Randolph Lederer

A terrific story of a very brave “Fighter Boy”, which I really enjoyed. I was particularly struck by the fact that Geoffrey Page was so young, one minute he’s a schoolboy and the next he’s a fighter pilot fighting in the Battle of Britain, then extremely badly burned, followed by two years and fifteen operations in East Grinstead under Archie McIndoe. John Willis approached Geoffrey Page very sensitively, uncovering what was going on in his mind, whether waiting to be airborne, involved in a dogfight or back in his bed thinking about the events of the day. The descriptions of the dogfights almost made me feel I was in that Hurricane with the Fighter Boy. John Willis also tells what an extraordinary man Archie McIndoe was. A pioneer in his field, who not only repaired the awful physical damage suffered by the pilots under his care, but also the mental damage. The book is extremely well researched, well written and fast moving, which makes it a fascinating and illuminating biography of a truly remarkable man.