First Light

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This is perhaps one of the best accounts of life as a serviceman during WWII as you could ever read. As someone who had seen and heard interviews with Mr Wellum often, the sense of already 'knowing' him added a great deal to the reading of the book, as you could hear him speaking to you. Written in his voice, with phrases and language that were him. That said, it doesn't matter if you haven't the foggiest who he was to enjoy this. Wellum left the Royal Air Force in 1960 [13] and took over the family haulage business. Later he became a commodities broker. Geoff hates to be called a hero but his effort and that of those all around him 70 years ago, saved us from the terrors of Nazi occupation. I believe that his war - the Battle of Britain - was the key turning point of World War Two.

First Light by Geoffrey Wellum - AbeBooks First Light by Geoffrey Wellum - AbeBooks

In the summer of 1941 Wellum participated in more than 50 "sweeps" over occupied France (also known as Circus offensives) flying escort for Blenheim and Stirling bomber formations, taking the war to the enemy. He claimed a Bf 109 shot down on 9 July 1941 over France, [9] and in August 1941, Wellum was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. [3] [10]On Malta, Wellum was diagnosed with severe sinusitis and battle fatigue, after three years of intensive frontline flying. After surgery, he returned from Malta to Britain via Gibraltar, and later became a test pilot for new aircraft, such as the new Hawker Typhoon fighter-bomber, based at Gloster Aircraft. [3] 1943 [ edit ] Wellum left the Royal Air Force in 1961, [and went to work] with a firm of commodity brokers in the City of London, set up his own business, and then retired to Mullion, Cornwall." Wellum also appeared in the documentary "Greatest Events of World War II in colour," being interviewed on his experience at the Battle of Britain. The series aired on Netflix in 2019, after his death, and the episode "Battle of Britain" is dedicated in his memory. As Wellum starts to fly on operations there is a definite change in the tone of his writing. His recollections of time on the ground with his fellow pilots are still lighthearted and amusing, but this is in stark contrast to time spent in the air fighting over Southern England and later over Northern France. His descriptions of aerial combat are vivid and gripping, written with an immediacy that is terrifying. Tragedy strikes again and again as a steady stream of his friends are killed and badly wounded, and the pressure on these pilots to keep flying is relentless. No wonder that after 2 years of operational flying he is completely worn out, and he and the reader can finally pause for breath.

Geoffrey Wellum - Wikipedia

This won't be so much a review as an injunction: read this book. That's right, stop reading this review right now and go and get hold of First Light however you can: buy it, borrow it, steal it if necessary (any writer in his deepest heart wants readers more than anything else, so if you can't afford to buy his work, he'll forgive someone who steals to read). Working so closely with Geoffrey has made First Light a unique experience both for me as a director and I think, for the audience. People say to me how do you remember these things? How do you expect me to forget? You don't. You can't.... The experiences of being a Spitfire fighter pilot in the battle of Britain stay with you forever. And you can't do anything about it." Geoffrey Wellum

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Wellum's first commanding officer was Roger Bushell, (later immortalised in The Great Escape). [6] Bushell was shot down and captured almost immediately after Wellum's arrival, and was later executed by the Gestapo in the aftermath of the "Great Escape". [4] Aged eighteen, Wellum signed up on a short-service commission with the Royal Air Force in August 1939. The first aircraft he flew was the Tiger Moth at Desford airfield in Leicestershire. Wellum's first solo flight was on 1 September 1939. Two days later Britain declared war on Germany. [4] After successfully completing the course he then went on to fly the North American Harvard at RAF Little Rissington with 6FTS. At times thrilling, ordinary, self-deprecating, visceral, and tragic. To read the events of WWII through the eyes, ears, and feelings of someone so young, so vulnerable, and brave is something that is rarely found in published histories of war. This is action as it happened, told to you by somebody who was there, with a down-to-earth, matter-of-fact tone. One can't help be moved by his words, and reading it after his death made it all the more poignant. This is an account that anyone who has an interest in WW2 aviation will be delighted in. It's well told, full of humor, sadness, and death defying flying and combat action. These men, as young as 18, flew one of the fastest and deadliest aircraft at the time and many didn't make it through the campaign or even their first mission. You read with sadness the loss of many good pilots and friends but still the men continue flying day after day facing terrible odds. First Light is one of those books that is destined to be remembered as a "classic" and rightly so. This is a wonderful book of a young man who joined the Royal Air Force before the start of World War Two and who later fought during the Battle of Britain and survived. Most of the book is taken up with his training as a pilot and the fighting during the Battle of Britain. However the book continues on to cover his role in Operation Pedestal and the fighting over Malta until his return to England as a tired and worn out pilot.

First Light (Wellum book) - Wikipedia

On 11 August 1942, Wellum led 8 Spitfires launched from the carrier HMS Furious to reinforce the RAF fighter complement at Luqa airfield on the island of Malta. Here he joined 1435 Squadron on air defence duties before being rested after a severe bout of sinusitis. Wellum claimed a Heinkel He 111 shot down on 11 September, and a quarter share in a Junkers Ju 88 downed on 27 September 1940. Two (and one shared) Messerschmitt Bf 109s were claimed "damaged" during November 1940. [9] 1941 [ edit ] We had access to a real Spitfire - and the budget for maybe 45 minutes flying time - but the Spit is a single-seater and there was no question of anybody but a very experienced pilot taking the controls of several million pounds' worth of vintage aeroplane. But at that time, I'm sure, as he reflects in the film, he was desperate to fight on until the bitter end. Wellum suffered severe combat fatigue after three years' intensive flying, because of the immense strain that frontline British fighter pilots were put under during that period. He returned from Malta to Britain, becoming a test pilot on the Hawker Typhoon, based at Gloster Aircraft.The whole thing feels unreal and I can’t believe this is really happening. I must be getting lightheaded! What a pity, in a way, that an aeroplane that can impart such a glorious feeling of sheer joy and beauty has got to be used to fight somebody.”