THE ROYAL NAVAL AIR SERVICE AT WAR - INFORMATION
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The Royal Naval Air Service at War compiled by Philip Jarrett & Jack Meadows
CONTENT:
The story of the Royal Naval Air Service between 1914
and 1918 has been told before, but this book takes a
different look at that gallant band. The book is in
two parts; the first part relates an intensely
personal view of the war, using as its basis the
personal war diary of a Canadian pilot, Cecil J.
Clayton, who served in the RNAS as a Felixstowe flying
boat pilot. From this we get an intimate view of the
thoughts and experiences of how one man saw the war,
'up close and personal'. The second part of the book
describes the war from the official, and much larger,
viewpoint by means of official documents, communiqués,
orders of battle, operation planning notes and
hundreds of previously-unpublished photographs,
accompanied by highly-detailed captions.
AUTHOR NOTES:
Jack Meadows, DFC, AFC, AE, served as a Mosquito
nightfighter pilot in World War II. Almost by chance
he discovered Cecil Clayton's diary which he
immediately recognised as a valuable contribution to
aviation history, and more particularly that of the
RNAS. By editing and interpreting this material, the
author succeeds in bringing to life the hopes, fears
and achievements of Cecil Clayton and his fellows in
that most bloody of wars. He lives in Canada.
Philip Jarrett will be well known to readers of Aeroplane Monthly where he is a major and regular contributor as one of this country's foremost specialists in early aviation history. His impeccable research and vast collection of aviation material has yielded a treasure trove of previously unseen official documents, including hitherto unpublished information on the raid on the Zeppelin shed at Evere, Belgium, by two RNAS Sopwith 11/2 Strutters of No.5(N) Squadron on 9 August 1916.
