Nor the Years Condemn

by Justin Sheedy

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  Justin would love to hear from you and share your thoughts on Nor the Years Condemn. Feel free to contact him and leave a comment at the book’s Facebook page, at Justin’s personal Facebook page, at his blog, Crackernight.com or on Twitter.

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  Dear Reader,

  My most heartfelt thanks to you for reading Nor the Years Condemn. I most profoundly hope you’ve enjoyed it.

  First of all I must thank The Society of Authors in London, literary representative of the estate of the poet Laurence Binyon, specifically, Lisa Dowdeswell of the Society who granted me permission to use, as my book’s title, a key phrase from Laurence Binyon’s 1914 poem, ‘For the Fallen’, as well as the extract from the poem that follows my title page, a verse more commonly referred to as the ‘Ode of Remembrance’.

  Nor the Years Condemn is a work of fiction: I am not a professional historian, merely an author. That said, in writing this book, I have attempted to ground every single element within it on fact, whether historical, technical, chronological or geographic. Hence, the path of the narrative’s main character around Australia, across the oceans to England, around that country and across to Occupied France is entirely representative of the paths of actual Australian aircrew of the Empire Air Training Scheme. Within the narrative, details of every aircraft, every airbase and location, every date and combat description are as historically accurate as my research would allow. All characters described, though fictional, are, as far as possible, based on the experiences of real people. My intent here is to honour the memory and increase modern awareness of the young men of the Empire Air Training Scheme by bringing to life in fictional form the facts of their true saga.

  I would, however, like to highlight two key points of my story where, for dramatic purposes (i.e. attempting to write a gripping historical fiction), I employed a degree of ‘artistic licence’. They are as follows.

  The numbered RAF squadrons featured in my story were real squadrons. Where I could have invented fictional ones, I chose actual squadrons (Number 609 for example) in order to encourage possible flow-on reader interest and research into such amazing fighting units. 609 Squadron was a leading Typhoon squadron and I have indeed employed artistic licence in positing the main character of my story, Daniel Quinn, as its squadron leader. To my knowledge, RAF 609 Squadron was never led by an Australian, though it is a matter of historical fact that Australian (and Commonwealth) pilots featured very prominently within it: A superb documentary, ‘Typhoon at War’ (DD Video), is available on DVD as testament to this, featuring, amongst others, Australian Typhoon pilot, Squadron Leader Rick Dupré, a man whose recollections and demeanour are as impressive as they are down-to-earth.

  Also, the ‘London Controlling Section’ as featured in my story was an actual covert organisation attached to British Military Intelligence in World War Two. Founded by Winston Churchill and with its offices in Whitehall, the mission of the LCS was the ‘strategic deception’ of German forces in the lead-up to D-Day as part of ‘Operation Bodyguard’ and others. Once again, I have employed artistic licence in intertwining the exploits of Daniel Quinn with those of an LCS operative, my story’s main female character, Jillian Brown: The deliberate intelligence deception of an RAF squadron commander by an Allied secret agency as portrayed in my story is, of course, my own fictional construct. However, please note as historical fact that, in the intensive three-month Allied bombing campaign of coastal France which led up to D-Day, a staggering two-thirds of all the bombs dropped by the entire weight of RAF Bomber Command and the United States 8th Army Air Force were dropped outside the intended invasion area of Normandy – so as to dupe German High Command into thinking that Normandy would not be the upcoming Invasion site. Whether Allied aircrew, German military or French civilian, the loss of human life attendant to this bombing campaign for the key purpose of subterfuge would indicate that, for WW2 Allied Command, ‘the end’ very much justified ‘the means’. It was this tragic acceptance and use of ‘human expendability’ that I wanted to symbolise in my story’s key character being ‘used’ by an ostensible ally (a practice presumably as old as war itself and certainly consistent with the known practices of the world’s ‘secret services’ to this very day). Obviously my fictional construct at this point of my story is a symbolic simplification of wider historical fact for dramatic purposes. I would, however, suggest that my fictional construct is hardly beyond plausibility given that the secret arms of even our ‘civilised’ governments routinely justify any practice, any ‘necessary evil for a greater good’, on the grounds of National Security. More accurately, they don’t justify their practices, they keep them secret. While we, the population, sleep in our beds at night secure and grateful not to know. Though perhaps most grateful that we are not allowed to know.

