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Flying to Norway, Grounded in Burma: A Hudson Pilot in World War II Kindle Edition

by Goronwy 'Gron' Edwards DFC (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 797 ratings
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A Royal Air Force pilot recounts his experiences on the front lines of WWII in both Europe and the Pacific in this fascinating military memoir.

In 1936, Goronwy “Gron” Edwards joined the Royal Air Force on a Short Service Commission. After gaining his wings, he joined No. 233 General Reconnaissance Squadron and flew the Avro Anson, a hastily modified twin-engine aircraft. He later flew the Lockheed Hudson on reconnaissance patrols along the Norwegian coast. Searching for German capital ships hiding in the Fiords, Edwards also came up against Luftwaffe seaplanes—and won a Distinguished Flying Crossed for his valor during the Norwegian campaign.

After becoming short-sighted and night-blind, Edwards was posted to the Navigational School at Cranage in Cheshire before qualifying as a Specialist Armament Officer. In September of 1944, he traveled to Maniur, India, where he became the Armament Officer of No. 221 Group. With the Japanese in retreat the group moved to Burma, where Edwards commanded the RAF advance party.
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  1. Print length
    242 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Pen & Sword Aviation
  5. Publication date
    April 21, 2009
  6. File size
    1641 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Goronwy Edwards DFC is an author and RAF veteran from World War II.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00DN5U5AY
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pen & Sword Aviation; Illustrated edition (April 21, 2009)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 21, 2009
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1641 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 242 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 797 ratings

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
797 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

LiterallyLiterary
5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Insight into Lesser Written About RAF Activities in WWII
Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2015
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I'd consider this book a standout in the area of books about the RAF in the Second World War on the grounds that it touches upon Coastal Command missions over the North Sea and Norway as well as South East Asia Command activities in Burma and India as opposed to the well visited areas of Fighter Command and Bomber Command over Europe.

In the early stages of the book, the Avro Anson and Lockheed Hudson aircraft are spoken about in detail, particularly with regards to the Hudson in combat against German aircraft and shipping. It's a very enlightening look into a lesser written about though no less important RAF aircraft type.

In later chapters, the author gives a well detailed account of what RAF life in Burma could be like.

As the author built up an impressive personal flight log covering many types of aircraft, you will find snippets of his experiences with them in the pages of this book.

Beyond the flying, the author's personal life is visited with regularity as well.

The writing style is very accessible and is both humourous and poignant in equal measure.
2 people found this helpful
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Charles Kovacs
4.0 out of 5 stars so boring, one might think
Reviewed in the United States on January 31, 2016
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This is the autobiography of a young man who joined the RAF just before WWII and was commissioned after he received his wings. He was in Burma at the end of WWII as a squadron leader and ordnance specialist. His operational and combat flying was with Coastal Command in Ansons and Hudsons until he was grounded for medical and psychological reasons. So far, so boring, one might think, but in fact this is a very good book about the RAF, in spite of the absence of any great drama. The author writes well, and has a dry sense of humor and succeeds in making the reader want to know what comes next. If not a page turner, this is still a compelling book.
Readers interested in the RAF in WWII should find this book useful for its vignettes of the war in Norway and the North Sea through 1941. The author's chapters on his tour in Burma are perhaps even more interesting. He was not doing not much flying, but his description of war fought on a shoe string in a remote theater is valuable and interesting.
I gave the book only four stars because it was too short: more mundane details about life in the RAF, travellng from England to Burma, more details about his wing would have been useful and a chapter or two more about life in England after 1946 would also have been nice. This book was written quite a few years ago, so there is a little too much of the "stiff upper lip" style. This may be challenging for younger readers, but it's a challenge worth taking up.
2 people found this helpful
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C Neb
3.0 out of 5 stars Good read but fails in the end
Reviewed in the United States on March 18, 2016
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The book is a good read but the end of the book ends awkwardly . It just ends without a decent finish, we never know how he ends up after the author alludes to more problems before things get better. The loose ends need to be cleared up.
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Eric K
5.0 out of 5 stars Great adventure, - gave me great insight, - a lot of personality.
Reviewed in the United States on March 20, 2016
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Great story starting from before WW2 and going to after WW2. Author does a great job describing both his flying role and hardships encountered by him and his family. I enjoyed the humor he managed to inject as well as the technical aspects of his adventure(s). I am glad he made it though OK. Normally I am not big on autobiographies, but this one I really liked, I felt that I was there and it did not ramble on and on. Again, a good read.
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Ross Beveridge
4.0 out of 5 stars Worth Reading
Reviewed in the United States on October 13, 2017
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Author isn't a writer but clearly sufferedt PTSD early and continued to fly despite poor eyesight. Overall a quite human story, no depth, easy to read at speed - $1 on kindle. Quite provoking; poor equipment fighting superior German tools, training and organization over Norway; the deaths of his two brothers; living in tents in the Burma assault; coming back to a ungrateful and austere UK - my Dad had a similar but different story as RNVR surgeon in UK and in Burma, and in hindsight, equally traumatized. He also told me about Flynny taking Burma single handed and the riot that ensued in the theater in Rangoon (Yangon) with the men who had just executed several beach assaults.
One person found this helpful
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Roberto
5.0 out of 5 stars Most enjoyable read
Reviewed in the United States on March 26, 2016
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Most enjoyable tour down the alleys of memories of the second war

