The book was excellent - I'm moved by the fact that, like Cecil Lewis, it's less about being a dashing, untouchable hero and more about just being human and coping. The coping bit is echoed in a lot of wartime experiences, from that Century and earlier - it's coping not only with war and the threat of death, but with being accepted and not letting the side down when the moment counts. It's almost as though death is final and a damned inconvenience, but losing the respect of peers and subordinates alike is worse. pleasing the Boss and chiselling for a good ACR never seemed to show its shallow face!
The programme was good in that it portrayed the human aspect, how fear manifests its self strangely; and let's face it, there are many who aren't likely to read the book. However, I'm back in it and currently enjoying the Harvard flying training.
I'd love to meet Sqn Ldr Wellum, but, as mooted previously, would suffer the curse of awe! I will remember all they did and where they came from.