Wind in the Wires by Duncan Grinnell-Milne

[Larry R.]

The other day, I was browsing Rita's Book Exchange (on Beauregard) looking for novels by Jack D. Hunter. I did not find any, but I did see a well-worn paperback titled Wind in tbe Wires. The cover art depicts an SE5a in the foreground, and a red Fokker DVII trailing smoke in the distance. The sun-faded edge of the book cover revealed the book's price when it was new....seventy-five cents.

This autobiography begins with the author recalling his arrival, at age eighteen, at the RAF pilot training school. The school was equipped with Maurice Farman pushers, already considered museum pieces in July, 1915. Top speed was under 50mph. At the time, the author writes, the BE2c, capable of achieving a breath-taking 76mph, was admirably modern and fast.

Grinnell-Milne's writing is highly readable. The book's intro and forward promises to take the reader along the writer's journey "from the difficult, tedious months of training to the incredibly hazardous dogfights over the burning battlefields of Europe..."

If the brittle, yellowed pages hold together, this book will find a spot on my bookshelves after I finish reading it.

[Kevin WS]

Thanks for the review!

[Larry R.]

I finished reading Wind in the Wires.. I think this book is among the best WW1 pilot memoirs. The story or account moves at a brisk pace as the writer describes in detail his first flights in the beloved but antiquated Farman Shorthorn, the swifter BE2c, and then his return to flying after two and a half years as a POW. His assignment to the famed No. 56 Squadron and the exciting combat in his SE5a, named Schweinhund, is well documented. This book is full of action, some humor, and the memories of the war and of the men who served in Great Britain's air service.

[Peter Ansoff]

Fortunately, this book seems to have been reprinted numerous times in the US and UK. A quick check on abebooks showed 80 copies for sale, from less than $10 to well over $100.