Well wtitten ,the real things of how war was to real people
The most delightfull english humor and absolutelly pleasing to read
Real heroes not taller than anybody
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ac
4.0 out of 5 stars Good Book
Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2015
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I enjoyed this book very much. Very few WW2 pilots flew as many different types of aircraft as Edwards did and frequently under unusual circumstances. I also found it interest because my father flew anti-submarine patrol in a Hudson (fly out of Canada) and flew an Anson as well while a utility pilot attached to a Spitfire Wing while overseas in England. My dad would have felt a kinship with Edwards. Even though my was a utility pilot his wing command volunteered his own Spitfire if my dad wanted to check himself out in it (he did.)
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Lyn
3.0 out of 5 stars A good tale, but not very gripping
Reviewed in the United States on April 30, 2015
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Just okay and valued primarily in telling of Coastal Command early in the war. A good tale, but not very gripping. Maybe in hindsight, that's okay because not everyone in WW2 had an action packed service career.
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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speel
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in Canada on June 22, 2017
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It was enjoyable to an ex-flyer but would probably not hold much appeal to the general population.
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ajcrou
3.0 out of 5 stars Intéressant sur des aspects peu traités de l'aviation durant la WWII
Reviewed in France on October 10, 2017
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Pas grand chose à dire sur cette biographie d'un pilote britannique pendant la WWII.

C'est globalement très bien écrit, avec des points d’humours.

On découvre quelques aspects rarement traité à travers l’histoire d'un pilote sur Lockheed Hudson effectuant essentiellement des patrouilles maritimes, notamment lors des opérations en Norvège. Mais aussi à travers son rôle dans le personnel au sol (après la découverte d'un problème de vision le déclarant inapte au pilotable) lors des opérations en Birmanie.
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Byzantium
5.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly good
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 30, 2015
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Purchased this from Kindle not really expecting too much, but was in for a treat. Really well written book, the first part (Flying to Norway) very humorous. The author flew various aircraft in Coastal Command during WWII, then was transferred to the Far East as an RAF "Armaments Officer"
The first, roughly half of the book is very very funny, but this tails off when author transferred to Far Eastern theatre of war. Perhaps this reflects the different conditions. The author ended the book very suddenly in the midst of recounting his "demob conditions", whether he planned a second volume or was simply rushed by the publisher remains a minor mystery.
I have read many autobiographies of RAF pilots during WWII, this is one of the best written and far and away the funniest. I stress I am not suggesting the author intended to write a comedy, this just adds to the books charm
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owen clatworthy
3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars
Reviewed in Australia on November 7, 2015
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Good reading. It revealed some history that I was unaware of.
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Mr Smith
4.0 out of 5 stars A very interesting and informative book - its good to be able to access such 'niche' titles so easily.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 21, 2017
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Back in the day I used to read a lot. All sorts of books. Especially The Classics, Poerty, Fantasy, SciFi, Autobiographies ...... and Military History.

I used to keep the books I'd particularly enjoyed but I finally gave up on keeping the 1,000s of physical books I'd collected over the decades and gave them all to the various local charity shops. Hopefully it gave the books a new life and raised some money for the charities, but I did miss being able to go to my bookshelves, pull out a random(ish) book I'd liked to reread it for a while.

Aside from clearing out the shelves, I recently gave up on physical books for good and started reading electronic books on my Kindle - and, while browsing the store, I started noticing some Military History books I'd previously enjoyed ....... but almost forgotten. Very reasonable prices and no shelf space required! And so, I bought this book (again).

The book was written by someone who 'lived it' - so you don't get a 'complex storyline' or 'poetic writing' or 'clever plot' - but you do get the personal insight, incidental detail, interesting asides and mundane realities that make such accounts so compelling. Anyone who as been in the services will relate to the situations the author describes. Moreover, this book is not about the usual 'iconic' WW2 topics (Spitfires, Stalingrad, D-Day .... etc) either - it covers less commonly written about aircraft, roles and places - so makes an interesting change.

I very much liked this book the first few times I read it ........ and I'm skimming through it enjoying it all over again.
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