Hero of the Battle of Britain
He was a fighter ace extraordinaire and daredevil test pilot. Now, the life and times of Battle of Britain legend Wing Commander Robert Stanford Tuck, DSO, DFC**, AFC, have been re-told in a new biography. And who better to tell the story of this charismatic hero than Dr Helen Doe, daughter of another hero of ‘Churchill’s Few’, the late Wing Commander Bob Doe, DSO, DFC*. Delving deep into personal knowledge gained during the research into her father’s extraordinary war experiences (see the 2015-published Fighter Pilot), she’s now brought RAF giant Stanford Tuck back into the spotlight.
Encouraged by Tuck’s sons, who gave Helen access to their father’s private papers, this re-examination of the man behind the myth takes us on an action-packed and heart-breaking flight – far from the fantasy typical of a nostalgic Boys’ Own adventure.
We read of a popular book about Tuck published in 1956, Fly for Your Life, written in haste by a somewhat gushing Larry Forrester. His remit, like many biographers of the day, was swept up in the demand for tales of wartime heroism. Some argue this whooped up the drama of the Battle of Britain with twists of fiction, romanticising the glories. The book had its day; it was a popular, gripping , jaw-dropping tale all about how Tuck earned his medals, but it failed to mention much about his years as a POW and how he later suffered with the memories of decisions he made.
