Winkle: The Extraordinary Life of Britain’s Greatest Pilot

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In 1936, Brown’s father took him to see the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, during which Brown witnessed Hitler shaking hands with Jesse Owens. At the time, Hermann Göring had recently announced the existence of the Luftwaffe, and Brown and his father (a former balloon observer and pilot in the Royal Flying Corps) met and were invited to join social gatherings by its members. Not only did Brown not have the benefit of high-tech simulators, but flew the aircraft with the benefit of a slide rule rather than the array of modern computers available today. He was also one of the first test pilots to attach notes to his leg, helping remind him which one he was flying. He remembers he had bought a silk nightdress in Tangier for his fiancée, Lynn. So, he stuffs that inside his tunic to save it, which, of course, adds another layer of insulation. Then he gets into the water and starts helping other people. Compelling, fascinating and frequently jaw-dropping. A brilliant and revelatory biography' JAMES HOLLAND

That was down to coincidence,” says Beaver. “He happened to fly to Celle, which is the nearest town, the morning that the British troops went in to liberate Belsen. There were rumoured to be some German jets nearby and he wanted to go have a look.” That particular incident took place in the skies above the Bay of Biscay in October 1941. Brown, then only 21, was in his Martlet fighter when he found himself face-to-face with a German Condor bomber, “a flying porcupine, with dangerous weapons facing in every direction”. Riveting ... one of those must-read books, compelling and full of incidents that leave you gasping with surprise ... an incredible story FlyerThe carriage filled with young children arriving in Scotland remains a poignant image. “Everyone wanted girls and he was, I think, the only boy on the train. It is very sad when you reflect on it now, but if it hadn’t have happened, I don’t think we would have had the same Eric ‘Winkle’ Brown.” I think that as a biography this stands up very well. With unprecedented access to Brown’s paper’s and logbooks he is able to give a far moot warts and all account of Brown’s life than Brown was capable of whilst still showing his subject through the lense of a 40 year friendship. In the 40 years that I knew our greatest pilot, I always called him Eric, by the way, but of course the world knows him as Winkle, the shortest pilot in the Fleet Air Arm. When Eric was taken ill in 2016, I was the first outside the immediate family he called and so I feel the bond between us was strong. The book does a pretty fair job of portraying Brown's personality. Highly competent, more than a little arrogant professionally, more at home abroad than at home. Not all that unusual for test pilots from the Golden Age of Flight Test (~1943-58). By a twist of fate, it turned out to be the Glenn Miller’s final public performance. The following day, Miller flew to Paris. His aircraft disappeared over the English Channel in atrocious weather, with all on board lost.

He would see action in the Battle of the Atlantic and be involved in the liberation of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. The latter experience haunted him for the rest of his life.

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Now, drawing on previously unseen documents and unfettered access to Winkle's own personal archive, Paul Beaver uncovers the complex and enigmatic man behind the legend - the real story of Britain's greatest pilot.