Airman Abroad

Hamish MacDonald's memoir offers a revealing glimpse into Britain's decline as an empire, drawing on letters, memories, and experiences from various locations during the Mau Mau times, Cyprus, and Jerusalem. It includes stories of conducting church services, shipwrecks, wildlife encounters, and lifelong friendships. The memoir also highlights the challenges of RAF life, station closures, oppressive heat, and political chicanery. The appendix includes the Windrush story and the building of the Suez Canal, providing additional background histories and politics of the time. Overall, the memoir offers a fascinating account of the era.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 256 pages
Publication date: 31 March 2023
Publisher: Whittles Publishing

A revealing picture of a time when Britain was losing its empire is presented in the book "The Canal Zone: A Time of Change and Challenge." The book draws on letters written by an airman during the period, his vivid memories and experiences from the Canal Zone, Kenya during Mau Mau times, Cyprus, and Jerusalem. The author's time encompassed conducting church services, being shipwrecked, numerous wildlife encounters, and the formation of many lifelong friendships. The Canal Zone was no easy life, and 50 years later, a medal was awarded when the government was forced to admit it was deserved and confess its own political chicanery in the events. Hamish paints a picture of the highs and lows of RAF life, a station being run down in Egypt, working in oppressive heat, and now and then being shot at! He saw the Windrush a week before it exploded and sank in the Mediterranean; both the Windrush story and that of building the Suez Canal are detailed in an appendix. There is much to find in this story, including background histories to events and the politics of the time. As a whole, it provides a fascinating account of the era.

Weight: 592g
Dimension: 170 x 240 x 16 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781849955409