Air battle and clasp

Press, 8 May 1982, Page 16

Air battle and clasp

A Clasp for “The Few": New Zealanders with, the Battle of Britain Clasp. By Kenneth G. Wynn. Published by the author, P.O. Box 1382, Auckland, 1981. xiv plus 470 pp. $17.95 plus 75c postage. (Reviewed by Vincent Orange) “The Few” are those airmen immortalised in Churchill’s words who flew at least one operational sortie during the Battle of Britain. The *‘Clasp” of Mr Wynn’s title is the- small metal plate bearing the words “Battle of Britain” which those airmen may affix to the ribbon of their 1939-45 Star medal. All told, 2945 men qualified for this most highly-prized clasp of whom 557 came from outside Great Britain. The New Zealand contingent (129) was second in size only to that of Poland. In 1977 Mr Wynn set himself the daunting task of writing brief biographies about every one of these New Zealanders, living or dead. By November 1981, he had not only completed the task but published the results — at his own expense — in 750 hardback copies. These sold out in a fortnight, without assistance from or benefit to the retail trade, and a second softcover edition of 1000 copies appeared in December, and has sold well. Mr Wynn’s energy and self-reliance would have appealed greatly to most Battle of Britain airmen wherever they were born. They were not men who waited for things to happen and it seems that Mr Wynn had to overcome . many obstacles before his researches could be published. His information comes from official sources (logbooks, squadron records); private letters written at the time and recent interviews with the survivors

themselves or with members of their families. His industry is impressive. So, too, are his powers of assimilation and composition for he has wisely allowed his material to dictate the length and shape of each biography. In 450 pages he has the elbow room necessary to offer a book to read as welL as a reference work to consult. A dozen airmen receive at least five pages each and none receive less than one page. However, it is a pity that Mr Wynn did not record his sources at the end of each biography. His bibliography (quite lengthy, not annotated) will certainly help those interested in the whole subject of the Battle of Britain but not those who would like to pursue further the many lines of research opened by his efforts. Mr Wynn himself, of course, is uniquely equipped to pursue those lines. Another book is waiting to be written about those New Zealanders, based upon the information here presented. Collectively, they experienced every kind of military fortune. Some were killed in training accidents or by seasoned professionals without ever seeing an enemy. Others were grievously wounded, burned or tortured. Some endured long years of dreary garrison duty or souldestroying captivity. But many had the time of their lives, carrying out dangerous or exciting missions, earning praise and status delicious to experience — and practically impossible to repeat in peacetime. Their postwar careers have been almost as varied. Some have never settled, some have died prematurely, others have prospered exceedingly.