Four of Our Finest (by Roger Gunn)

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***Published in 2025!***

Joseph Fall was a survivor. He survived a horrific accident at age 14 and the brain surgery that followed. He survived the Great War as a pilot in the Royal Naval Air Service. He survived polio between the wars, and he survived the Second World War serving as a Group Captain in North Africa.

Roger Gunn has meticulously researched four lesser-known Canadian pilots of the First World War, four pilots who should be better known: Joseph Fall, Alfred Atkey, William Claxton and Francis Quigley. They led fascinating lives, and Gunn traces them from their beginnings in Canada to their life in the skies over the Western Front and beyond.

Alfred Atkey flew Bristol Fighters with No. 22 Squadron. He and his observer, Charles Gass, were a formidable pair. Between them they shot down as many enemy planes as the King of the Two-Seaters, Andrew McKeever.

William Claxton flew the SE5a, one of the most impressive aircraft of the First War. Claxton was an excellent pilot and totally fearless. Called "Dozey" by his peers for his nonchalant attitude, in air combat he was one of the finest.

Francis Quigley began the war as a Sapper with the Canadian Engineers. He transferred to the Royal Flying Corps and joined No. 70 Squadron flying Sopwith Camels. He was an expert pilot and deadly shot. However, Quigley met with tragedy before the war was over.