Arthur Gould Lee

I am going to quote Mr. Arthur Gould Lee from No Parachute

The letters are presented as scribbled in the field on a strange assortment of writing pads and official sheets, but because twice as much material was available as I needed to produce a book of reasonable length, ruthless cutting was necessary. Regrettable casualties among the deletions were the accounts of other squadrons, and the pilots in 46 who were not in my flight.

The sincerity of his writing makes me want to read his accounts that he neglected to publish. Perhaps his family could provide the information as an additional publication.

cheers

[Cigogne]

A second book was written, but I can't recall the name of it. I think "Open Cockpit" or something like that. I have not read it or found a copy. But, you might search for it.

I am a big fan of Lee. His book brought the subject alive for me in a big way. Plus, I like his personality, reads almost like P.G.Wodehouse with the slang and humor.

Cigogne

I have not read open cockpit but about fifteen years ago I read Arthur Gould Lee's Book excellent about the first manned flight in England. I don't remember the name of the book. About the same time I also read Fly Past a book written late in his life. I was impressed by his continued love of flying and that he was still the same person that flew the duels in the sky many years before. He must have been in his late 70's when he wrote it. I remember him writing about flying under a bridge just because it was there.

Cheers

[wings]

What time period and activities does Open Cockpit cover?

[stephen]

NO PARACHUTE is a collection of Lee's letters home to his wife during the war, interspersed with occasional excerpts from his diary.

Hey, did I spell "excerpts" right?

OPEN COCKPIT is his memoirs of the war, and philosophical musings after the fact. It is well worth getting (if you find a copy, get me one too!) and just as insightful as NO PARACHUTE.

As as example of the type of material in OPEN COCKPIT, Lee recalls a particular dogfight in which he came to the important realization that a German pilot was afraid of him. During the opening weeks of his career he spent all his time in great fear, dodging death and trying desperately just to survive. He speaks at length of the dogfight that changed his mental outlook... a fight in which he finally managed a quick burst at an Albatros, after which the German pilot panicked and quickly dove away. From that time on, he became a hunter instead of the prey. He writes of that incident in great detail and it really helps you understand the mindset of a young, scared kid flying in combat.

That's the sort of material you'll find in OPEN COCKPIT. Excellent read.

Stephen

Thanks for your reply, now I have to get open cocpit.

Do you or anybody else know when open cocpit was written.

No Parachute was copyrighted in 1968 and Fly past was published after that if memory serves me right.

Does anyone know the name of Arthur Gould Lee's book about the history of flight in England.

I still think his documentation of other pilots referred to in my first post would be a great find.

Cheers

[Frank_Olynyk]

Autobiographical books by ASG Lee:

Special Duties: Reminiscences of a Royal Air Force Staff Officer in the Balkans, Turkey and the Middle East. n.d. (1945/46?). *London: Sampson Low, Marston.

No Parachute: A Fighter Pilot in World War I. *1970. *New York: Harper & Row. *(US edition of 1968 British edition)

Open Cockpit: A Pilot of the Royal Flying Corps. *1969. *London: Jarrolds.

All three books are (as of half an hour ago) listed on ABEBooks.com. *Only one copy of Open Cockpit however, and a little expensive as it is signed by a fellow WW1 pilot (Knocker, 3 victories).

Further:
Fly Past: Highlights From A Flyer's Life. 1974. London: Jarrolds.

The Flying Cathedral: The Story of Samual Franklin Cody. 1965. London: Methuen. [This is the early flying in England book noted above in an earlier post]

And for an associational item of interest to me, by Arthur Lee Gould: An Airplane in the Arabian Nights. 1947.

Frank.

[Droops]

I check http://used.addall.com and typed in Lee, Arthur Gould.&StoreJustBooks=on&StorePowells=on

VBR,

John

Thanks Frank.
I choose the book No Parachute from a library shelf about twenty years ago. At the time I had no interest in war stories but the writing of Arthur Gould lee had me hooked. Then I started reading other WW1 stories.

I found the following book with link below that makes reference to Wop May a first world war pilot hooked me about the same way.

http://www.bcbooks.com/bushpilotwithabriefcase.html

Cheers