Book Description

'Needle-sharp' The Observer 'The wartime life of a fighter pilot's wife, very real and poignant... excellent' Times Literary Supplement Despite receiving critical acclaim when first published in 1942 as Pilot's Wife's Tail: Diary of a Camp Follower has remained out of print since the war until now This 2023 Spitfire Publishers' edition decodes the real names of the pilots and place names redacted by the wartime censor Newly-married in summer 1940, David and Esther fought the Battle of Britain together. David from the cockpit of his eight-gun Hawker Hurricane fighter, Esther confronting wartime bureaucracy for the right to stay at his side. Esther followed her husband as his fighter squadron moved across South East England battling the RAF, landladies, Military Police and later, hospital nurses. She dodged bombs, witnessed massed dogfights between 'the Few' and the Luftwaffe, well aware David could be fighting for his life. On the 3 September the dreaded call came, David had been shot down and forced to bale-out of his burning Hurricane... ABOUT THE AUTHOR Esther Terry Wright married David Hunt in June 1940 in Marylebone, London. Her memoir of life as a fighter pilot's wife at the height of the Battle of Britain was first published by John Lane in 1942, and broadcast by the BBC as a radio play in 1943. David joined the RAF in August 1939, and the newly-formed (and much-troubled) 257 Squadron on 17 May 1940. He fought almost daily for the first two months of the Battle of Britain, probably destroying a Junkers Ju87 and damaging a Messerschmitt Me110. David was shot down on 3 September 1940 and suffered grievous burns. He had become trapped in his burning Hurricane, the hood of his cockpit jammed from damage inflicted by the attacking German fighter. Amazingly, David battled his way out of his Hurricane using the emergency axe fitted for such a purpose and designed by his father, Bernard Hunt, MD of the family business, the Chillington Tool Company. He spent almost a year being treated by the RAF's pioneering plastic surgeon, Archibald McIndoe, and became a member of his 'Guinea Pig Club'. He would endure months of painful surgery alongside fellow fighter pilots, Richard Hillary and Tom Gleave (who both also wrote memoirs of their experiences) in an attempt to repair the damage to his hands and face, and allow him to return to active flying duties. Esther accompanied him throughout, moving address over forty times, and nursing him personally much of the time he spent in hospital. After the war, Esther and David had two children together, Charles and Andrew. After the couple divorced in the late 1950s, David emigrated to New Zealand and worked as an accountant. He returned to Britain for the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Britain. Esther continued to write and published two novels, The Prophet Bird (1958) and A Vacant Chair (1979). Esther died in 1984, David in 2002. PRAISE FOR 'THE FIGHTER PILOT'S WIFE' 'A brave story charmingly written' The Scotsman 'Human happiness at the centre of the storm of war' The Spectator 'A record of pluck and resource... a notable piece of work' Liverpool Post 'A candid and inspirational story' Modern Woman 'Really moving' Liverpool Echo