THE SKY THEIR BATTLEFIELD II - The Updated and Expanded 2014 Edition

[fellop]

I have received my signed copy today. Even with a very brief flick through the pages I can see there will be much enjoyment had dipping in and out of the pages. It takes its place next to my [original] copy of TSTB on the bookshelf.

Well done Trevor, a reference work to be proud of.

Best regards

Peter

[Airshipped]

I received my copy today, a joy to behold. I'd about 999 things to cross-check with other facts and figures but I found that some of the material gave me reason to look at 1,001 other entries.

Well done on such a well-researched and well-written work.

[fetubi]

I really, really appreciate your comments friends. I hope you get years of use out of it.

Trevor

[fellop]

I really, really appreciate your comments friends. I hope you get years of use out of it.

Trevor

Well I hope it will be another 19 years until TSTB III

[fetubi]

I see in the latest Journal of Cross and Cockade International, which arrived yesterday, they've got an order form for copies of The Sky Their Battlefield II on their Society Renewal Form for 2015! Thanks C&C!!

Trevor

[GraemeClarke]

Hi Trevor,

Copy arrived, most excellent. Strangely my wife said the same, 'Happy Christmas', whatever that means.

Struggling, however, to find entry for

2nd Lt. William Basil Fryer, 22 Reserve Squadron, RFC

Killed in a flying accident on Tuesday 26 December 1916

Buried in Alexandria (Hadra) War Memorial Cemetery in Grave B.7

Is it just me ??

Would anyone, by even the smallest chance, have a picture of the headstone,

Regards,

Graeme

[fetubi]

Hi Graeme,

Many thanks for buying a copy.

As I hope I've made clear a few times, (eg. the relevant page about the new Accidents Addendum on the website, and also if you check on p.356 of my book), the Accidents Addendum covers accidents, fatalities, deaths and mishap on specifically all the Active Fronts - namely the Home Front and all the Fighting Fronts.

1) all the accidents and non-battle casualties of all the RFC, RAF, RNAS, AFC, and USAS squadrons which fought on the Western Front (right from their inception and training periods in the UK, as they evolved into service squadrons and headed off for deployment, then in their service at the front right, through until well into 1919),

2) plus those of all the active fighting squadrons of the RFC, RNAS and RAF based in The United Kingdom - Home Defence, Coastal Defence etc,

3) all the fighting squadrons in Italy and the Adriatic,

4) and all the service squadrons in the Dardanelles and the Turkish Coast, in Salonica, in Egypt, in Mesopotamia, in Africa, and in India.

Other than covering those service squadrons acting in their early days as training units, as most obviously did, Training units, per se, are not able to be incorporated. It is my plan to put these up on my website shortly.

As I say in my book, these would have amounted to another 3,000 entries, on top of the 4,500+ accidents etc now added in TSTB2 - simply wasn't viable space to add yet another 40 pages devoted to these personnel, as much as I would have liked to. Absolutely all the other 13,500 casualties, along with another 3,300 air personnel who flew with them, are there in detail though!

Trevor

[GraemeClarke]

Hi Trevor

Cheers, many thanks for that, I thought it was me and I was going round the bend.

Wonderful resource,

Regards,

Graeme

[patrick anderson]

Trevor , a great new book there and what excellent information again in this new publication and of course new photographs of the various RFC & RAF airmen .

Ive been in contact with Gordon Leith , curator at the RAF museum Hendon regarding your new publication and it seems they do not yet have a copy at their archive !

kind regards

pat w Anderson

(nephew of Lt P W Anderson , Black Watch , 18 Sqn RFC & RAF died of wounds 2 Nov 1921 Arbroath from action in France 27 June 1918 )

[ICM - RAF Retd]

No doubt the Museum will buy a copy ..... like the rest of us?

[fetubi]

Hello Pat and Ian,

The Royal Air Force Museum is only six miles away from where I live, and I just need the opportunity (and time) to drop off a copy, for all their help over the years. They might have to buy the other two copies they're hinting they want!

Cheers,

Trevor

[alex revell]

What can one say about this book? I haven't enough superlatives to even begin. I'm completely in awe of the amount of scholarly research, sheer time and hard work which must have gone into it. Quite apart from those attributes, the actual hard grind of writing - often overlooked, or not realised - is so well done. It's a magnificent accomplishment on Trevor's part. In my view he is without doubt one of the very finest researchers and authors on the subject of WW1 aviation. A standard of excellence we should all aim at. No one with even the slightest interest in the subject of the war in the air during the Great War, should be without a copy. Personally, it will never be more than three feet from my computer, next to that well-thumbed old friend, Vol 1. Thank you Trevor for a superb book. Congratulations.

Alex

[IRC Kevin]

Trevor,

Just ordered one- now I don't have to keep mithering you for details about aircraft my battalions report shot down in their sectors! (and many thanks for all the help you've given me in the past)

regards,

Kevin

[fetubi]

Hi Kevin,

Please keep asking! Thanks for buying a copy.

There's a really comprehensive review of my book just published at War History Online

http://www.warhistoryonline.com/reviews/sky-battlefield-ii-review-mark-barnes.html

It's selling well for Christmas!

