town in the mid 1930s and joined the RAAF early in 1936 and sailed to England to further his flying career. He was there when British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain advised that “this country (England) is at war with Germany”. Stuart would never see Tasmania again.  Later he was posted to 238 Squadron based at Tangmeere as Flight Commander. It was in July 1940 that Stuart saw his first action. Flying a Hurricane fighter he began to get credited with kills (downing of enemy craft).  Within three months of joining 238, the 23 year old, became known as being the “father” of his squadron and took on the most dangerous jobs himself.  On the 11 August 1940 with Stuart leading the squadron, he encountered an enemy force of more than 150 aircraft.  It was his 55^th sortie. Undaunted by the overwhelming numbers they met the onslaught, but he and his section leader plummeted into the waters five or so miles south of Swanage.  He had accounted for two destroyed enemy aircraft, two shared destroyed, one unconfirmed shared destroyed and one damaged.  The lost of the young Tasmanian, naturally, was devastating for his family.

Like all airmen his name is recorded on the Air Force memorial at Runnymede (England).  He is also remembered on The Hutchins School’s Second World War Roll in the Chapel of St Thomas.  On 21^st September 2011 Hutchins was presented with a Battle of Britain Historical Society School Plaque to honour Stuart.  This was the first and to date, the only School Plaque presented in Australia.  Stuart’s status is being the only Tasmanian on the Battle of Britain Honour Roll in Westminster Abbey (London).

Kristen has produced a wonderful read.  It is an important book in that those six who served and died are now to be remembered more fully.  Tasmanians will be proud to know that one of our own paid the supreme sacrifice over the skies of Great Britain. Her research is good and her style is easily read.  Comes fully recommended.

Australia's Few. 29 July 1940

At Middle Wallop, Stuart Walch sat down to write to his family. He had been busy on convoy patrols and had already notched up a number of successes over the last two weeks, including on 26 July the destruction of a 109 25 miles south of Portland. Not that he knew anything of it, but the 109 was that of 2/JG 27’s Fw Günther Bör who was killed that day. Now, he wanted to tell his family a little of those busy days, playing down the danger and commending the men in his flight for their actions, rather than his own.

 

‘Some of the combats I have been in have been rather wild while they lasted. So far I seem to have been in the show with my section only (not a terrific support against the odds we have met from time to time). Still, my boys are damn good and have proved themselves very reliable supporters, as you can imagine, ‘cause once we (the three of us) met thirty and got a couple. Once my flight (six of us), which I was leading, met eighty, and again when I was on my own I got mixed up with fifteen. You have got to work hard for a few hectic minutes on those occasions.’

 

 

Obituary. James Baird Coward AFC, RAF

 

Air Commodore James Baird Coward AFC, RAF. One of The Few

By Kristen Alexander and Air Commodore (Retd) Mark Lax (Originally published in Wings, Official Publication of the RAAF Association, Vol. 64, No. 3, Spring 2012)

 

 As a flight of Nazi bombers were returning to France, they encountered No. 19 Squadron’s Spitfires. Flying Officer James Coward saw a Dornier and lined up for a ‘beautiful shot’ but, he later recalled, ‘when I pressed the firing button absolutely nothing happened’. His guns had jammed. Then, ‘I suddenly felt a hard kick on the shin. I looked round and I saw my bare foot sitting on the rudder pedal’. His shoe and sock had disappeared; his foot was hanging by the ligaments. He didn’t have time to think about the pain because his Spitfire was diving out of control. ‘I was sucked out of the cockpit and my parachute got caught and I was trapped. I was dragged back along the fuselage, my trousers had blown off and my foot was banging around my knee’. He pulled the ripcord and found himself alone in the sky. As he descended, he remembered experiencing ‘the most wonderful feeling of peace until I suddenly looked down and saw my blood pumping out red spurts’.

