North West Frontier

[cliver029]

Can someone help me please?

I am doing some very low level research for a friend whose father recently died and left her a suitcase of old photographs including some taken in the 1930's, these across across Afganistan and the Northwest frontier and taken whilst he was serving out there in the Royal Air Force.

I have done some googling but not come up with very much and so was wondering if anyone knows of any books that might have been written about the RAF in the area during that period

TIA

[rotorfossil]

Try "Never stop the engine when it's Hot" by David Lee and"Flying Blind' by Wg Cdr Geoffrey Morley-Mower.

[ian16th]

Cliver029

You might like to read: Afghanistan: 80 years since the British evacuation of Kabul - Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/4797904/Afghanistan-80-years-since-the-British-evacuation-of-Kabul.html)
and: Kabul Airlift - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabul_Airlift#Air_actions)

When I was in Transport Command, 1957-59, the then AOC, AM Sir Andrew 'Square' McKee was reputed to have been on the Kabul Airlift.

Dunno if it was true. But I don't see why anyone would fabricate such a story.:ok:

[Bluesteel_0]

I'll second "Never stop the engine when it's Hot" by David Lee as Rotorfossil recommended, an excellent book.

Also, "The Luck of the Devil" by Air Vice-Marshall Tony Dudgeon, the first in his trilogy of aviation autobiographies, a very good read with a lot of cover of the NW Frontier. I think its out of print, but can be found on the second hand market fairly easily.

RAF Operations 1918-1938 by Chaz Bower is a good book too, covering most of the region.

Julian

[Warmtoast]

There's a very good article about the 1928-9 Kabul Airlift here:

A flock of flying elephants: long before the famed Berlin Airlift, the Kabul airlift of 1928-29 established a precedent for all the aerial mercy missions that followed. - Free Online Library (http://www.thefreelibrary.com/A+flock+of+flying+elephants:+long+before+the+famed+Berlin+Ai rlift,...-a0212685594)


http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r231/thawes/KabulAirLift1928-29-VickersVictoria.jpg

Vickers Victoria (70 Sqn?) one of the types used for the airlift.

[Entaxei]

A very good & funny book about RAF flying in the mountains around Afganistan etc., during the thirties is :
'You are not sparrows' by S. J. Carr, ISBN 0711006199, copies available on ABE books around £5 - £7

Entaxei :ok:

[cliver029]

Many thanks to you all for the info provided,it may be that I can now add detail to a period of her fathers life she knew nothing about!
I will feed back to interested parties should they want me to do so.

Again, Thanks!

Clive

[Warmtoast]

Cliver029


old photographs including some taken in the 1930's, these across across Afganistan and the Northwest frontier and taken whilst he was serving out there in the Royal Air Force.


If any are of historical significance, let's hope you can get permission to post here - just a thought!