Review by Sven Atkin.
This book is the personal account of an incredible flying career spanning 51 years in both the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force. The difference is that it’s told from the perspective of an aircrewman who works ‘down the back’ of the helicopter. This was a first for me, and a refreshing change to find out what it takes, and involves, to be a Commando Helicopter Aircrewman.
The author joined the Royal Navy in 1968 as a junior electrician and went on to become a Warrant Officer Class 1, amassing more than 8,000 flying hours during his illustrious career. The fact that, during this time, he served in the Royal Navy, Royal Air Force, Royal Naval Reserve, and as a Test Aircrewman on the Rotary Wing Test Squadron at Boscombe Down, shows a diversity of roles; the author goes into some detail about them all. The descriptions of the training undertaken, and the constant assessment, are incredible and clearly illustrates you have to have ‘the right stuff’ to perform this role.
Throughout, John is mindful to describe parts of his private life and the ever-present pressures for his family. The nature of the job meant he was deployed, on many occasions, at a moment’s notice to far off lands in emergencies that required the skills and expertise of the helicopter crews. His ‘rock’ was always his wife and their two sons.
An aspect that stood out is that crew cooperation and collaboration play a huge part in the success of all the sorties and missions undertaken. Although the author was not a pilot, the aircrewman responsibilities are just as important and relied upon by the handling pilots to ensure the safety of all on board the helicopter and the machine’s integrity. The modern term for this is ‘Crew Resource Management’.
The number of tasks ‘down the back’ is vast and they’re described in detail so the reader gets an excellent idea of how intense that environment was and can be. The changing roles and different helicopters the author served on throughout his career meant he had to be hugely adaptable and able to move with the times as doctrines changed and advances in rotary wing technology were brought into service.
During his extraordinary career, John was tasked with going around the UK undertaking aerial displays to support recruitment campaigns for the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. He also completed several postings as a Search and Rescue Aircrewman, Anti-Submarine Warfare Operator and as an RN/RAF Test Aircrewman at the Rotary Wing Test Squadron at the Empire Test Pilot School, Boscombe Down. He was also an A2 instructor teaching the role to new Aircrewmen.
Being in the British Forces means you get to travel; the author served operationally in Cyprus, Northern Ireland, The Falklands, Iraq, Bosnia, Sierra Leone and then Afghanistan. His training also took him to Norway, the Mediterranean and the wilds of Canada, among many others.
The helicopters the author flew in were the Gazelle, Wessex, Griffin, Sea King, Navy Lynx, Puma, Chinook, Merlin and, finally, the Apache. A highlight was flying the Apache ‘hands on’ with Major Tim Peake, who was an Apache test pilot at the time, the future astronaut. By all accounts, the author would have been an accomplished pilot had he chosen that route for his career.
Throughout the book, there are plenty of funny stories that inject the seriousness of the job with some great humour; I laughed out loud on several occasions. The interservice eccentricities are also covered which makes for a really balanced account of British aviation service life. The highs and lows of the job, as encountered by the author, are also covered in detail. There were many incidents and close shaves, and the inevitable loss of friends, during John’s long and varied career.
The author saw out his career as a Naval Reservist Aircrewman, and was posted to Wellington, New Zealand, to help with their introduction of the NH90 helicopter on Special Forces insertions and extractions. On returning to the UK, John’s final day of military service was on 1 January 2020. Having joined in 1968, his service was just over 51 years.
This memoir was an absolute joy to read and one I couldn’t put down. I will read it again at some point. It was a very easy read and put me right in the position of the Commando Helicopter Aircrewman. The preface was interesting and set the scene well. There is also a comprehensive list of abbreviations and index, both of which are of immense value.
For anyone interested in the life of an Aircrewman, or perhaps contemplating a career in Armed Forces aviation, this is a must read.
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