He used his helmet wireless lead to tie a tourniquet to staunch the blood – this saved his life. Upon landing, he was accosted by a young lad with a pitchfork, and after ‘pleasantries’, was whisked to Cambridge Hospital where his left leg was amputated below the knee. It was 31 August 1940 and he awoke to find a heavily pregnant wife at his bedside. His first words to her were, ‘Hallo Cinnie. I shan’t play Rugger again’.

James Coward’s Battle of Britain career was only brief but he was one of the 2940 or so men who were awarded the Battle of Britain Clasp to their 1939–45 Star. He will always be remembered as one of The Few, indeed one of the last of The Few.

James Baird Coward was born in Teddington, Middlesex on 18 May 1915. He was educated at St John’s School, Leatherhead. As a 15 year old he went to work in his father’s office. He hated it. He desperately wanted to fly. When he was 21, he applied to the Royal Air Force and was granted a commission on 16 October 1936. After training, he was posted to 19 Squadron, based at Duxford. Two years later he was in the cockpit of the RAF’s sleek new monoplane – the Spitfire. He was thrilled to be flying fighters and later recalled, ‘it was a lovely aeroplane’. On 29 December 1939, he married Cynthia Bayon. Their marriage was to last over 70 years.

After recovery, James was posted to Winston Churchill’s staff, where he was in charge of ensuring the Prime Minister’s safety from air attack at Chequers and Chartwell. After promotion to squadron leader in late 1941, he was appointed flight commander at an operational training unit at Aston Down. Further command appointments followed and in 1944 he moved to the Air Ministry in charge of operational fighter training.

James Coward’s service in the RAF did not end in 1945. After staff appointments and an attaché posting to Norway, he was Wing Commander Flying at the Meteor Advanced Flying Training School. On 1 January 1954 he was awarded the Air Force Cross for demonstrating the dangers of inverted spinning and correct recovery on Meteor jet aircraft.

In 1960, Group Captain Coward joined the British Defence Liaison Staff in Canberra, a posting he and Cynthia thoroughly enjoyed. Returning to the United Kingdom in October 1962, he was appointed Air Officer Commanding Air Cadets and in May 1966 took up the post of Defence Attaché in Pretoria.

The Cowards retired to Australia in September 1969 where two of their four daughters were already resident. They lived in Canberra for over 40 years in one of the first passively heated houses in the Territory. Paying homage to his favourite aircraft, he erected a Spitfire weather vane which served as a landmark to visitors walking down the battleaxe drive. 

James Coward loved life intensely. He never let the loss of his leg hamper him. He skied until his 90s, thinking nothing of possible risks. He also enjoyed dancing and would often don a kilt for an evening of highland reels.

Air Commodore James Coward AFC, RAF (Retd) died at Yass on 25 July 2012 with Cynthia holding his hand. He had recently celebrated his 97th birthday. James is buried at Michelago beside two of his daughters who predeceased him. He is survived by Cynthia, his two youngest daughters and many grand and great-grandchildren.

 

 

Australia's Few. 21 July 1940

At Middle Wallop, Stuart Walch of 238 Squadron followed up his success of the day before during an afternoon convoy patrol of Portland.

 

Off The Needles, Isle of Wight, he ‘dived down from 12,000 feet to 8000 feet following the last aircraft in the enemy formation, which was now flying away from the convoy south east, apparently returning to France. I closed to about 500 yards before I was sighted. The formation then went into a right hand turn, aircraft still in line astern. The aircraft I was following swung out on the turn and was on the outside of the circle. I opened fire at 250 yards closing to 50...The enemy I attacked tightened his turn and dived towards the sea, I broke off the attack and the starboard engine of the enemy aircraft was emitting black and white smoke. I lost sight of the enemy aircraft in the dive, as I pulled away in a left hand turn.’

 

He was credited with one destroyed Me 110 and a damaged.

 

He had come a long way since graduating from 1 Flying Training School three years earlier.

 

Another review for Australian Eagles!