  Many people and organisations assisted me in my long and intense research efforts into the true history upon which my story is based. I am therefore keen to thank the following…

  From Australia, the following veterans of the Empire Air Training Scheme: Kittyhawk fighter pilot, Les Montgomery, for reading an early draft of the manuscript and giving me the thumb’s-up along with a detailed report on the work including some pivotal technical suggestions. Bill Purdy, Lancaster bomber pilot, for describing his experiences to me in such detail. Dick Troy, Liberator bomber gunner, for sharing his personal reminiscences with me, and for patiently fielding each and every one of my enquiries that I phoned through to him. Liberator bomber pilot, John McKellar, founding member of the Military Museum of the RSL War Veterans’ Retirement Village, Collaroy Plateau, for his guided tour of the museum and for answering all my questions with patience and enthusiasm.

  Jeffrey Mellefont of the Australian National Maritime Museum for sending me his grandfather’s Empire Air Training Scheme memoirs, upon which my main character’s journey is geographically based. Veteran pilots Ed Field and Geoff Burstall for confirming that putting the throttle forward on a Spitfire actually does sound like putting your foot to the floor in a ’67 Valiant. Pilots Henry Gorman and Steve Krug for flying me in an old De Havilland Beaver and letting me have the co-pilot’s seat, and for free. Amy Heap of the Wagga Wagga City Library for referring me to Jim Dunn and ‘Clarkie’ of the Victory Memorial Gardens, Wagga Wagga, who were kind enough to send me their own digital photos and material descriptions of the memorial and gardens which they tend. Terrence Rumble for his advice over a period of several months during my research regarding World War Two aircraft, firearms, and general military history. For their online Australian war-historical advice, Ted Harris of DiggerHistory.info and Peter Dunn of OzatWar.com. Lisa Jane Kinny of the Sydney University Football Club for her detailed historical information re the club. Marita Winters, Director of the National Office for Evangelisation, Catholic Enquiry Centre, and Father Donald Richardson, Archdiocesan Master of Ceremonies, Archdiocese of Sydney, for their patient and expert advice re the procedure and spoken text of Catholic church services circa 1939. For their advice on Robert Menzies, Dr Peter J. Tyler, President of the Professional Historians Association (NSW), Andrew Sergeant, Reference Librarian of Information Services at the National Library of Australia, Ms Sandra Mackenzie OAM, General Manager of The Menzies Foundation, and Associate Professor Paul Ashton, Co-Director of the Australian Centre for Public History, University of Technology, Sydney. My ‘uncle’ Eric and ‘aunt’ Bev Gorr for their kind encouragement on reading the manuscript of Nor the Years Condemn in the lead-up to publication. My parents for patiently reading interminable drafts of the book and for their ongoing advice regarding Australian society during the 1940s.

  From England, Dr Alan Scarth of the Merseyside Maritime Museum, Sally Berry of National Museums of Liverpool and Jim Monaghan of the Merchant Navy Association for their expert advice re the experience of wartime ocean ‘convoy’ passage. Justin Teggarty, Richard Plampin and Michael Hernandez of the Band of the Welsh Guards, London, for sending me thei
r marching manual. Elaine Arthurs of the Steam Museum of the Great Western Railways for detailing the route from Liverpool to Bournemouth circa 1942. Pat Bosley of the Didcot Railway Centre and Michael Irlam for his passion for the Great Western Line. Graham Carpenter for his 1942 train timetables. My dear friend, Nick Weedon, for his expert knowledge of the London Underground and for explaining that Charing Cross wasn’t called Charing Cross back then and neither was Trafalgar Square for that matter. Ex-RAF Flight Lieutenant Malcolm Barrass of the Royal Air Force Historical Society for his superb reference website on the history of the RAF and its squadrons (Rafweb.org) and also for fielding my detailed questions regarding RAF rank structure and insignia. (Malcolm continues his tireless help with my RAF historical questions with reference to the sequel to Nor the Years Condemn which I’m currently writing!) The local council of Callander in Scotland for their mile-by-mile descriptions of the mountains and lochs around Ben Ledi, and for confirming that RAF fighters fly low up Loch Lubnaig to this day. Also to Katherine Moody of the Imperial War Museum, Bill Bond of the Battle of Britain Historical Society, Simon Donoghue of the Havering Library Service, and Gordon Leith and Kath Baxter of the RAF Museum.

