Growing up in the 1930s, Bernard Osborn developed a fascination with flying. He would visit nearby airfields and peer through the boundary fences just to catch a glimpse of aircraft. It was on a visit to an Empire Air Day display and seeing a Hawker Hurricane for the first time that spurred his dream to become a fighter pilot.
When Bernard turned 18 he went to volunteer with the RAF to become a fighter pilot, only to realise that almost every other young man in the country shared his ambition to fly. Instead, Bernard was called up and eventually ended up training as a member of a tank crew. It was while serving with an armoured unit that he spotted a notice calling for volunteers for the Glider Pilot Regiment. Determined to become a pilot, he volunteered and began a journey that would see him take part in D-Day and Operation Market Garden, and serve in post-war Palestine.
I Just Wanted to Fly combines Bernard’s own words with a narrative of wider events of the time, to tell a humble yet charming story of one man achieving his dream to become a pilot.
REVIEWS
"I Just Wanted to Fly: The Story of WWII Glider Pilot Bernard Osborn, impressed me – enormously… this is a well-produced book of fascinating, often moving, memories from a veteran Glider Pilot. In recording them, Bernard Osborn has done the historical record proud – as has Baverstock and Pasley"
(Dilip Sarkar MBE FRHistS BA(Hons), author of Spitfire Manual and The Final Few)
"This book captured me… an interesting read from the perspective of one of those ‘Total Soldiers’"
(Arie-Jan van Hees, author of Tugs and Gliders to Arnhem and Green On)
"Yet another story on an Arnhem veteran? Yes, but it is as captivating as if it was the first one… A valuable contribution to the Arnhem literature from one of these remarkable and inspirational people that were Glider Pilots."
(Haks Walburgh Schmidt, author of No Return Flight)
Print editions are available to buy on the Baverstock and Pasley website.
When Bernard turned 18 he went to volunteer with the RAF to become a fighter pilot, only to realise that almost every other young man in the country shared his ambition to fly. Instead, Bernard was called up and eventually ended up training as a member of a tank crew. It was while serving with an armoured unit that he spotted a notice calling for volunteers for the Glider Pilot Regiment. Determined to become a pilot, he volunteered and began a journey that would see him take part in D-Day and Operation Market Garden, and serve in post-war Palestine.
I Just Wanted to Fly combines Bernard’s own words with a narrative of wider events of the time, to tell a humble yet charming story of one man achieving his dream to become a pilot.
REVIEWS
"I Just Wanted to Fly: The Story of WWII Glider Pilot Bernard Osborn, impressed me – enormously… this is a well-produced book of fascinating, often moving, memories from a veteran Glider Pilot. In recording them, Bernard Osborn has done the historical record proud – as has Baverstock and Pasley"
(Dilip Sarkar MBE FRHistS BA(Hons), author of Spitfire Manual and The Final Few)
"This book captured me… an interesting read from the perspective of one of those ‘Total Soldiers’"
(Arie-Jan van Hees, author of Tugs and Gliders to Arnhem and Green On)
"Yet another story on an Arnhem veteran? Yes, but it is as captivating as if it was the first one… A valuable contribution to the Arnhem literature from one of these remarkable and inspirational people that were Glider Pilots."
(Haks Walburgh Schmidt, author of No Return Flight)
Print editions are available to buy on the Baverstock and Pasley website.
