Never A Dull, Pilot’s War Memoirs
(W.C.Manifold)

Author Bill (W.C.) Manifold was doing Engineering Science at Melbourne University when IIWW broke out. He left to join the RAAF, qualifying as a pilot early in 1942 (in Canada).

Description

Proceeding to England, he spent 1943 on operational flying in Lancaster bombers, first with 467 (RAAF) Squadron and then with 156 (RAF) Pathfinder Squadron. Then after a year at Operational Training Units, joined his former navigator to start a third tour, this time with 105 (RAF) Pathfinder Squadron on Mosquitos, where he was when the war finished. As he says himself, he was extremely lucky. A total of 47,000 allied aircrew were killed on operations, and nearly 8,000 were killed on non-operational duty. "Never A Dull” is the story of those exciting years from an unusual viewpoint, coupled with the author's unorthodox outlook on a wide range of subjects. In the introduction, Sir James Darling, while disagreeing with some of this heterodoxy, recommends the book for wide consideration. (A previous book by the same author, "The Wished For Land”, has been acclaimed by historians for its contribution to the study of early Tasmania and Victoria, as well as by the general reader for the light it throws on the attitudes and aspirations of some of the pioneers.)