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Richard Hillary's book The Last Enemy was first published in the UK in 1942 just seven months before his untimely death. It is an extraordinary first-hand account of the experiences a of a young man swept into the Battle of Britain as a Spitfire pilot. The book is in two parts, beginning with his time at Trinity College, Oxford, where he was a successful oarsman and carefree student. Joining the RAF Volunteer Reserve he displayed an undisciplined approach towards flying training schools whilst making new acquaintances prompted some reappraisal of his attitude to life. His descriptions of flying a Spitfire are gripping as we share both the horror and excitement of close combat in the air. Shot down over the English Channel on 3 September 1940 he is seriously burned and comes under the care of Archibald McIndoe and his pioneering reconstructive plastic surgery. He writes in graphic detail but with no self-pity of the operations and pain endured during his long stints in hospital at East Grinstead. Towards the end of the book he eloquently portrays his inner struggles and relates an epiphany that inspired him to write this book. The Last Enemy is undoubtedly one of the most important and compelling books to have been written during recent wars and will stay with you as you reflect on Hillary's short but eventful life.

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9781838440947

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Richard Hillary was born in Sydney, Australia in 1919 and brought up in England. Whilst at Trinity College, Oxford, the Second World War broke out. He joined 603 Squadron and became a Spitfire ace during the Battle of Britain. Shot down and horribly burned in September 1940, he was operated on several times by pioneering plastic surgeon, Archie Mcindoe. During his slow and painful recovery he wrote The Last Enemy, his very personal account of his experiences. The book is regarded as a one of the classic texts of the war but is also a window on the soul-searching of a complex hero. Hillary was desperate to fly again and during a night flying exercise on January 1943 his Bristol Blenheim MK.V crashed killing him and his radio/observer Sergeant Wilfrid Fison. Hillary was aged just twenty-three.

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