Peter Cornwell - To Scale the Skies: The Story of Group Captain J.C. Johnny Wells DFC & BAR

This book owes its existence to a chance conversation between two schoolboys and the fact that the father of one subsequently recognised a photograph of a celebrated goat among the souvenirs of an RAF pilot. First thanks are therefore due to my good friend John Vasco and his son Jamie for bringing the collection of the late Johnny Wells to my attention and for introducing me to his niece, Mrs Margaret Goff.

With her permission, I was allowed to inspect a wealth of documents, photographs and material relevant to Johnnys RAF career that remained in the keeping of the family. While his meticulously compiled logbooks revealed a rich source of information on his varied flying experiences, his surviving letters gave an equally fascinating insight into the character of the man himself a rich vein of material further enhanced by his wide selection of photographs. For allowing me full access to all of this, copying me dozens of documents and answering my many questions, I am most grateful. Margaret Goff has been most generous with her time and enthusiastic in her support of the project from my first hesitant suggestion that she might consider entrusting me with the biography of her late uncle. I can only hope that she feels that I have done his story full justice.

Given this prime source material, any gaps in the family records were more than adequately filled by documents held in the National Archives at Kew and by selected published works as acknowledged in the bibliography. But for personal memories and anecdotes to flesh out the often sterile official accounts and add considerable colour to Johnny Wells story, I am indebted to some of those who knew him and flew alongside him. For their time and most generous hospitality whilst sharing memories of the man and their shared experiences, and for answering my questions, I am therefore grateful to: the late Wing Commander Roland Bee Beamont, CBE DSO* DFC* DFC (USA) DL FRAeS; the late Squadron Leader Lawrence Pinky Stark, DFC* AFC; Flight Lieutenant Sir Alec Joe Atkinson, KCB DFC; and Flight Lieutenant Sydney Darkie Hanson, MBE. Others who also provided valuable assistance were Peter Brookes of the Sheringham Museum; Jim Earnshaw of the No 609 (West Riding) Squadron Association; and fellow aviation historian Chris Goss, whose extensive photo collection once again proved invaluable. I thank them all.

My old friend and mentor, the late Bruce Robertson, generously cast an editorial eye over the completed text and offered several helpful suggestions. He also offered many photographs from his extensive private collection depicting aircraft flown by Johnny Wells during his early career. I was pleased to have had this final opportunity to once more share time with one of the founding fathers of the British aviation historian movement and regret that he did not see it reach fruition.