Best regards, and thanks,

Trevor

[b3rn]

Pleased to say it'll land on my desk on Xmas eve ... but can I make a cheeky request? Of someone who has a copy already?

I'm researching a Sydney observer/pilot, and will have access to personal papers later this week. It'd be great to know what's recorded in this edition.

[fetubi]

Send me the name via my website and I'll dig it out for you.

Best regards,

Trevor

[IRC Kevin]

Mine arrived today- fantastic read and don't think I'll be having an early night tonight! Found two out of the three I was looking for straight away. I don't know if you can give me any pointers for the third, Trevor?

11th March 1917 Ypres. The QM of 1/5th King's Own describes three British aircraft shot down. Two are A1071 and A1082 (page 72) but the third he describes as hit by anti-aircraft fire and force landing in the main square of Ypres at 12.30 p.m. Both occupants okay, but shaken. I was actually surprised to read in one of 55 Divisional Intelligence Summaries, that the shells from one of the German anti-aircraft guns near Zonnebeke were bursting to the west of Ypres- that's some range!

[Martin Bennitt]

My copy landed at my home airfield in France today. Congratulations to Trevor on a tremendous achievement. The pictures alone are superb, never mind the fantastic wealth of detail.

Cheers Martin B

[b3rn]

My copy landed at my home airfield in France today. Congratulations to Trevor on a tremendous achievement. The pictures alone are superb, never mind the fantastic wealth of detail.

Mine just lobbed up in Sydney, what a tome. Can only echo your remarks!

[quemerford]

Mine arrived yesterday courtesy of the good lady. Thanks for signing it Trevor.

A really beautifully-produced book, and many mini projects will stem from it I know!

[Dolphin]

I was allowed to unwrap my birthday present copy today, and it's even better than I anticipated - and I was expecting it to be excellent. As was the case with the earlier edition, it's a book that should be included in the collection of anyone with an interest in Great War aviation.

Hours of research ahead!

Gareth

[fetubi]

You're all fantastic to be be so positive about my book! Thank you so much. Great to see it in such good hands.

Trevor

[tharkin56]

http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/teacher-finds-coventry-soldiers-medals-3024003

don't know if you cover William Salmons but info here.

His watch not shown in photo was also handed in stopped at the time of his crash

[fetubi]

This review of my republished book has just appeared in the latest #11 of the excellent The Aviation Historian Journal.

Written by Phil Jarrett, I must say I'm rather pleased with it. Thanks Phil !

The Sky Their Battlefield II — Air Fighting and Air Casualties of The Great War

By Trevor Henshaw; Fetubi Books, 14 Thornton Road, High Barnet, Hertfordshire EN5 4JE http://theskytheirbattlefield2.com ; 8½in x 12in (216mm x 305mm); 465 pages, illustrated; softback (ISBN 978-0-99297-711-5) £40 + p&p; hardback (ISBN 978-0-99297-710-8) £50 + p&p

WHEN THE FIRST edition of this book appeared in 1995 it was hailed as the prime reference on First World War British, Commonwealth and United States air service combats and casualties. This Mark II version, courageously self-published by the author, is so greatly updated, revised and expanded that it is effectively a new book.

Whereas the first edition contained 10,800 names of air personnel, the stories of 16,800 Allied air personnel are now told, and 13,500 casualties are described. Almost 6,000 entries have been updated or revised, and these are helpfully indicated to aid research. In addition, the every day events and air combats in all theatres have been checked and expanded, and more than 4,500 new names have been added in an Accidents Addendum that embraces all accidents on all active war fronts from 1912 into 1919. Moreover, well over 3,000 German claims are linked with Allied losses. Three 16-page glossy-paper sections contain 289 photographs, many of which appear in print for the first time.

This formidable, ambitious and impressive work is an essential reference for any student of the First World War in the air. It renders the first edition defunct, and any researcher or author who fails to use it, or persists in relying upon the earlier edition, risks significant errors or omissions. The author deserves high praise for his devotion and perseverance in producing what must inevitably be the most essential and useful reference work on the role played by Allied aviation personnel in the Great War, and his book pays tribute to the sacrifices made by so many. This is truly a volume that any serious student cannot afford to be without.

PHILIP JARRETT Reviewing in The Aviation Historian, Issue #11.

As well as via my website link below, which tells you a lot more about the detail and content of the book, it is also available through the Cross and Cockade International website.

And thanks to all who have bought a copy.

Trevor

[Steven Broomfield]

I had the great good fortune to pass a very pleasant evening with Trevor a couple of weeks ago. Over a few beers (me) and a few glasses of red wine (Trevor - classy chap) we had quite a chat, which ended up with him very kindly donating a copy to me, on the understanding I paid the cost of the book to the charity by whom I am employed. That was an exceptionally kind gesture, and is very much appreciated.

I have since been perusing the book (sadly it arrived in the same delivery as this year's Wisden, and a fellow has priorities) and I must say that what I have seen is beyond excellent. Superb might be a word.

The photos are very good (although the multitudinous photos of dead and mangled aircrew are not to be viewed while eating), and for £50 it's a book I know I will turn to frequently - and I'm not even that interested in the air war! The references to the select band of 10th and 11th Hussars who joined the dark side certainly check out with what I know, that's for sure.