Reach for the Sky: The Story of Douglas Bader

Description:

Third Impression. Douglas Bader (1910-1982) was a British Pilot and Fighter ace who, despite having lost both legs in an aerobatics accident in 1931, would go on to serve in the Battle of Britain, credited with 22 aerial victories as part of the No. 222 Squadron. He would later be shot down over occupied France, and was captured by the Germans. He would go on to be a thorn in the German's side, staging many escape attempts from various prisoner of war camps, until he was placed in the infamous and supposedly inescapable Colditz castle. Following the war he joined Royal Dutch Shell, before working as the managing director of Shell aircraft as this role allowed him to continue flying..

Condition

8vo, orig. cloth, light stain to front cover. Foxing to endpapers and light spotting to edges of text block. Good in worn d/w (in removable protective sleeve). SIGNED BY DOUGLAS BADER to a printed slip pasted to half-title, 'Autographed copy of Reach for the Sky'. Also loosely enclosed are newspaper cuttings of obituaries for three other Second World War fighter pilots, some of whom served with Bader. From the library of Keith Hyatt, prominent member of the London Natural History Society, with his name to endpaper.