NEW BOOKS
Quotes
HRH the Prince Andrew
(on Angriff Westland, 1994):
‘..an excellent book… required and compelling reading.’
Dame Vera Lynn
(on Fighter Pilot: The Photographic Kaleidoscope, 2001):
‘…this book deserves to achieve success.’
Lady Bader:
‘Douglas would have been delighted that the Battle of Britain is in no danger of being forgotten. Not least due to the three excellent books he wrote about my late husband, I have come to know Dilip Sarkar well, a relatively young man born 21 years after the summer of 1940. He has studied this air battle for a lifetime and his dedication in bringing the record of those dramatic days to popular attention is impressive; I was delighted to recommend Dilip, together with Sir Alan Smith, Douglas’s wingman, for an MBE, which he was rightly made for ‘services to aviation history’.
The Hon Lady Odette Dowding
(on ‘Battle of Britain: The Photographic Kaleidoscope Vol II’):
‘Dilip Sarkar rightly points out that the name of Hugh Dowding, Commander-in-Chief of Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain, remains largely unknown by people today. I am grateful to Dilip, therefore, for dedicating this book to my late father-in-law’s memory and admire the author’s praiseworthy efforts to publish so much Battle of Britain history that would otherwise have gone unrecorded.’
Air Chief Marshal Sir Christopher Foxley-Norris:
‘Dilip Sarkar’s extensively researched works are inevitably launched in a high profile manner, pilots and support staff joining the author to sign copies of the new book. At these events, one of which I attended, the public has the chance to meet face-to-face characters from the pages of history. Dilip Sarkar has done much indeed, therefore, to sustain and stimulate interest in the Battle of Britain.’
Air Commodore Peter Brothers
(on ‘Battle of Britain: The Photographic Kaleidoscope Volume III’):
‘Researcher extraordinaire Dilip Sarkar has yet again unearthed a whole new collection of original photographs of the Battle of Britain period… how he does it I don’t know!’
Wing Commander George ‘Grumpy’ Unwin:
‘Dilip knows more about me and the pilots with whom I flew during the Battle of Britain than we do! If anyone ever needs to know anything about the RAF during the summer of 1940, don’t ask the Few, ask him!’
Air Vice-Marshal Johnnie Johnson
(on ‘Bader’s Tangmere Spitfires’)
‘I highly commend Dilip Sarkar’s most diligent and carefully researched account’.
Dr Gordon Mitchell (on ‘Spitfire! Courage & Sacrifice’):
‘Another of Dilip’s excellent and very readable books in which the words flow along easily, making it a pleasure to read. It is comforting to see an author of Dilip’s standing praise the Spitfire so highly… this book also demonstrates, again, that Dilip has the personality and ability to approach individuals of whatever stature, and get exactly what he wants from them. It would not be an exaggeration to describe him as an aviation detective – it was of course he who first realised that Douglas Bader had been the victim of friendly fire over France in 1941.’
Group Captain Sir Hugh ‘Cocky’ Dundas:
‘I have great admiration for all you do to preserve the memory of the Spitfire and those that flew and serviced her. Your dedication to recording and publishing Battle of Britain history appears boundless!’
Air Marshal Sir Denis Crowley-Milling:
‘You have certainly done some very thorough research and I do commend you.’
Group Captain Peter Townsend:
‘Dilip’s diligent researches, dedicated to keeping alive the Battle of Britain’s memory, and his concern for the relatives of casualties deeply moves me. He also understands perfectly the mysteries of air tactics and strategy, enabling him write authoritatively, lively and deeply touching stories of those days when friend and foe met in the air.’
Air Commodore Donald McDonnell:
‘I am most impressed with your enthusiasm. Your research is of an extremely high standard.’