  From France, the wonderful Virginie Boucey of the Office du Tourisme de la Hague for her X-marks-the-spot maps of the towns of Querqueville and Nacqueville, Normandy Coast of France, for her derivations and suggestions re Norman surnames as opposed to modern French, and for reading and affirming sections of the manuscript set in her local area. Mrs Florence d’Harcourt of the Chateau de Nacqueville for confirming that, yes, the Germans actually were billeted in the Chateau up till D-Day.

  From Germany, Gudrun Steinhöfer for her German language translation of elements of dialogue within the manuscript.

  Hank Nelson’s Chased by the Sun, a brilliantly written history of the Australian experience of the Empire Air Training Scheme, served as a key reference text in my research for this book, as did Typhoon and Tempest at War by Arthur Reed and Roland Beamont (ex-leader of 609 Squadron). My feel for the true history on which my story is based was also most enjoyably enhanced by many documentaries by Nugus/Martin Productions, in my opinion, the finest documentaries shown on the History Channel.

  SPECIAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  My special thanks must go out to the following people for their stellar support surrounding this book…

  Sydney radio presenters Maggie Mason of Ryde Regional Radio and Ross Fear of Alive 90.5 FM, two truly excellent souls of the Sydney cultural scene, for their tireless support of my writing and for featuring me on their radio shows on a regular basis. Philippa Bird of Sydney’s Triple-H FM for interviewing me on her program, ‘The Hubbub’, and for her post-show write-up: “Justin has just released his second book, Nor the Years Condemn. It is an amazing story of heroes, Spitfires and much, much more. Hear it directly from the author! You will be quite spellbound!” – Audio available at Crackernight.com.

  Ben Garland, book-buyer at Dymocks George Street Sydney, for his invaluable and inspired support of Nor the Years Condemn. Ben was the very first retail book industry figure to get behind this book, ordering it for the flagship store of the great Dymocks Books chain in early 2012 with the pronouncement “I’ve got a really good feeling about this.” Ben’s faith and kindness truly was the initial spark for a triumphant retail 2012 for Nor the Years Condemn and Ben has since re-ordered the book 8 times, the year concluding at Dymocks George Street with my sell-out book-signing event on Remembrance Day weekend. My thanks also to Sandra Wigzell, manager of Dymocks North Sydney, for inviting me 3 times to appear at in-store book-signing events and for her ongoing support and encouragement. Petra Grotjahn, manager of Dymocks Chatswood, for twice inviting me to appear in-store (including an Anzac Day 2013 event) and for her amazing support and friendship. (On reading Nor the Years Condemn Petra so engaged with the story that she is adamant about what should go in the Sequel!) Edwina, manager of Dymocks Macquarie Centre, for organising what proved a sell-out in-store event, Vishaal of Dymocks Bondi Junction for inviting me to 2 successful book-signing events (including Australia Day 2013), and to Kamal Verma, owner of Dymocks Broadway, where I broke author event sales records on Christmas Eve 2012. Thanks also to the management and staff of Gleebooks, Berkelouw Books and the Australian War Memorial, where Nor the Years Condemn has been most recently stocked.

  My thanks to the management and staff of the Epping Library, Stanton Library, Glebe Library, Chatswood and City of Sydney Libraries for stocking Nor the Years Condemn and for their brilliant efforts to help promote my author events for it.

  Photographer Emmy Etié for her quite magically transforming photos of me (in real life I look Crap!), pics I have since been able to use in my ongoing publicity efforts for the book, and for her delightful friendship ever since. Pete Kelly for playing ‘The Last Post’ at my Remembrance Day in-store event along with Scottish Andrew on bagpipes – a memorable day indeed.

