The French Squadrons by Barbara Harper-Nelson
Barbara Harper-Nelson was once the nineteen-year-old girlfriend of twenty-two-year-old French airman Francis Usai, who served in the RAF Bomber Command. Amazingly, she still possesses the letters she received from this witty and amusing young Frenchman, exiled from his conquered country but still fighting for freedom and undertaking nightly missions into the horrendous firestorm that was the Battle of the Ruhr. Together with her own diaries, these letters constitute a unique, evocative and often amusing conversation between two young people during a turbulent and often terrifying time in history, as they coped with the daily threat of permanent separation and the regular, tragic loss of close friends. The intensity of their love story and the quality of their courage catch at the heart, showing how the human spirit endures, even and especially during times of war.
‘A vibrant glimpse into the past – history as it was actually lived, moment by momentThe French Squadrons is not only fascinating from a historical point of view but also from the immense amount of social and cultural information that it conveys.’ * Kate Atkinson *
‘An extraordinary tale ... both utterly absorbing and intensely poignant.’ * The Good Book Guide *
‘An extraordinary tale ... both utterly absorbing and intensely poignant.’ * The Good Book Guide *
Barbara Harper-Nelson (nee Rigby), was living in Liverpool when she met 22 year-old Francis Usai of the Free French air force based in England. This book is based on their remarkable diaries and letters. The correspondence is edited by French film-maker Genevieve Monneris and translated into English by Michel Darribehaude, Senior Lecturer in British Civilisation Studies at the Universite du Sud Toulon Var. Geneviève Monneris won Best Documentary, at the Imperial War Museum London Film Festival 2012, for De Lourds Souvenirs, 24-12-1944, a film about her father’s aircrew (347 ‘Tunisie’ Squadron) made with her son Thomas Lesgoirres. She is the author of two other documentary films in memory of the French Squadrons in RAF Bomber Command, which have been screened at the Yorkshire Air Museum, Elvington / York, and at London Imperial War Museum: Apart from that, everything’s ok! including six French veterans’ accounts with archive wartime footage, and Henry and Pat, December 1943-November 1944, a film about another Franco-English couple, Henri and Pat Martin who were Francis and Barbara’s closest friends.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781445655383 |
| ISBN 10 | 1445655381 |
| Title | The French Squadrons |
| Author | Barbara Harper-Nelson |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Amberley Publishing |
| Year published | 2016-03-15 |
| Number of pages | 288 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |