Books By Group Captain Bill Randle  


      Updated 27th March 2008


Due to Paypal's Charges can we please ask that any UK buyers contact us direct to make payment by cheque otherwise we will be forced to pass on Paypal's charges of 4%. Many Thanks for your co-operation.

At the present time Bill is Currently working on the fourth book of the 'Ebdon Chronicles' entitled 'Whenever The Future May Call' please call back for further infromation on publishing dates etc.. Until then why not purchase one of Bill's other excellent books to whet your appetite

All of Bill's books come signed, if your require a dedication, please do not hesitate to get in touch.




Blue Skies and Dark Nights - £19.95

       

Blue Skies and Dark Nights’ is the autobiography of Group Captain Bill Randle. From his initial flight training in the United States on the fledgling Arnold scheme, to the bombing of Germany, through a remarkable evasion and successful ‘home run’, to MI9 and the formation of post-war Escape and Evasion policy with the Americans, to learning to fly helicopters with the US Marines, then on to taking part in search and rescue missions in Korea; this is a honest and straightforward account of a unusual career in the RAF and beyond. Those with an interest in the RAF and world affairs will find Bill Randle’s story fascinating as he describes what it was like to be at the centre of many world events. It also clearly illustrates the frustrations implicit in a service life, as well as the great humour and tragedy which go with the acceptance of the responsibilities of rank. ‘Blue Skies and Dark Nights’ is an important record of service in the RAF during World War Two and in the ‘Cold War’ period that followed, together with the great changes in Africa and the declaration of UDI by the erstwhile RAF fighter pilot Ian Smith. Retiring in 1971 Bill went on to work at the fast growing RAF Museum at Hendon and has gone on to raise a little under six million pounds for Service charities. Now turning his hand to writing, his autobiography is his third book and is both an important story and a delight to read.       



Kondor - £14.95

       

This exciting new book is largely based on fact, and on the first hand experiences of Bill Randle who, as a young Sergeant Pilot, was shot down whilst flying a Wellington bomber in 1942. As the RAF stepped up its bombing campaign in Germany and the Occupied countries, more and more aircrew were falling victim to the steadily increasing number of flak guns and to the nightfighters hunting under the cloak of darkness. Those airmen who survived often managed to evade immediate capture and were able to make contact with the Resistance. Gradually, more and more Allied aircrew were successfully ‘processed’ and passed down a carefully prepared escape line to a neutral country and eventually back home to fly again. Acutely aware of this, the Germans strove relentlessly to destroy these lines, together with the courageous people who ran them. This is the fascinating account of one such operation, code-named Kondor: although a novel, the blend of fact and fiction is such that the reader may find difficulty in differentiating between the two.      



Broken Wings - £14.95

       

Opening in 1914, ‘Broken Wings’ introduces Bill’s new character, Thomas Ebdon. Fascinated from an early age with the embryonic science of flight, Thomas resolves to become a flyer. However, his humble beginnings in rural Devon dictate that he must serve King and Country in the Infantry and from his idyllic country life he is pitched into the charnel house that is to be the beginning of the First World War. Fighting in the mud and barbed wire he sees the early bombers and fighters wheeling overhead and yearns to fly, to take the fight to the enemy in the open halls of the sky. At first discouraged because ‘only gentlemen fly’ he persists and is eventually accepted for the Royal Flying Corps. As he enters the realms of the ‘twenty minuters’ (the average life expectancy of a new pilot and observer) he finds he is a natural flyer and manages to outlive many of his peers. But as the pressures increase and the armament of the aircraft becomes steadily more deadly how long will he survive? Calling upon his extensive knowledge of the First World and of early aviation Bill has created another masterpiece historical novel which will keep readers engrossed to the end. ‘Broken Wings’ is a must for anyone with an interest in the First World War, in aviation or anyone who likes a good story well written.       



Upards and Onwards

       

Bill Randle’s third novel (his second in the Ebdon Chronicles) is another fascinating story of courage, comradeship and endeavour, based on meticulous research and his extensive knowledge of the First World War. It continues the story of his character, Thomas Ebdon, and is a must for anyone with an interest in the military and human aspects of the Great War.       



Promise and Fulfil

       

The third book of the Ebdon chronicles sees 'our hero' finish the Great War as a temporary Major commanding a squadron in Italy. After volunteering to fight in Northern Russia Thomas Ebdon returns to England to be commissioned in the RAF.His first posting takes him to the desert of Iraq....