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First Light

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First Light

By: Geoffrey Wellum
Narrated by: Andrew Brooke
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About this listen

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of First Light by Geoffrey Wellum, read by Andrew Brooke.

Two months before the outbreak of the Second World War, eighteen-year-old Geoffrey Wellum becomes a fighter pilot with the RAF...

Desperate to get in the air, he makes it through basic training to become the youngest Spitfire pilot in the prestigious 92 Squadron. Thrust into combat almost immediately, Wellum finds himself flying several sorties a day, caught up in terrifying dogfights with German Me 109s.

Over the coming months he and his fellow pilots play a crucial role in the Battle of Britain. But of the friends that take to the air alongside Wellum many never return.

 Military Veteran War Aviation Air Force

Critic Reviews

Vivid, wholly convincing, compelling. One of the best memoirs for years about the experience of flying in war (Max Hastings)
It took him 35 years to turn his notebooks into a narrative, and the result is a highly personal account of what it is like to face mortal combat, day and night, and what it does to a man who is barely more than a boy (Ben Macintyre)
An intimate account . . . rich in detail
An extraordinarily deeply moving and astonishingly evocative story. Reading it, you feel you are in the Spitfire with him, at 20,000ft, chased by a German Heinkel, with your ammunition gone
A brilliantly fresh, achingly written memoir. Thrilling and frightening on virtually every page . . . Wellum takes you into battle with him. A book for all ages and generations, a treasure
Amazingly fresh and immediate . . . absolutely honest, it is an extraordinarily gripping and powerful story
There have been countless books about the Battle of Britain. But the combination of immediacy - Geoffrey Wellum had jotted down notes in an exercise book at the time - and distance - another 35 years would pass before he expanded his notes into a narrative - gives this account extraordinary depth and resonance . . . First Light will rank among the finest of Second World War memoirs
One of the most gripping personal accounts of aerial warfare ever written
Wellum's story is astonishing . . . moving yet startlingly clear-eyed
No other account of flying in the Battle of Britain has been articulated as well as Geoffrey's in First Light
All stars
Most relevant
Best narrator I have listened too. Fab story, what a life Geoffrey had, an inspiration to all

Superb!!

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First light was a delightful listen with as a baby boomer realistic The author has a real good grasp of the English language and narrative keeps you alert at all times many thanks

Appears realistic no bull

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excellent and deeply moving recounting of becoming a combat pilot at just 18 yrs of age during WW2
recommend this wholeheartedly

brilliant autobiography

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Well written, extremely well read, and a great story to boot. What’s there not to like?

Fabulous

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I absolutely loved this book! Masterfully written, it brings the reader along through ever struggle, every emotion and every sweet victory.

This man has my full respect

A MUST GET! I hate that I’ve finished it… brilliantly written, a true masterpiece

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