Vincent Drew is a fictional character. He is involved in two incidents that actually occurred. There is no intent or implication that he reflects in any way the person who was actually involved in those incidents. Any similarity Vincent may bear to persons living or dead is coincidental.
Bryan Hale is a fictional concoction in his entirety. Any similarity Bryan may bear to persons living or dead is coincidental.
A.W. Fagan was the name of the intelligence officer at Kenley during the Battle of Britain. It is used here as tribute to all the supporting players who never featured in combat reports or citations. The Fagan who serves Bluebird Squadron is wholly fictionalised and any similarity to persons living or dead is coincidental.
All other characters including the families of the men represented in this novel are wholly fictionalised, although some locations and occupations reflect historical reality to a certain degree.
Locations are real, although the details of real locations have been fictionalised in a sympathetic manner.
The backdrop of events against which the novel is set is well documented elsewhere, particularly the Dunkirk evacuation and the Battle of Britain. I have kept as close as possible to the actual timeline, but some events may have been shifted slightly to accommodate plot requirements. No disrespect is implied or intended to the people who were involved in those events.
Author’s notes - Blackbirds
This is a historical novel based on real events. It is not a history of those events or of the people who found themselves entangled in those events.
AW Fagan was the name of the intelligence officer at Kenley during the Battle of Britain. His name is used here as tribute to all the supporting players who never featured in combat reports or citations. The Fagan who serves Bluebird Squadron is wholly fictionalised and any similarity to persons living or dead is coincidental. All other characters in this novel are fictional and any similarity to persons living or dead is coincidental.
Locations are real, although the details of real locations have been fictionalised in a sympathetic manner.
The backdrop of actual events against which the novel is set is well documented elsewhere. I have kept as close as possible to the actual timeline, but some events may have been shifted slightly to accommodate plot requirements. In particular, the development of Air Interception equipment and techniques has been compressed into a shorter timescale than was actually the case.
The Balham bomb is well-documented in contemporary photographs, and readers will note that I make no mention of the double-decker bus that ended up in the crater. I chose to make this omission for two reasons: Firstly, I could find no concrete information on what happened to the driver and any passengers who were on the bus, and I was reluctant to invent these details. Second, I wanted to preserve the dramatic impact of the bomb-damaged bus at the Liverpool Street incident that occurs later in the text. It is also worth noting that the nature of the fate of those killed in the tunnel at Balham is based on the rumour promulgated at the time. No disrespect is implied or intended to the people who were involved in any of these events.
On a technical note, the Bristol Beaufighter carried six machine guns in its wings to compliment the cannons located in its fuselage. I have ignored these smaller guns in my narrative, preferring to allow the cannons to be my dramatis personae in night engagements.
Author’s notes - Falcons
This is a historical novel based on real events. It is not a history of those events or of the people who found themselves entangled in those events.
Some major historical characters are named for authenticity. All the main characters are entirely fictional. Any similarity these characters may bear to persons living or dead is coincidental.
Locations are real, although the details of real locations have been fictionalised in a sympathetic manner.
The backdrop of events against which the novel is set is well documented elsewhere, although curiously little known even amongst those who have a keen interest in other theatres of this war. I have kept as close as possible to the actual timeline, but some events may have been shifted slightly to accommodate plot requirements. No disrespect is implied or intended to the people who were involved in those events.
Sources - Bluebirds
Yankee in a Spitfire – Arthur Gerald Donahue
Clouds of Fear – Roger Hall, D.F.C.
Battle over Britain – Francis Mason
Narrow Margin – Derek Wood and Derek Dempster
Eagle Day – Richard Collier
Dunkirk – Robert Jackson
1940: The World in Flames – Richard Collier
Action Stations: Military Airfields of East Anglia – Michael Bowyer
Fighter Aircraft of the 1914-18 War – Lamberton and Cheesman
Aircraft of The Battle of Britain – William Green
Pilots’ Notes Spitfire IIA and IIB (Facsimile) – Sapphire Productions
Me 109 – Martin Caidin
Luftwaffe – Alfred Price
The Few – A poem by Edward Shanks
The speeches of Sir Winston Churchill
Personal correspondence and conversation with Su Baccino
Personal correspondence with Kenneth L. Weber (Arthur Donahue’s official biographer)
Original combat reports of 64 Squadron
Sources – Blackbirds
The Secret History of The Blitz – Joshua Levine
The Blitz, The British Under Attack – Juliet Gardiner
The Night Blitz 1940-1941 – John Ray
A History of Du Cane Court – Gregory Vincent
Battle of Britain, The Forgotten Months – John Foreman
Night Fighter – C F Rawnsley and Robert Wright
Diary of a Night Fighter Pilot 1939-1945 – Douglas Haig Greaves
Night Fighter Navigator – Dennis Gosling DFC
Instruments of Darkness – Alfred Price
Sources - Falcons
Malta 1940 to 1942 – Ryan K Noppen
Night Fighter Navigator – Dennis Gosling DFC
One Man’s Window – Denis Barnham
Tattered Battlements, A Malta Diary – Tim Johnston DFC
Torpedo Leader on Malta – Patrick Gibbs DSO DFC and Bar
Fortress Malta, an Island Under Siege – James Holland
Faithful Through Hard Times – Jean Gill
War Beneath the Sea – Peter Padfield
Spitfire, A Very British Love Story – John Nichol
Malta: War Diary - Story of a George Cross – Internet resource
FlyPast – October 2017 issue – Heroes of Malta
Psalm 84, Quam Dilecta – Thomas Weelkes
The Bluebirds Trilogy Box Set Page 79
