Biography "several notches above average"

Battle of Britain Spitfire Ace

Author: Peter J Usher

Publisher: Air World, 2024

ISBN: 9781036106126

Hardback, 232 pages, illustrated

Most readers of this website will not, I suspect, be familiar with the career of Flying Officer William Nelson, a Canadian Spitfire ace in the Battle of Britain. He was shot down into the Channel on 1 November 1940 and was never found.

Now “Willie” Nelson has been rescued from the shadows by Peter J Usher in a stand-out biography which budding authors and some already claiming that status would do well to study. If you have no such ambitions and are merely interested in the Battle of Britain, then you should also read this book. It is several notches above the average.

I know from experience that there are challenges in producing an acceptable biography out of the life of someone who died in their twenties, especially perhaps when the temptation (which must be resisted) is to speculate on what the subject might have achieved, what further chapters you might have needed to write had the war been survived.

Mr Usher explains that his approach is divided into four parts. The first considers the origins of Nelson’s family, his early years as part of the Jewish community in Montreal, his interest in flying and his decision to go to England. Next comes his efforts to obtain an RAF short service commission, life as a bomber pilot and meeting Marjorie McIntyre, who would become his wife. Nelson’s wartime experiences and death are then described. Finally, we read about Mrs Nelson’s subsequent, far from easy, time in Canada and the perspective of their son, living in Canada and the UK.

The overall story is far from undiluted happiness, but Mr Usher is a readable writer as he competently records events around three lives rather than one. If you are looking for nothing but aerial action, then you are in the wrong place. Otherwise, an interesting experience awaits.

I noticed a few small errors and spelling mistakes. None had significant impact.

Geoff Simpson FRHistS