Alan,
Well since Ball is my main interest too, and there's no main thread, let's just start one
Outside of the 2 best known books you mention, there are a few with chapters on Ball. Each one of these has a different line or two that point to a clue to more info, but since NONE of them cite this info with footnotes, >
it's hard to know where some of this comes from - and some of it is WRONG
I've read what I can find, gone to Nottingham, read ALL his letters(I could find), done more research and written some on my own. What I find strange is the phenomena of not touting British aces at all
I'm exploring writing on this lack of attention as a topic in its own. Ball is unique among aces for designing an aeroplane if nothing else!
Cheers,
Scarlett