Another review of Australian Eagles! The most recent edition of Sabretache. The Journal and Proceedings of the Military Historical Society of Australia has been published (Vol LIV No 2, June 2013) and it includes Peter Ingman's review of Australian Eagles. Peter has homed in on two aspects of my particular style of aviation writing: that I favour a personal, biographical approach rather than a technical treatise on battle and materiel; and that I eschew the 'faction' of cockpit action. I have reprinted a large chunk of the review here.

 

Australian Eagles comprises the stories of six Australian fighter pilots who fought in the Battle of Britain. There are no lengthy dissertations on the rise of National Socialism or the design history of the Spitfire; Alexander gets straight down to business after a brief reminder of the importance of the Battle of Britain, including Churchill’s famous words, ‘Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilisation...’. So it was that an extraordinary weight was placed on the shoulders of ‘The Few’—generally young men barely out of school.

The Australian pilots in the Battle of Britain were indeed just a few (around 30—the number varies depending on your definition of ‘Australian’) among ‘The Few’. These men had joined the air force during peacetime so their stories immediately differ from the typical WWII pilot biography. Some trained at Point Cook but then joined the RAF in short service commissions—so there was a cadre of Australian fighter pilots flying years before the first fighter squadron would be formed in Australia.

This book is about the less celebrated pilots. ... Four of these pilots were killed in 1940, although there were still another five hard years of war ahead—five years of significant events that would further obscure this period. It is touching to see how these men are remembered today—particularly by their school communities, but also by others. Only the most passionate of researchers would explore these relatively brief stories to find something about the nature and character of these men—and Alexander does just that. Underlining these difficulties, there is an ‘interlude’ describing the dearth of records concerning one of the pilots, Dick Glyde, who is barely remembered in squadron records and even excluded from certain accounts.

Alexander has her own style as an aviation writer. She does not try and put the reader in the cockpit, nor are actions embellished with detail that can only have been assumed. This is a difficulty for aviation writers: often complex events are accounted for very tersely in squadron records or logbooks. It is easy, then, to borrow from the experiences of others and in doing so overshadow the primary character concerned. Alexander does not go down that path. In fact by focusing on some relatively brief careers she gives her subjects a certain humility—and as a result treats them with due reverence.

For this reason the book is in many ways a refreshing angle on this subject. It reminds us that there is more to fighter pilots than just their tally count. In particular, all of those who lost their lives leave behind a rich legacy in their communities and family which lives on to the present day.

 

Alexander Fax Bookseller's display of Australian Eagles

Australia's Few. 20 July 1940

238 Squadron on convoy protection duties on 20 July 1940. Flying at 8000 feet, Blue Section arrived at the convoy, which was 15 miles south east of Portland, at 12.20 p.m. They encountered the enemy ‘in force’ and ‘the sections broke for individual combat’. Stuart Walch ‘twice investigated aircraft which turned out to be Hurricanes’. By 1.00 p.m., he had lost the rest of Blue Section and, as his main petrol tank was empty, he switched to his reserve tank and decided to return to base. He was down to 6000 feet by this stage. Climbing back to 8000 feet as he flew towards Swanage, he ‘observed fifteen aircraft flying in formation towards the convoy on [a northerly] course at approx. 12,000 feet’. Stuart was too far away to identify the aircraft but, given the direction they were taking, he concluded that they weren’t Hurricanes this time. ‘They were hostile’.

 

Stuart tried to contact ground control to see if the relief section was on its way but he could not raise them. He then ‘turned and headed for convoy climbing to get into sun’. When he was about five miles from the convoy, he saw bombs exploding around the escorting destroyer. He was right. He had encountered an enemy formation. Despite being alone, he ‘pulled the plug and went after the enemy aircraft which had turned southwards’. When he was south east of the convoy, at 10,000 feet, he saw ‘three Me 109s flying in [a] wide vic at about 9000 feet’. He dived and attacked the port machine. He opened fire at 200 yards quarter, firing two rapid two second busts as he closed to astern at approx. 50 yards. He watched as ‘black smoke poured from under the engine of the enemy aircraft’. It then ‘turned right and made vertical dive towards sea’. Stuart did not follow it down to confirm its destruction ‘as the other aircraft were trying to get astern of me’. His tanks were almost empty and so he ‘pulled up in a steep stall turn and made for home.’ Although Stuart did not mention it, as he ‘fired a burst causing the Me 109 to catch fire’, he was assisted by another friendly aircraft and was accordingly credited with a half share of the 109.

