Alan Bott (1) (1893–1952)

One of the revolutionary aspects of combat during World War I was the new battlefield in the skies. At the start of the conflict the Wright brothers' flight was barely a decade in the past, yet by the fall both sides contested for position in the skies of the Western Front. Some of the novelty of this is captured in Alan Bott's account of service in the Royal Flying Corps. Published under the pseudonym "Contact", it is a collection of his experiences as an observer in 1916 , recounting stories of his service in the skies of Belgium and northern France.

Written in an enjoyably accessible style, Bott's memoir is an interesting account of the air war on the Western Front. Published in the midst of the war, it lacks perspective and is annoyingly vague on some of the details (such as in what planes he flew), but his stories convey something of what it was like to fight and serve in this new branch of warfare. This sense of novelty is reinforced by W. S. Brancker, the deputy director-general of military aeronautics, whose introduction to the book reflects just how unusual Bott's experiences were at the time. Taken together, they make for a valuable record of the early years of flight, one that captures the experience of aerial combat in the First World War.… (mais)