Hurricane Pilot

"Mother, you may have thought that you have had some great thrills in your life but let me tell you that you will never get a real thrill until you get up in the sky and have control of the plane making sharp turns, banks, glides and climbs." Harry L. Gill enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1940 at the age of 18. He flew a Hurricane fighter on missions over France, England, and India and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal before being shot down near Burma in 1943. Hurricane Pilot recreates the heady days of flight and fellowship through Gill's own correspondence with his parents and siblings. Depicting the enthusiasm of youth, a sense of humour, his plans for the future, and an attachment to home, this very personal account of war shows how Gill was transformed from a small-town boy to a mature fighter pilot serving in a global war on another continent.