Christopher Shores - Billy Drake, Fighter Leader: The Autobiography of Group Captain B. Drake DSO, DFC and Bar, US DFC

Like many an aviation enthusiast, I came to know Billy Drake initially when reading Paul Richeys seminal work, Fighter Pilot , which I purchased as a paperback in 1955. As my interest in fighter pilots and my research associated with them grew, I began to realise that here was one of the true greats of the RAF in World War II . So I wanted to know more. Tiger Squadron , the account of 74 Squadrons exploits in both wars written by that great old fighter ace of the first war, Ira Taffy Jones, and published in 1954, included a list of Fighter Command fighter pilots with more than 12 victories by 30 June 1941, in which Billys name did not appear (the cut-off date was too early for that), although he was mentioned therein, and indeed his picture appeared, sitting next to Taffy in a group at 53 OTU.

The first breakthrough occurred for me in 1956 with the chance purchase of the Daily Mail Quiz Book Number 2 Aircraft . Inside this rather unlikely publication, was a list of Leading British Fighter Pilots World War II, and there at No. 11 on the list was Wing Commander B. Drake, DSO, DFC & Bar, DFC (US), listed with 24 victories. As others produced autobiographies, or had their stories written for them, no word of Billy appeared. There were articles in that wonderful magazine, RAF Flying Review but none about him. Who was he? What had he done after his time with 1 Squadron?

Two events occurred almost simultaneously to provide the answers. Firstly, someone in Air-Britain tipped me off to look at decoration citations in the wartime issues of the London Gazette , whilst in 1962 E.C.R. Bakers book, The Fighter Aces of the R.A.F . included a chapter about Billy, called Shark Leader . There it was! A synopsis of his career, and an indication of where I should look when I began the serious research for my first book, Aces High , two years later. Much of this early lack of information probably derives from Billys long absence in Portugal, for it was at this very point that he left the Royal Air Force and disappeared. Thus as I began to meet more and more of the RAFs fighter pilots, Billy was one who was to remain something of an enigma to me for many further years.

After writing about him in the original volume of Aces High , published in 1966, and in Fighters over the Desert (1969), it was not until the early 1990s that I finally had the great pleasure and privilege of meeting him, following his return to live once again in London. Even then, his logbooks, medals, and other memorabilia were lost, or spread around the world. Consequently, it was not until after the revised edition of Aces High (1994) and its addendum Volume 2 (1999) had been published, that I felt I had been able to do proper justice to his achievements.

Persuading him to consider preparation of his autobiography was a different matter however, for he had for many years resolutely avoided doing so, or allowing any biography to be written about him. Whilst he is undoubtedly a great kidder with a rather wicked sense of humour, he is essentially a most modest man. It therefore took a lot of work to convince him that the interest existed, not just in the war years, but in his whole career and in the story of his life to warrant such a venture. He was most concerned not to produce, as he put it, just another There I was, upside down, with nothing on the clock story.

When it was explained to him that there would also be considerable interest in what he had to say about the people he had known, served and flown with, he was at pains to stress that he would not wish to record anything which might hurt or annoy those still living.

My promises of help and support, coupled with the guidance that John Davies at Grub Street was able to offer, caused his resolve to waver, and finally to collapse, followed by his agreement that this book might proceed. Over the past two years Billy and I have become frequent companions, with long sessions of memory-jerking discussions regarding the many personalities he knew, and journeys through his logbooks, which fortuitously reappeared from within the family, being interspersed with pleasant meals and talk about the fundamentals of life.

In being allowed to help Billy Drake in the preparation of this auto-biography, I feel I have been deeply privileged. I am honoured to have been associated with so great a warrior, and gratified beyond words to have become his friend, which I very much hope I shall always remain.

In conclusion it needs to be said that, whilst his recall of the years up to his departure from the RAF were sufficiently well-recorded to maintain their chronological integrity, some of the events associated with his long, and frequently traumatic periods in Portugal, may not have occurred in precisely the order in which they now appear. Memory here was not aided to the same extent by forms of written evidence.

Further, whilst I have little doubt from our conversations that some of Billys adventures of a more amorous nature may be considered to have been legion, his innate gentlemanliness has protected the ladies involved from mention or identification.

Christopher Shores
Sherborne, Dorset, March 2002