 

 

Australia's Few. 17 July 1940

After a two day hiatus from operations because of bad weather, Stuart Walch of 238 Squadron was in the air at 1.45 p.m. on 17 July when the squadron scrambled to intercept a raid off Portland. In his first operational sortie with the squadron, Squadron Leader Jim Fenton was flying in B Flight’s Green Section. A Flight saw nothing but Stuart and Blue Three saw three Messerschmitt Me 110s flying in a vic formation about 1000 feet above them. Stuart called Blue Section into line astern then turned quickly but immediately lost sight of the enemy aircraft as they flew into the sun. Two hours later, he was in the air again when 238 Squadron were ordered to intercept another raid, but there was no encounter. At 5.35 p.m., this time with Squadron Leader Jim Fenton leading, B Flight were off on their third abortive scramble for the day. At 9.00 p.m., they were again rushing to their Hurricanes. It was a long, exhausting day with plenty of adrenaline, but nothing to add to the scoreboard.

 

 

Australia's Few. 15 July 1940

John Crossman was getting his bearings at Biggin Hill. He had been sent there on his own to join 32 Squadron ‘so I feel just a little out of things at present, although they seem a decent crowd of fellows and are all about my own age.’

 

He ‘went up in a Magister this morning to give me an idea of what a monoplane is like. It is a very easy kite to fly and particularly responsive to controls’. He hoped he would not have too long to wait before he had a try of the Hurricane. But he was disappointed. Four days later he was posted to Uxbridge for a R/T course.

 

 

Australia's Few. 13 July 1940

13 July 1940: By early afternoon, a westward convoy was nearing Lyme Bay, an area west of Portland where vessels were vulnerable to enemy attack. Accordingly, Warmwell despatched three Spitfires from 609 Squadron and twelve Hurricanes from 238 to Portland to mount guard when the ships arrived and then escort them westwards. Jack Kennedy was leading A Flight. When 238 Squadron arrived there were no ships, but they encountered a large formation of enemy aircraft, who also expected the convoy to be there. A Flight was about 12,000 feet over Portland Harbour when it spotted one of two Dornier Do 17s heading out to sea in a shallow dive. These Dorniers were the reconnaissance eyes of the main formation of Me 110Cs. Jack ordered Red section into line astern to follow the a diving Dornier.

 

When they were over Chesil Beach, Jack attacked. He killed the gunner and damaged the Dornier. The Dornier turned towards the shore. Pilot Officer Davis and Sergeant Parkinson fired at the retreating Dornier. As it turned across Portland Bill, they continued to fire at it. They saw it crash into the sea off Chesil Beach at 3.04 p.m. After firing at Red section’s Dornier, Jack also turned towards the shore. He was losing height. He had either been wounded, or his Hurricane hit by return fire from the Dornier, or both. Jack continued to lose height and Hurricane P2950’s wings clipped high tension cables. It crashed into a hillside at Southdown Farm, north of Lodmoor, just outside Weymouth. Jack was only about two miles from Warmwell. His Hurricane was engulfed in flames on impact. Twenty-three year old John Connolly Kennedy, known as Jack, was dead. He was the first Australian fighter pilot to die in the Battle of Britain. He was 238 Squadron’s first death in combat. Jack was officially credited with a third share in the Dornier.

