Francis Meyrick

The problem I faced with this novel, was to reconcile historical accuracy with the exigencies of dramatic impact.

A serious World War One historian will recognize a great many historically accurate details, such as many of the remarks and actions of the ‘Hunter’, the British general’s complaint that his men (fresh out of the trenches) were ‘dirty’, and the awesomely mysterious flight of the invincible RE8 with the serenely smiling observer.
In this respect I roundly acknowledge my indebtedness to a great many excellent publications, including ‘Cross and Cockade’, ‘Aces High’ by Alan Clark, and of course David Baker’s wonderfully researched book in the ‘Famous Flyers’ series.

He will also however note the areas where I have indulged in ‘poetic license’ , for reasons of narrative speed, impact, and a desire not to bother the ordinary reader with myriads of tiny details irrelevant to the story.

Many of the flying sequences are based on my own aerobatic flying, the air shows and competitions I attended as a pilot in one of my biplanes, and one of the crashes is drawn from a true life experience.
I hope you will sense a bit more than merely a writer’s imagination.

Lastly, I record my thanks to my old flying buddie Ron Faultney, who introduced me to biplanes, fired me with his enthusiasm, flew hair raising deeply personal dogfights with me, and who was tragically killed in a high speed sports car crash. He drove the way he flew.

If he had been alive, I would have known that I would always have had at least ONE enthusiastic reader…

I will always remember Ron, eyes sparkling, chuckling with delight, waving arms around the sky in yet another outburst of cheerfully outrageous story telling…

F.M. (c)
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