RAF Liberators over Burma: Flying with 159 Squadron - Hardcover

Kirkness, Bill

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1781556563 ISBN 13: 9781781556566

Publisher: Fonthill Media, 2017

Synopsis

British RAF wireless operator/air gunner Bill 'Enoch' Kirkness of Horsforth, Yorkshire, flew thirty-two B-24 Liberator bomber sorties, twenty-eight of which were against Japanese targets in Burma. He was credited with downing the night fighter that killed a crewmate and severely damaged his Liberator in April 1944; his aircraft's crash-landing abruptly ended his first tour of operations. He was awarded a prestigious Distinguished Flying Medal for his heroism.

Bill's memoir of Wellington ferry flights, Liberator training, and operations with 159 Squadron typifies aspects of the human spirit--including fear and anxiety, focused determination, numbing boredom, brotherly camaraderie, heart-wrenching anguish, amorous pursuits, and comic relief--which any young man immersed within such a conflict would have likely experienced. Bill wore his heart, not just his sergeant's stripes, on his sleeve. Bill's story is a compelling, dignified account of an average man's war from 1942 to 1944 in the UK, the Mediterranean, Africa, and onwards through his first operational tour based in India.

Matt Poole, an expert on 159 Squadron and RAF Liberator activities against the Japanese, seamlessly enhances Bill's narrative with added historical detail. Although Bill passed away in 1994, Matt vowed to help bring the memoir to a wider audience.

About this title

About the Author

As an RAF wireless operator/air gunner, the late Bill 'Enoch' Kirkness DFM of Horsforth, West Yorkshire, UK, flew seventy-two operations from India on two tours: the first in a B-24 Liberator bombing role and the second primarily on air-sea rescue assignments aboard Catalinas and Liberators. Post-war, he owned a signwriting business and a hobby shop, Models and Militaria, and he was a ham radio enthusiast.  Matt Poole, a retired U.S. government geospatial analyst, has researched RAF Liberator operations in the Far East since 1990. While investigating the 159 Squadron combat loss of his mother's first husband, he befriended Bill and visited him in Horsforth in 1991.

Review

It is to Matt's credit that this memoir by Bill Kirkness, languishing with the family in search of a publisher, finally saw the daylight and is in our hands in the form of this lovely book. Bill Kirkness (with Matt's diligent research) writes about his operational tour - sortie by sortie - with tension building up as he gets close to his 30 sortie tour. Great perspective from the eyes of an WOP/AG. And a whole bunch of rare unpublished photographs of Kirkness's tour in India - with a generous sprinkling of aircraft photos.  You can't go wrong if your interests span the RAF in the Indian Subcontinent/Burma front. (author Jagan Pillarisetti, Historic Aviation Forum)

This book is very welcome... It's all in this very readable account.  Well worth waiting for. (Ernie Cromie, Ulster Aviation Society's magazine Airmail)

This is an outstanding account of a largely forgotten theatre of operations.  What shines through is the shared experiences of Bill Kirkness and his crew, both humorous and sad in addition to the dangers.  Sadly Bill Kirkness passed in 1994, but Matt Poole is to be credited for sharing his friend's memoirs. (Scott Hume, Aviation Enthusiasts Book Club)

The incredible story of a brave RAF gunner who fought for his life against the Japanese in the skies over Burma has been finally been revealed 25 years after his death.  A new first-person perspective has shown a light on one of Britain's lesser-known conflicts during the Second World War, bringing to life the exploits of 159 Squadron and air gunner Bill Kirkness.  The gripping tale was co-written by American author Matt Poole, who vowed to complete the memoirs of Mr Kirkness, who also served as a wireless operator, after his death in 1994. (Alexander Robinson, Daily Mail, UK)

A GRIPPING new book (Tom Dare, Media Drum World)

Edition details

• Publisher: Fonthill Media
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 1781556563
• ISBN 13: 9781781556566
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 256
• Editor: Poole Matt