Wingless Victory
EMBRY, Sir Basil, Anthony, RICHARDSON
Related by Anthony Richardson. [Third Impression.]
SIGNED BY AIR CHIEF MARSHAL SIR BASIL EMBRY
Published: Odhams, [1950]
Stock code: 47247
Price: £540.00
8vo., Third Impression, with portrait frontispiece and 11 plates on 8; blue cloth, backstrip lettered in black, backstrip faintly sunned else a very good, bright, clean copy in unclipped dustwrapper, the latter mildly rubbed at extremities.
SIGNED BY EMBRY ON FRONTISPIECE. Bright copy of one of the earliest and most popular RAF escape stories of WWII, published just a month after the first edition. Shot down near St. Omer, Embry made his return to England via Spain just nine weeks and five days later. He subsequently commanded 2 Group Bomber Command, and although ranked Air Vice Marshal flew several operations under the name 'Wing Commander Smith'. His Mosquitos were renowned for their skill and accuracy in precision daylight bombing, and he would have led personally Operation JERICHO - the raid on Amiens prison in February 1944 (in which his substitute Pickard was killed) - had higher authority not ordered him to stand down. Post-war, Embry served as Commander-in-Chief Fighter Command from 1949 to 1953. SIGNED COPIES ARE EXCEEDINGLY SCARCE. We are told that this copy was signed by Embry for Wing Commander Tom 'Ginger' Neil (Battle of Britain ace and RAF test pilot), but there is no formal evidence to this effect. Enser, p.151 (recording the first edition).