B Flight

by Bruce Carter

In 1916 sixteen-year-old Will, bitterly disappointed at losing an important race for his school, lies about his age and joins the Royal Cadet Flying Corps as a cadet pilot and soon finds himself flying dangerous missions over war-torn Europe.

Genres: Historical Fiction

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1970

Reviews

[Malcolm · Rating 2 out of 5]

This novel is promoted in the blurb as a story about a boy who served in the Royal Flying Corps in World War One. For the persistent reader the novel does finally deliver on that promise. The bulk of the novel, however, is about our hero's attempt to win the local fell running championship. This is told well. The experience of fell running is competently communicated to the reader but I felt the novel should have reflected in its choice of title and its blurb that it was about fell running.
Finally will enlists and the experience of training to fly and then the account of his time in combat are well told so that the lucky and persistent reader will gain something for their effort. The horror, the sense of futility and the sheer weariness are all communicated to the reader. The pity is that it was so long coming.

[Tony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Re-read after a gap of nearly 40 years. It's lost none of its charm

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Based on memory of reading around 40 years ago!