Review of Australian Eagles

Author Justin Sheedy has just posted his take on my third book. In the week of the 73rd anniversary of the commencement of the Battle of Britain, it is an apt recognition of my personal tribute to the brave men who fought in Britain's great conflict. Thank you Justin. And thank you for permission to reprint here.

http://crackernight.com/2013/07/08/australian-eagles-australians-in-the-battle-of-britain-by-kristen-alexander-reviewed-by-justin-sheedy/

Australia Eagles by Kristen Alexander

 

Sometimes history doesn’t seem real.  Especially when it seems too dramatic, too tragic, too surreally heroic to be true.  In her latest book, ‘Australian Eagles – Australians in the Battle of Britain’, author Kristen Alexander renders such history quite arrestingly real through her accounts of the part played by young Australians in the making of that history.

 

The Battle of Britain of 1940 remains one of the most famous battles in history, to this day a perfect model of resistance of good against evil and victory against that evil despite staggeringly overwhelming odds.  In that dark year the air force of Nazi Germany, having just rolled up Western Europe, sought to knock out the by comparison tiny British Royal Air Force as a prelude to Nazi invasion of Britain.  The Germans thought they had won before they started.  The iconic battle that ensued proved them wrong.  Of the victorious defenders, Winston Churchill coined one of the most famous lines in the English language: “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.”  ‘Australian Eagles’ is a portrait of six of the Australians within that now immortal “Few”.

 

Kristen signing at recent book launch

 

Kristen Alexander portrays six shining young men.  Four of whom lost their young lives in the battle, a fifth losing a leg though continuing to fly until 90-something, the sixth remaining unscathed despite bailing out of his Spitfire in hot air combat no less than three times.  Shining young men?  It’s no exaggeration:  Alexander’s beautifully-researched account of each of them reveals the kind of exceptional personalities they were, often top-notch sportsmen as well, and all so very, very young:  Their photographs within the pages of ‘Australian Eagles’ attest to this and reveal fairly each of them as arrestingly handsome, usually with a brave new moustache – as if to mask the fact that they were just boys.  By portraying them as such and quite simply as they were, Kristen Alexander encourages us to feel their loss just as profoundly as it deserves to be.  To marvel at their selflessness, their courage, their dog-fighting brilliance and their contribution towards victory against one of the worst evils the world has ever known.  To remember them.

 

‘Australian Eagles’ in indeed a fitting testament to the young Australians who fought to win the Battle of Britain but most poignantly as they did it a whole world away from home. 

 

‘Australian Eagles – Australians in the Battle of Britain’ by Kristen Alexander. Order now at http://www.alexanderfaxbooks.com.au/available-now-australian-eagles-australians-battle-britain 

 

 

Author Justin Sheedy

 

Reviewer Justin Sheedy is the author of ‘Goodbye Crackernight’ and ‘Nor the Years Condemn’.  See Justin’s Blog http://crackernight.com/

Book Review for Australian Eagles. Australians in the Battle of Britain

It is always nerve wracking waiting for publication date and the first reviews.

 

What will people think of your latest 'literary baby'.

 

Will they read it carefully before making an assessment?

 

Will they send it to the secondhand bookshop without even looking at it (that has happened!)

 

And so, I have been having stress attacks for the last couple of weeks worrying about the overall reception even though Australian Eagles has already garnered a few good early bird reviews.

 

Today, 1 July, is the Official Release Date and my heart is still pattering but for a good reason. I am overwhelmed about Aircrew Book Review's wonderful review. I need a another cup of tea to calm me down.

 

Read this extract for an idea of just how good and perceptive this review is:

 

Previous works by the author have revealed a particularly detailed eye for the personal and this is very much evident in AE, especially so for those featured who did not survive the Battle. Letters and, in some cases, diaries have been pored over and it is clear from each of the ‘biographies’ that there has been much reading between the lines. The standard format of childhood, education, employment, learning to fly etc is, understandably, followed but as much attention is paid to the pre-service life of each man as it is to the ‘exciting’ stuff – their time as pilots. This balance is of course not seen with Sheen or Coward as both survived the Battle (and the war). Reflecting on their survival, the attention paid to the pre-war lives of the men who weren’t so lucky becomes all the more important. Other than their families, where they are still mourned, who else will know why John Kennedy rarely smiled in photographs or that John Crossman’s first flight in his life was with Charles Kingsford Smith? The result of such in-depth research and analysis, lovingly so in some respects, is an understanding beyond anything official records (and most books) will ever provide. The reader is introduced to each of the men and develops an affinity with them – so much so that one can suddenly see behind the cocky grin and rakishly angled service cap. The grey tones of the photographs are noticed less and less as you see the colour of their lives.

