African Sky (43 page)

B
y any measurement, the Empire Air Training Scheme was a massive undertaking. More than 37,000 Australian pilots and other aircrew were trained under the scheme during World War Two, including 583 who undertook instruction in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe).

Fifty of those Australian servicemen are buried in Zimbabwe, in Bulawayo, and at the other major training centres, Gweru and Harare (formerly Gwelo and Salisbury).

The fact that at its peak the Empire Air Training scheme was producing 50,000 graduates a year in Rhodesia, Australia and Canada says as much about the efficiency of the training as it does about the horrific losses suffered in the allied air forces, particularly in bomber command.

As in other countries that went to war, women played a vital role on the home front in Rhodesia, freeing up men for military service by taking jobs as policewomen, railway workers, parachute packers, aircraft fitters and mechanics and a host of other occupations hitherto reserved for men.

There is one woman buried in the RAF/military section of Bulawayo Cemetery, a Rhodesian Leading Aircraftswoman. Of course, there is no suggestion she met her fate in the same way as Felicity
Langham; however, when I first visited the graveyard, with the rough idea of the book in my mind, this discovery was enough to raise the hairs on the back of my neck.

The information about the Ossewa Brandwag (OB), its membership and rituals, largely came from
For Volk and Führer
by Hans Strydom, a factual account of Operation Weissdorn, in which the former South African heavyweight boxer Robey Leibbrandt, trained by the Germans as a spy, attempted to assassinate Prime Minister Jan Smuts in 1941. Leibbrandt was the inspiration for my Hendrick Reitz.

The idea for an OB attack on the Empire Air Training Scheme came from a brief reference in a book called
A Dream's Reality,
by Kelvin Hayes, DFC, an excellent first-hand account of life as a wartime RAAF fighter pilot. Mr Hayes, who was trained in Rhodesia, talks of base security being increased one night because of fears of an OB raid.

While we might think of weapons of mass destruction as a relatively modern concept, I was surprised, as some readers may be, to learn that sarin gas, the lethal substance used in the Tokyo subway attack, was indeed invented by the Germans prior to World War Two. Fear of reprisals and like attacks by the allies caused the Germans to hold off ever using it.

I am grateful to a number of sources and individuals for my research into the Empire Air Training Scheme, and life in 1940s Rhodesia.

In Zimbabwe, I would like to acknowledge the help of the Bulawayo city hall historical collection; the staff at the Zimbabwe military museum; and the British South Africa Police (BSAP) collection, at Gweru.

Mrs Esme Stewart, of Bulawayo, provided a wealth of written and anecdotal information about her years as a young woman during the war. It was a conversation with this delightful lady that prompted me to write the book in the first place.

Nick and Alison Jones, of Sydney, and Alison's mother, Dorothy Crombie, kindly provided additional information about life in wartime Bulawayo. Dave Munro and former BSAP officer John Bennett helped me with several questions about police uniforms and equipment.

Isobel ‘Scotty' Wrench read the draft manuscript and provided
invaluable suggestions, as well as information about Sir Godfrey Martin Huggins, former Prime Minister of Southern Rhodesia.

The Royal Australian Air Force museum at Point Cook, in Victoria, gave me a valuable starting point for information on the AT-6 Harvard aircraft and the Empire Air Training Scheme.

Thanks also to Jeff Mueller, of Sydney, who took my wife, Nicola (who, at five foot two, made a good Pip Lovejoy stand-in), for a memorable joy flight in his immaculately restored Harvard as part of our research. Jeff read and corrected early drafts of the flying scenes, and also came up with the means of sabotaging a Harvard, as employed by Hendrick Reitz in the book. You can see his Harvard at
www.australianwarbirds.com.au

Ace aerobatics pilot, fellow author and good friend David Rollins helped me navigate Paul Bryant through some gut-wrenching aerial manoeuvres. If you liked this book, you'll love his work. His latest is
The Death Trust,
also published by Pan Macmillan.

Don Caldwell-Smith, of Lindfield, Sydney, a wartime Lancaster pilot in the Royal Australian Air Force, kindly took the time to answer my many questions, and provided me with anecdotes and books which added immeasurably to my research on bomber command and the men who served in it.

The Nanton Lancaster Society in Canada, which houses a Lancaster bomber, provided advice and copies of original flight manuals to give me some tips on what could go wrong with an aircraft's landing gear, and how Paul Bryant would go about landing his stricken kite.

Sheila Bunnage from the Freedom of Information Cell at RAF Head Quarters Personnel and Training Command, at RAF Innsworth, UK, provided historical information about wartime air force protocols relating to funerals.

As is and always should be the case, if I've got something wrong, it is due solely to me, and not to any of the individuals who have helped me, or sources I have drawn upon.

In Zimbabwe, my thanks go to Sally, Dennis and Liz, and Don and Vicki for being great friends and fantastic hosts.

As usual, my daydreams would be nothing more than that without the support and input of my wife, Nicola; mother, Kathy; and mother-in-law, Sheila, who all read early drafts and gave full and frank advice (it gets fuller and franker with every book) and constructive feedback.

While some writers bridle at suggested edits to their manuscripts, I can only stand in awe at the skill, insight and passion of the hardworking team at Pan Macmillan. Far more than Publishing Director, Deputy Publishing Director, Senior Editor and Fiction Publicity Manager, I'm proud to call James Fraser, Cate Paterson, Sarina Rowell and Jane Novak friends. And, although I've never met her in person, copy editor Julia Stiles teaches me more and more about writing with every book.