On Laughter-Silvered Wings

This well written and thoroughly researched biographical account of the life and times of a South African WW2 pilot (the author's father) is sure to appeal widely. The story is by necessity highly personal, drawing on family history and changing lifestyles as the central figure fights his way through a series of challenging experiences, flying coastal strike missions in the Mediterranean and North Africa, then in the Far East against the Japanese. The story is full of personal perspectives and gets off to a thorough and engrossing operational start, before re-tracing the personal family story to place everything in context. Images of a lost world haunt the pages, evocative of an era where a decisive individual could challenge the system and get results, despite massive inflexibility within the Services. This work is sure to make a welcome addition to any discerning readers collection; the story of Coastal Command is often over-looked, with histories focussing largely on the Fighter boys and Bomber Boys of World War Two and their associated experiences. The exploits recorded in this book therefore serve as an over-due reminder of the Unit, and the part they played in the Allied effort. Ted's wartime exploits include the first mid-air sky-jacking in history, a daring solitary attack on the Italian fleet after losing the rest of his strike team, narrowly surviving being burnt in the subsequent inferno of a horrific air crash in the Ceylon jungle, many emergency crash landings and finally as Commander of 27 Squadron carrying out dangerous rescue operations behind enemy lines for members of the Indian Resistance Movement who were operating in the jungle of Burma. Written largely in the first person, and illustrated extensively, these exploits come vividly to life.