Sagittarius Rising

By: Cecil Lewis

Narrated by: John Telfer

Sent to France with the Royal Flying Corps at just 17, and later a member of the famous 56 Squadron, Cecil Lewis was an illustrious and passionate fighter pilot of the First World War, described by Bernard Shaw in 1935 as 'a thinker, a master of words, and a bit of a poet'. In this vivid and spirited account the author evocatively sets his love of the skies and flying against his bitter experience of the horrors of war. We then follow his progress from France and the battlefields of the Somme to his pioneering defence of London against deadly nighttime raids.

©1936 Cecil Lewis (P)2024 Soundings

The vigour inherent in the author's narrative. At 6' 4", he must have been a towering figure. in his day.

A grand chase through a young man's war and the aftermath. The insouciant approach to a life lived in constant danger reminds me of my father's remarks made of flying in the next war. "We were interested in flight, girls and beer , in no particular order."