Six Crashes Later – The Story of a Fighter Pilot
Derek Leyland Stevenson

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As might be expected from a kinsman of Robert Louis Stevenson, ‘Steve’ Stevenson’s life was far from dull. A schoolboy passion to become a fighter pilot led him to enlist in 1942 and spend the next three years flying Hurricanes and Typhoons. 

Against all the odds he lived through an eventful and zestful war, including the six crashes – in England, Majorca, Normandy and Germany -of the title.

Operating over the Med with No 253 Hyderabad State Fighter Hurricane Squadron he crashed at night in an olive grove on Majorca, badly injuring his back. His attempts to escape back to the war zone make an enthralling adventure story. Eventually, General Franco, being short of petrol at that time, he was exchanged for a certain amount of low-grade fuel. 

Back in action for D-Day he had to crash land over the Normandy beachhead, unfortunately hitting a wall hidden in a cornfield, with the result that he spent several months in hospital. 

At the end of the war he was awarded the DFC. He did not receive the decoration so after two years he politely asked about it and was told to report to the Air Ministry. In a basement room he filled in a form and was then invited to take his pick from a drawer full of them.

Some reviews:

An authentic record of a fighter pilot’s life in war time…
…the right mix of humour and tragedy as well as plenty of personal drama. If you want to know what it was really like out there, read the book.

240pp, hardback, jacketed, with 50 photographs, maps and illustrations £16.95  Order