  For their outstanding help and advice in my research for the sequel to Nor the Years Condemn ( Ghosts of the Empire, currently available through all bookstores and online) I must thank author Kristen Alexander, Tess Egan, Stephen Hay (ex-Royal Australian Navy Fleet Air Arm aero-mechanic) for providing me with rare research texts on the De Havilland Mosquito, and Jim Keeling for sending me detailed geographical photos of his local area in Norfolk UK: invaluable in my efforts to portray this key site of Ghosts of the Empire as accurately as possible. Also Ewan Burnet of the RAF Museum Hendon, London and Robert Glasby of the Mosquito Museum at Hatfield, London for their detailed and enthusiastic help with my research on the ‘Wooden Wonder’.

  For their most kind reviews of Nor the Years Condemn… Michael High, Martin Zitek, Rochelle Lancaster, Celia Byrnes, Denise Boneham, Justin Osborne, Andrew Landström, James McDonald, Stephen Horsman, Stephanie Speakman, Nathan Dickey, Tim Bean, Paddy O’Connor, Logan Meddler Dehn, Jason Mitchell, Angela La Camera Paino and Mitchell Newell. My profound thanks to all these people, whom I am now lucky enough to count as friends, their reviews as posted at the book’s Amazon and Amazon UK pages and at Crackernight.com…

  Nor the Years Condemn – 5 Stars

  by Michael High, Colorado Springs, USA

  Nor the Years Condemn : Where to start? The writing. Excellent. Everything flowed and, from the first chapter to the end, was fluid. Hints here and there as to what may happen in the future were freely dropped along the way. This kept me engrossed, kept me reading. The story. Again, excellent. The history behind these young men (and women), the planes they used, the circumstances surrounding this time frame, et cetera – all well done. I thoroughly enjoyed the “story” of each character and how they interacted with each other. There were some shockers in there; war is hell, no? I also liked the hint of “espionage” involved. “Nor the Years Condemn”, to me, was a fantastic read. I can but recommend this book to others and impatiently await Justin’s next work.

  Should Be a Movie

  by Rochelle Lancaster, Melbourne, Australia

  Nor the Years Condemn is a must-have for any history buff. Not only for an insight into what it was like at the start of the war, but also an insight into Sydney at the time. Not only for the boys, everyone will take something away from this. Could definitely see this made into a mini-series or movie. The author sucks you in from the start, it is very hard to put down. You can tell that the author did a lot of research when writing this book and is passionate about the story and characters. Hoping there will be a sequel.

  In Appreciation of Nor the Years Condemn

  by Martin Zitek, Sydney, Australia

  Nor the Years Condemn recounts the horrors of war as seen by one elite and effective unit of WWII. The author puts us there, in that time, by depicting: language, description of locations, the attitudes of the people and the spirit of the nation that would see it prevail through its darkest period of history. The reader is shown in clear, flowing narrative how war can touch us all, from the other side of the world, to the heights of th
e clouds. The characters feel so real, we are sure they must have existed. The flying is portrayed so brilliantly, we feel an ace fighter pilot must have possessed Justin’s head while he wrote this. The planes themselves become characters, even though mere machines, they became tools of victory and a symbol of ingenuity, technology and bloody determination. This is a testament to the research undertaken by the author and his wordsmithing we see as the end result. We should count ourselves lucky today that the whole world has not since been embroiled in such a conflict and we hope it never will be again. Recounting the bravery of these men, and the staggering odds against their surviving, should make us never forget. We will remember them.

  History Buff Response To Nor The Years Condemn…

  by Denise Boneham of Bury St Edmunds, England

  Well I finally got around to reading this the other day. I was predisposed to like it before I started cos it was about Aussie aircrew but it surpassed even my huge expectations. It made me laugh and cry at different times. It’s a work of fiction but the voices and characters almost seemed like it was veterans speaking. Well done, Justin, there’s a mini-series in this. Bomber Command based novel next pretty please Justin!!!

  An Unusual WW2 Aviator’s Story, a Terrific Read!!

  by Celia Byrnes, Iowa, USA

  This book follows the life of an Australian pilot from volunteering, training, shipping out to England, until the wind down of the war. Meticulously researched, our fictional character’s story is wholly believable, from descriptions of military training, learning to fly, airborne dog fights, war-torn London, relationships formed and lost. A gripping story of war, love, loss and survival. As a Brit I found it an unusual perspective which is frequently overlooked, try not to let it make you late for work – it did me.