So Few. The Immortal Record of the Royal Air Force.
By David Masters. (Eyre and Spottiswoode. 6s.)
"No trouble has been spared," writes Mr. Masters in his fore- word, " to ensure the accuracy of these, pages. . . . It may be taken that they are as authentic as any pages of official history." It is not recommended that anyone who wishes to preserve this
comfortable illusion should reach much further than the fore- word. On page 96, in the course of eight lines, occur the three following statements. " They call them the Dingo Squadron, . . . Squadron Leader D. C. F. Good is their leader . • . the Dingo Squadron which, needless to add, is Australian." Of the last it may be observed that it is indeed quite " needless to add " that the squadron is Australian, because it isn't ; of the statement about Squadron Leader Good that it is untrue, because that very gallant officer never in fact commanded the squadron in question ; of the first, that it all depends who are meant by "they." It would be a waste of space to examine the pretensions of the book in detail, but it should be added that it is even more studded with clichés than it is with inaccuracies, and is written in a highfalutin' journalese that is a singularly inappropriate medium for the acts which it sets out to describe.
Previous page
