Solo To England [first edition]

Solo to England represents Barry Markham s absorbing account of his epic journey in a Tiger Moth plane from Australia to England. From his grand departure from his hometown of Perth to his joyous reunion in Cambridge with wife Carol after 60 days (35 of which he spent flying), Solo to England tells of eventful travelling through 16 countries and 35 airports. The book gives a clear hands-on account of the technicalities involved in flying a World War II aeroplane and is complemented by the author s complete attention to small details, to the strict adherence to the daily, and sometimes hourly, weather reports which determined the day s flight plan or aborted flight. These vital things literally made the difference between life and death. Barry describes how support from family and friends can strengthen morale as well as assistance from complete strangers: above all I shall never forget the dozens of people I met from many different ethnic backgrounds and beliefs, who seemed to possess, almost without exception, the inherent desire to want to help a fellow human being from the opposite side of the world who was on a strange journey.