My Flying Circus: The Autobiography of a WW2 Bomber Pilot
- ISBN-10
- 0954197364
- ISBN-13
- 9780954197360
- Category
- Bomber pilots
- Pages
- 276
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2005-10
- Author
- Richard Levin
Description
This autobiography is an incredible account of survival in the air, and on the ground for that matter. Not just because of the sheer guts of the man, his sharp-mindedness and instinct, but because of the extraordinary luck that propelled Richard ('Dickie') Leven into the record books for surviving 127 Bombing Missions in WW2. My Flying Circus gives a cockpit-eye view of dicing with death, sortie after sortie with the smell of oil, cordite and fear in one's nostrils. Dickie was instrumental in helping knock out the V1 and V2 Rocket sites threatening London. As an internment camp Commander, he dealt with Lord Haw-Haw and Nazi top brass and paints a ghastly picture when depicting Belsen. Reinventing himself after 1945, his account of circus life is hilarious. He rubbed shoulders with the likes of Susan Hampshire, Jack Hawkins, Alec Guinness and Keith Moon. Both Boy George and Derek Jamieson interviewed him on their TV chat shows. Dickie was one of the few WW2 published poets. Leven's Times obituary concentrated on his is RAF career while that in the Stage dwelt on his time as circus manager and celebrity palmist. for that matter. Not just because of the sheer guts of the man, his sharp-mindedness and instinct, but because of the extraordinary luck that propelled Richard ('Dickie') Leven into the record books for surviving 127 Bombing Missions in WW2. Leven's Times obituary concentrated on his is RAF career while that in the Stage dwelt on his time as circus manager and celebrity palmist. My Flying Circus gives a cockpit-eye view of dicing with death, sortie after sortie with the smell of oil, cordite and fear in one's nostrils. By turns vivid, then thinking, terse prose from a sensitive observer, a twice decorated hero who was painfully aware of the moral ambivalence of his missions. Dickie and his navigator were the only two members of the famous 107 squadron who survived. As an internment camp Commander, he dealt with Lord Haw-Haw and Nazi top brass and paints a ghastly picture when depicting Belsen. From the Reform Club, Dicky repelled the sexual advances of Guy Burgess and sounded unheeded early warnings about the Cambridge spy circle. Reinventing himself after 1945, his account of circus life is hilarious. Guinness and Keith Moon. Both Boy George and Derek Jamieson interviewed him on their TV chat shows - about palmistry. The various strands of Dickie's life are ever present. It is fascinating to see how they are interwoven. Dickie was one of the few WW2 published poets and his poems are included here in this book heading up appropriate chapters. A square peg in a round hole, he is nothing if not controversial. He was a man on whom Lady Luck smiled - until he altered his compass to follow what he thought was her path. This is an honest story, and pulls no punches about the uphill struggles of his last years. The Circus was in his blood, the magic was always there for him; he loved the thrill. It is the leitmotif of his life and his book.
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