GINGER LACEY - FIGHTER PILOT

Not yet got to the book, just found it. However, I knew Ginger in Bridlington, England where he taught flying at Grindale aerodrome in the early 80's. A quiet, unassuming man whose flying was as effortless to him as walking. He flew a few times with me and I loved every minute of it. I never knew about his wartime exploits till years later. He never bragged about anything. I'll miss him.

The endless courage and luck of this pilot who survived WWII gave me the inspiration to get in to a plane (glider) and fly it when I was 14 years old. After reading the book I never let age stand in the way of taking action.

When you think of the Battle of Britain, what do you think of? Dashing young officers with public school accents flying Spitfires? Well, try reading this book, and discover that one of the finest fighter pilots of the war was an auxiliary pilot from Yorkshire, whose favourite aircraft was the Hurricane. James Harry 'Ginger' Lacey was flying aircraft from the beginning of WWII (winning a Croix de Guerre during the Battle of France) to the end (first Spitfire over Japan) after the surrender. The book is well written and nicely illustrated and gives a fascinating picture of what life was really like for a fighter pilot. Recently updated from the original (published in the 1960s) it also tells of the rest of this man's flying career before his untimely death in 1989. He was a real hero - I should know, he was my Dad!