First Light

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Wellum's story is simply told and almost belies his heroic stature. He had done more in a few short years in his youth than most people do in a lifetime. The story is awe-inspiring. There have been countless war memoirs and books about the Battle of Britain. Why another one? This one has some significant differences that make it a compelling read. Surprisingly, “First Light” was first published more than 60 years after the events described within. At just 18 years of age, the author Geoffrey Wellum was the youngest RAF pilot to fight action during the Battle of Britain. He would eventually become the youngest Spitfire pilot in the prestigious 92 Squadron. Unlike most war memoirs, his training takes up more than a third of the book. Despite the delay in publishing the book, Wellum had jotted down notes in an exercise book at the time—something that would give his account unusual depth and quality. Wellum's real achievement is to make the reader experience with him the sheer difficulty of learning to fly along with its many dangers. At times thrilling, ordinary, self-deprecating, visceral, and tragic. To read the events of WWII through the eyes, ears, and feelings of someone so young, so vulnerable, and brave is something that is rarely found in published histories of war. This is action as it happened, told to you by somebody who was there, with a down-to-earth, matter-of-fact tone. One can't help be moved by his words, and reading it after his death made it all the more poignant. After the war, Wellum remained in the RAF until 1961. Among his appointments he was with the Second Tactical Air Force in Germany, converted to jets – flying Gloster Meteors, de Havilland Vampires and English Electric Canberra bombers on reconnaissance sorties – served at RAF Gaydon, and finally, in East Anglia, with a Thor intermediate-range ballistic missile unit. By late September the Battle of Britain was over, and the blitz, the night-time onslaught on the country’s urban centres, was under way. For Wellum and his comrades the intensity eased, as Spitfires were unsatisfactory nightfighters, and the squadron moved into winter quarters at Manston in Kent. During the battle he had shot down a Heinkel He 111 bomber, and claimed a quarter share in a Ju 88. That November there were two damaged Bf 109s, and one shared. Another Bf 109 was claimed in 1941, and there may have been more, as he was not one greatly concerned with recording such things.

First Light: Original Edition - Geoffrey Wellum - Google Books First Light: Original Edition - Geoffrey Wellum - Google Books

This is a great story and in finishing I would like to add the following comment from a great historian about this book: "A work of exceptional quality.....his prose has a passion and immediacy which make it compelling reading" - Max Hastings. For me, creating the tension on the ground was just as important as in the air. I love the waiting scene in dispersal before Geoff's first combat - the tinkling of teaspoons in cups, the rustle of a magazine, Kingcome chewing on his match... and then the sudden shrill ringing of the phone - scramble! A 1941 photograph taken at Biggin Hill, Kent, of Geoffrey Wellum, right, and Brian Kingcome, another fighter pilot, in front of a Spitfire. Photograph: Alamy

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He was then posted directly in May 1940 to 92 Squadron, flying Spitfires. He saw extensive action during the Battle of Britain. His first Commanding Officer was Roger Bushell, (later immortalised in 'The Great Escape'), and his close colleagues included Brian Kingcome. This scene was crucial to the story, appearing little more than 10 minutes after the opening of the film. We had to produce a sequence breath-taking enough to make the audience believe that flying the Spitfire was love at first sight for Boy. People say to me how do you remember these things? How do you expect me to forget? You don't. You can't.... The experiences of being a Spitfire fighter pilot in the battle of Britain stay with you forever. And you can't do anything about it." Geoffrey Wellum Holland, James (February 2001), Interview with Geoffrey Wellum , Curiously, in Wellum's book, Kingcome is spelled all the time as "Kingcombe". Wellum describes Kingcome as "the finest fighter pilot I ever flew with" and recommends his book A Willingness to Die

First Light by Wellum Geoffrey - AbeBooks First Light by Wellum Geoffrey - AbeBooks

Wellum suffered severe combat fatigue after three years' intensive flying, because of the immense strain that frontline British fighter pilots were put under during that period. He returned from Malta to Britain, becoming a test pilot on the Hawker Typhoon, based at Gloster Aircraft. His birth was registered in West Ham, London, in Q3 1921, the only child of Percy H Wellum and Edith J Freeman, who were married in Windsor Q4 1918. In Q3 1943 in Westminster Wellum married Dorothy G C Neil, born Q4 1922 in Romford. They had two daughters and a son. [14] This is a fabulous, engrossing book that tells the story of a young Spitfire pilot during World War Two. We follow Geoff Wellum through his application process, through a long and arduous training course and right the way through the war (although, understandably, Wellum places a lot of emphasis on the Battle of Britain). Wellum's close colleagues included Brian Kingcome. [8] Officers and guests celebrating the first anniversary of the arrival of No. 92 Squadron RAF at RAF Biggin Hill, September 1941.On 11 August 1942, Wellum led 8 Spitfires launched from the carrier HMS Furious to reinforce the RAF fighter complement at Luqa airfield on the island of Malta. Here he joined 1435 Squadron on air defence duties before being rested after a severe bout of sinusitis. It took him 35 years to turn his notebooks into a narrative, and the result is a highly personal account of what it is like to face mortal combat, day and night, and what it does to a man who is barely more than a boy Ben Macintyre

First Light (TV Movie 2010) - IMDb First Light (TV Movie 2010) - IMDb

Wellum's first commanding officer was Roger Bushell, (later immortalised in The Great Escape). [6] Bushell was shot down and captured almost immediately after Wellum's arrival, and was later executed by the Gestapo in the aftermath of the "Great Escape". [4] This was so affecting! That it was true made it all the more poignant to watch. The fact that Wellum was teenager when he entered the RAF makes me realize all over again what the people of England were willing to do to protect their homes and their land. They sent their boys.

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He finished the war as a gunnery instructor, staying in the RAF, first as a staff officer in West Germany, followed by a four year tour with 192 Squadron. He married Grace, his wartime girlfriend and they had three children. That summer Wellum was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. By September his time with 92 Squadron had come to an end, and he was tired. He was posted to an operational training unit and did not return to squadron service until February 1942, when he became a flight commander with 65 Squadron, at Great Sampford in Essex. Wellum left the Royal Air Force in 1961, [and went to work] with a firm of commodity brokers in the City of London, set up his own business, and then retired to Mullion, Cornwall." He tells you about the patrols and dogfights and comrades lost; the escort missions with bombers over France. After the Battle of Britain wound down he was posted to besieged Malta where he ferried in a Spitfire squadron and continued air combat as Flight Commander. An intimate account . . . rich in detail' James Holland, Wall Street Journal, 'Five Best World War II Memoirs'