REACH for the SKY

Original publisher’s bookplate from 1954 signed by

Douglas Bader

Perfect to add to your own copy of ‘Reach For the Sky‘

A pleasing bookplate in Very Good condition with a clear and bold ‘early’ Bader signature.

‘Reach for the Sky’  by Paul Brickhill

Drawing on his own experiences as a fighter pilot and prisoner-of-war, in 1954 Paul Brickhill wrote the bestselling story of Britain’s courageous and most famous flyer, the Second World War hero Sir Douglas Bader.

In 1931, at the age of 21, Douglas Bader was the golden boy of the RAF. Excelling in everything he did he represented the Royal Air Force in aerobatics displays, played rugby for Harlequins, and was tipped to be the next England fly half. But one afternoon in December all his ambitions came to an abrupt end when he crashed his plane doing a difficult and illegal aerobatic manoeuvre. His injuries were so bad that surgeons were forced to amputate both his legs to save his life. Douglas Bader did not fly again until the outbreak of the Second World War, when his undoubted skill in the air was enough to convince a desperate air force to give him his own squadron.

The rest of his story is the stuff of legend. Flying Hurricanes in the Battle of Britain he led his squadron to kill after kill, keeping them all going with his unstoppable banter. Shot down in occupied France, his German captors had to confiscate his tin legs in order to stop him trying to escape and eventually sent him to the ‘bad-boy’s prison at Colditz castle. Bader faced it all, disability, leadership and capture, with the same relentless charisma and bloody-minded determination that was an inspiration to all around him.

 More than just Boy’s Own adventure, ‘Reach for the Sky’ is a gripping and moving account of Bader’s war against the Germans, and his battle with himself.