Ball Bio by RH Kiernan

[Breguet]

Any Good? Any Comment?

[YavorD]

Captain Albert Ball, V.C., D.S.O. : A historical record
[With plates, including portraits.] by Reginald Hugh Kiernan
The Aviation Book Club; Second Edition (1939) [Hardcover]

I am not familiar with the book.
There is a review [ URL ]

Regards,
Yavor

[Breguet]

Thanks for that. Look forward to reading it!

[Germanophile-1]

Originally Posted by Breguet

Any Good? Any Comment?

Adrian,

I haven't seen Kiernan's book, but have read the 2010 Ball bio by Colin Pengally. If it is any help, below is my review in the Summer 2013 issue of the Over the Front journal (p. 190).

Peter


Albert Ball VC - The Fighter Pilot Hero of World War One by Colin Pengelly, Pen & Sword Books Aviation, Barnsley, South Yorkshire (UK), 2010, 224 pp., 6½” x 9½", hard cover, illustrated with black & white photos, also includes footnotes, appendices, bibliography and index; ISBN 978-1-84415-904-8; £19.99 (UK) / $39.95 (US); publisher’s website: www.pen-and-sword.co.uk; distributed in the US by Casemate Publishing: www.casematepublishing.com

According to author Colin Pengally, four biographies about British fighter ace Albert Ball have already been published: “two almost contemporary with his life, one in the 1930s by R.H. Kiernan … [and in 1977] the late Chaz Bowyer produced … the first modern appraisal of Albert Ball and his achievements.” Sadly, in the four decades between the Kiernan and Bowyer books, Ball’s diary and some of his papers have disappeared -- requiring Pengally to explore other sources to meet the challenge of creating a more informative account of the ace’s life and death.

Using Ball’s letters, for example, Pengally delves deeper into the flier’s personal life, even recounting the young man’s interest in various young women. But this new biography focuses on Ball’s 15 months of aerial combat over the Western Front. Use of a fighter pilot’s combat reports usually creates sense of immediacy and Ball’s texts prove the point. Dead at the age of 20, Captain Albert Ball attained 44 confirmed aerial victories and was awarded the Military Cross, Distinguished Service Order with two Bars, as well as Imperial Russia’s Order of St. George. After his death, Ball was accorded the rank of Chevalier [Knight] in France’s Légion d'Honneur and was awarded the British Empire’s highest gallantry honor, the Victoria Cross.

Pengally’s account of Ball’s last aerial combat is particularly incisive, using a balance of German and British sources. The appendices further round out the story, especially in identifying 13 German casualties among Ball’s aerial victories. Albert Ball VC - The Fighter Pilot Hero of World War One is a good and interesting book. It is recommended highly.

-- P.K.

[Breguet]

Thanks for that Peter. Much appreciated. I'll let you know what i think of the book when I, having now purchased it, read it.

cheers