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The Bluebirds Trilogy Box Set

Page 79

by Melvyn Fickling


  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

 

 

 


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