Read the whole review at http://aircrewbookreview.blogspot.com.au/2013/06/australian-eagles-kristen-alexander.html

Order your copy now at http://www.alexanderfaxbooks.com.au/available-now-australian-eagles-australians-battle-britain

Australian Eagles. Australians in the Battle of Britain. At the Australian War Memorial

One of the joys of being a writer: seeing your book in a bookshop.

 

Australian Eagles spotted recently at the Australian War Memorial.

 

The first two shots are of the new release stand, the third is from the aviation section where you can just see my first book (Clive Caldwell Air Ace) as well.

 

Australian Eagles. Australians in the Battle of Britain

The official release day for Australian Eagles is 1 July 2013 but Alexander Fax Booksellers have already received stocks and it is on sale now at alexanderfaxbooks.com.au

Even before the release, Australian Eagles has received some favourable comments.

 

Neil Follett from the Aviation Historical Society of Australia emailed the other day to advise he would be including a review in the Society's September newsletter.

 

He told me: 'I really enjoyed the read and your in depth research shows ... I will certainly recommend it.'

 

On 6 June I was interviewed by Richard Stubbs of ABC 774.

 

You can download the interview at: http://blogs.abc.net.au/victoria/2013/06/australian-eagles-battle-of-britain.html

 

Here are just a handful of the great things he had to say:

 

'Done herself proud'

 

'Investigative writing and also emotional writing'

 

'I found it terribly moving'

 

'Clearly you've done some research to make these people come alive again'

 

'A meticulous researcher and a very good writer'

 

'This is a wonderful book'

 

I am trying not to get a big head!

 

The first review of Australian Eagles! This early bird review appeared in Flightpath Volume 24, Number 4 (this was also printing in Wings, Winter 2013):

 

They were known simply as “The Few”; the 3000 RAF fighter pilots that defended the UK through the Battle of Britain. These were essentially young men tasked with the greatest of responsibilities and the manner in which they rose to the occasion has become history. These men came from across the Commonwealth, including a small band of brothers from far-flung Australia. It is the story of six of these men—Jack Kennedy (Sydney), Stuart Walch (Hobart), Dick Glyde (Perth), John Crossman (Newcastle), Des Sheen (Canberra) and British-born James Coward, an “adopted” Australian—that Kristen Alexander has captured in her new book, “Australian Eagles”.

 

The history of “The Few” has been documented in word and film a number of times, but what Kristen’s book exudes is the human face. For ‘Australian Eagles’ steps back from the skies over Kent and traces these young pilots back to the schoolyards and sporting fields of their homes. Their deeds in the air made history, but it was their upbringing that made them the selfless men they grew into. Through family interviews and archives, the Australian “Few” come alive. And yet in seeking out the personalities behind the service numbers, Kristen has also thoroughly researched the operational truths.

 

From personnel files to squadron records and log books, the timeline of the battle is clearly established. This book is thoroughly researched on a number of levels and the role of each young man’s daily life is described to a backdrop of combat operations. There are dogfights and close calls, but there is also time for humour and reflection. These are young men caught in between their vitality and mortality.

 

 ‘Australian Eagles’ offers a wonderful blend of history and humanity. In times of upheaval, the individuals are often lost in the enormity of the undertaking. So dedicated to the greater good that their own stories can slip between the deepening cracks of time. Thankfully, Kristen Alexander has taken the time to catch these six young lives and share them with us. To the boyish faces staring out from the photographs upon the page, Kristen’s words have breathed new life.