Monthly Archives: November 2011

RAF Lancasters. 100 Sorties

Books, BOOKS FROM MY BOOKSHELVES

I recently purchased and read TON-UP LANCS by Norman Franks. It is ‘A photographic history of the 35 RAF Lancsters that each completed 100 sorties.’

Although this book was published in 2005 I only came across it recently in a catalogue. If I had known about it thenI most certainly would have bought it at that time. I served in Lancasters as a Bomb Aimer with 44 Squadron during the war so it had special interest for me. Although I never flew in one that did 100 missions I was familiar with ND578 YORKER (page 175) when it was with 44 Squadron. I was pleased to see a photograph of her, but was sorry my Bomb Aimer friend, who flew many times in her, including her 100th sortie, was not in the picture. This is an excellent book listing every mission performed by each Lancaster with a list of the crew flying the aircraft on each raid, and readable summaries of each aircraft. 
 This is a book for anyone interested in the Lancaster, Bomber Command and the Second World War.

Update

News

I’ve been absent from my blog for quite a while. I should remedy that. It isn’t that I have been idle but there has been so much going on, in particular my novel has gone on apace and today I hit 91,000 words.  9,000 to go to hit the target but the way the novel is developing I might need more than that. It might be a case of extending it or maybe cutting some out. I would much rather add than cut. Cutting can upset other parts of the story making it more difficult to bring everything together without spoiling the narrative. But everything will come out all right  in the wash.

I’ve also been doing a lot of cataloguing of my books. The software I purchased is brilliant. I received word today that the software is being up-dated. From the initial information and sample of the changes it looks good so I will have to look more closely at it before release date later in November.

My last Jessica Blair novel Secrets of a Whitby Girl has come out in Large Print, published by Magna Large Print. Set in the 19th century it takes the reader from Whitby to the icy wastes of the Arctic. When her mother dies, sixteen year old Sarah has to take on the role of mother to her siblings, destroying her relationship with John Sharp whom she hoped to marry. She keeps a diary of her life and those of her family. It can still have repercussions  over sixty years later if  she allows it to be read.