The Life of Australia's Pioneer Aviator and WartimeCommander Air Vice-Marshal Don Bennett CB CBE DSO FRAeS
Air Vice-Marshal Don Bennett CB CBE DSO FRAeS is best knownas the Australian commander of the Royal Air Force's elite Path Finder Force inthe Second World War. His drive, determination and passion for excellence sawhim play a principal role in prosecuting the bombing campaign against NaziGermany.
Yet, the full story of his life has never beencomprehensively explored. Few can recount his exploits as a pioneering aviator,or know why he was regarded as the most technically brilliant airman of hisgeneration. Fewer still know the man's background, interests, passions andobsessions, or what drove him to his many aviation achievements.
Relentless Skies, Volume I: The Most Efficient Airman,explores Bennett's life up to 1942. New light is shed on his early years, pilottraining, participation in the Centenary Air Race, setting world records in theseaplane Mercury, the 1940 rescue of the Polish General Staff from France andhow he survived being shot down whilst attacking the Tirpitz.
Binding together this series of extraordinary events andachievements is, crucially, an exploration of Bennett's character and how itinfluenced his choices, relationships and approach to leadership. Unparalleledaccess to the Bennett archive has enabled biographer Ian Campbell to reveal themany facets of one of Australia's greatest, and often misunderstood, wartimeleaders.
Volume II: An Exacting Task will exploreBennett's time leading the Path Finder Force, and his post-war career."Thoroughly researched and vigorously written, this long-overdue biography is the remarkable story of one of the world's greatest aviators and wartime leaders, whose true contribution to aviation history is still yet to be fully recognised. Ian Campbell is to be congratulated, for Bennett was an important man, and this is an important book:'
Sean Feast
Author of Pathfinders - the Definitive Story
Trustee of The RAF Pathfinders Archive
Ian Campbell has had a lifelong interest in military history. Growing up behind the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, he spent many hours wandering the halls thoroughly absorbed in the displays. His wise mother fostered his love of reading and history by introducing him very early to the works of Paul Brickhill.
Ian has qualifications in History and Politics from the Australian National University. After a varied career in the government, private and not-for-profit sectors, he retired to research and write. His first book, Thinks He's a Bird, about Australian Pathfinder and Lancaster pilot, Flight Lieutenant Keith Watson, was released in 2022.
Ian is currently curator of the Bennett/Vial Archive at the Queensland Air Museum. This archive comprises three collections, of which AVM Don Bennett's private collection is one.
Ian and his wife, Kathy, have lived in many places in Australia, as well as New Zealand and Canada. They now live in Brisbane. When circumstances permit, they love to travel, but he has vowed never to move house again.
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