First Light

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The cast was wonderful. Sam Heughan did an amazing job as Wellum. You saw him change from boy to man. You could see and feel his emotions. He fully embodies the character.

First Light by Geoffrey Wellum - Penguin Books New Zealand First Light by Geoffrey Wellum - Penguin Books New Zealand

After his return to England, Wellum did not return to combat duties, instead finishing the war as a gunnery instructor. [3] In 1943, he married Grace Neil, his wartime girlfriend, with whom he had three children. [6]

Then we had to work out how to create a full-blooded dogfight, and a nightmare flight in torrential rain over the channel - during which Boy shoots down a German bomber. These scenes were whole other cans of worms... In May 1940, before his flight training was complete, [4] Wellum was posted to 92 Squadron, which was a combat squadron flying Spitfires. [5] It was at 92 Squadron that he first encountered a Spitfire, and flew the aircraft for the first time. Later, in First Light, he wrote of the experience: "I experienced an exhilaration that I cannot recall ever having felt before. It was like one of those wonderful dreams, a Peter Pan sort of dream". [3] What the book may have benefited from is some more detail on the later career of the author, following on from the Battle of Britain. However, it is realistic to assume that this period is somewhat blurred in the authors memory. 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 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).

First Light: The Phenomenal Fighter Pilot Bestseller

Geoff hates to be called a hero but his effort and that of those all around him 70 years ago, saved us from the terrors of Nazi occupation. I believe that his war - the Battle of Britain - was the key turning point of World War Two. No other account of flying in the Battle of Britain has been articulated as well as Geoffrey's in First Light Gillian Crawley, Daily Express In February 1942, Wellum was transferred to 65 Squadron based at Debden, being appointed to Flight Commander in March 1942. Writing with wit, compassion, and a great deal of technical expertise, Wellum relives his grueling months of flight training, during which two of his classmates crashed and died. He describes a hilarious scene during his first day in the prestigious 92nd Squadron when his commader discovered that Wellum had not only never flown a Spitfire, he'd never even seen one." One plane was brown and green, the other brown and grey. And the real one was based at Wycombe air park and our replica was 80 miles away on the drama set outside Dunstable.Squadron Leader Geoffrey Harris Augustus Wellum DFC (4 August 1921 – 18 July 2018) [1] [2] was a British fighter pilot and author, best known for his participation in the Battle of Britain. Born an only child in Walthamstow, Essex, Wellum was educated at Forest School, Snaresbrook before serving in the RAF. After the war he remained in the RAF until 1961, and later ran a haulage business. In the mid-1980s he retired and moved to Mullion, Cornwall, where he wrote down his wartime memoirs. In 2002 these were published as First Light.