Product Description

Adrian Warburton (known to all as Warby) was one of the most highly decorated pilots of World War II.

A below-average misfit with 22 Squadron of Coastal Command Warby was sent to Malta to avoid trouble in the UK. Known at first as a loner, when given his head, the spectacular results he achieved enabled his unconventional behaviour to be overlooked. With his glamorous girl-friend Christina, the two became part of Malta's legend, symbols of the island's resistance.

Still in Malta, Warby later became CO of first 69 Squadron and then 683 PR Squadron. After contributing to the success of the Sicily landings, for which he was personally thanked by General Alexander, he commanded 336 PR Wing in North Africa. Fearless in the air, the maverick ace shot down nine enemy aircraft and won fame in Malta for his invaluable photo reconnaissance work at Taranto, Sicily and North Africa.

On 12 April 1944 Warburton departed in an American aircraft on an unusual mission over Europe. Both plane and pilot disappeared without trace, giving rise to a host of rumours that his disappearance was intentional. For almost 60 years the mystery remained unsolved, until a painstaking international search unearthed the truth.

Based on interviews with nearly 150 of Warby's colleagues, and updated by historian Chris Goss with recently unearthed information, Warburtons War paints a picture of a fascinating man, who with 350 operational missions from Malta alone became a living legend and an enigma amongst the aces of WWII.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #195836 in Books
• Published on: 2003-11-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 204 pages

From the Author
This is the story of a boy whose favourite book was Sir George Cox’s Tales of Ancient Greece and who was to transform his childhood dreams into reality by becoming one of the most highly decorated pilots of the war. Under the same Mediterranean skies where the legendary Greek gods lived out their fabled lives, the dreamer became a legend in his own, all too brief, lifetime, but operating in a very real war.
This is the story of a restless young man; a loner who had become an unwanted misfit: an RAF pilot who had few friends and who, during the dramatic first year of the war when Britain stood in her most dire peril, had achieved precisely nothing. By late 1940, he seemed destined to be a pilot who would never hit the headlines.
Abruptly pitchforked into Malta the hottest spot of the war, under circumstances that did him no credit, the loner rapidly found his true self. Fate found him a flight commander who recognized his worth and who groomed him for stardom. In Malta, Warburton also found a woman’s love. Warmed by such experiences, the introvert emerged from the shadows into which he had withdrawn. Within months he had become, in the opinion of many, the most daring and valuable pilot of the entire RAF and for three years he continued to blaze his name across Malta’s skies.
For as long as ‘Six Medal’ Warburton remained in bombed and beleaguered Malta, he proved to be as invulnerable as any Greek hero protected by divine powers. Operating in an environment that destroyed many, he flourished as never before.
Like many a Greek fable, the story has its tragic end. When, at last, Warburton was separated from Malta he sank back into oblivion. He became a pilot dogged by bad luck and one who was soon to disappear in circumstances that have never been satisfactorily explained: however a possible explanation is now offered.
War made Warburton and then destroyed him. How tragic that so soon after learning how to live, he was destined to die.

From the Inside Flap
Adrian Warburton (known to all as Warby) was one of the most highly decorated pilots of World War II.

A below-average misfit with 22 Squadron of Coastal Command Warby was sent to Malta to avoid trouble in the UK. Known at first as a loner, when given his head, the spectacular results he achieved enabled his unconventional behaviour to be over-looked. With his glamorous girl-friend Christina, the two became part of Malta’s legend, symbols of the island’s resistance.

Still in Malta, Warby later became CO of first 69 Squadron and then 683 PR Squadron. After contributing to the success of the Sicily landings, for which he was personally thanked by General Alexander, he commanded 336 PR Wing in North Africa. Fearless in the air, the maverick ace shot down nine enemy aircraft and won fame in Malta for his invaluable photo reconnaissance work at Taranto, Sicily and North Africa.

On 12 April 1944 Warburton departed in an American aircraft on an unusual mission over Europe. Both plane and pilot disappeared without trace, giving rise to a host of rumours that his disappearance was intentional. For almost 60 years the mystery remained unsolved, until a painstaking international search unearthed the truth.

Based on interviews with nearly 150 of Warby’s colleagues, and updated by historian Chris Goss with recently unearthed information, Warburtons War paints a picture of a fascinating man, who with 350 operational missions from Malta alone became a living legend and an enigma amongst the aces of WWII.

Customer Reviews

Biography of the best - gripping tale of an unknown hero
Biography so often ends up as a list of events supplemented by the author's unsubstantiated opinions. Tony Spooner's life of Adrian Warburton avoids both, although with his encyclopaedic knowledge of the subject it would have been so easy to succumb to either. Warburton is Biggles and Lawrence of Arabia and D'Artagnan rolled into one. Gorgeous, enigmatic, headstrong, self-obsessed and tragic. Photographic Reconnaissance pilots in this country have been virtually ignored despite their unparalleled contribution to Allied intelligence in the most dangerous circumstances. Based as he was largely in Malta Warburton would today pass completely unnoticed despite his countless exploits but for Tony Spooner's contribution. If you like adventure, history, romance, mystery or suspense, this well-written, brilliantly researched book is most definitely for you.

One of the greatest unsung heroes of WWII
Warburton was an enigma, a hopeless trainee pilot who scraped through to get his wings, made a mess of his early service life, and ended as one of the most highly decorated pilots of the second world war. He went to the same school as Douglas Bader and Guy Gibson, so he obviously had the right stuff injected into him at some point.
This man was a true buccaneer of the skies. As a photo-reconnaisance pilot serving in the mediterranean theatre, he has the distiction of never once failing to get either pictures or intelligence of the enemy. Unusually for a phot-recon pilot, he is also credited with nine kills.
His relationship with Christine on Malta is pure Hollywood, and sadly ended when he was posted back to Europe, where he was eventually posted as missing, presumed killed. Such was the strength of his devotion to Christine, that many speculated that he had tried to fly all the way to Malta for one more re-union. However, it has now been established beyond doubt what happened to him.
His story is amazing. Funny in many places, it tells of a devil may care character who laughed at authority and regulation, but commanded huge respect from his commanders, and some petty jealousy from other lesser mortals, it still makes me wonder why so little was heard of him. His story is perfect for movie makers. Bumbling incompetent becomes dashing misfit hero who gets the best looking girl on a war torn island, sad ending.
That being said, it is perhaps just as well that he did not survive the war. There was certainly no place in the peace time RAF for mavericks like him, and being demobbed would have devastated him. I doubt whether he would have lived much longer.

A must read war biography
This is a well researched and poignant account of a remarkable and unconventional young man's wartime exploits and untimely death.

Warburton was a fiercely individualistic pilot -the kind that had the war not occurred would have been forever frowned upon by senior officers. Unlike his former school mate Guy Gibson, Adrian Warburton had little time for the detail of regulation and was seen by many as a misfit. However, Warburton found himself in a place and time where where he shone and his unconventional bearing was overlooked and actually credited as a strength. Operating out of Malta at a crucial time he became arguably the most valuable pilot in the Mediterranean theatre taking reconnaissance photo's of high importance and shooting up a fair bit of stuff along the way. His keenness to get the best possible photographs, often by flying at very low level, put him in extreme danger.

Well written and, keen to explore 'Warby' the person, this book is a testament of to his individualism, skill, determination and unbelievable courage. His humour, zest for life and indeed perhaps melancholy are all present. Tragically, it also shows how war chews up the best and the brightest and how they can be pushed too far once too often.

Tony Spooner, himself a highly decorated wartime pilot, can be very proud that he has once again brought Warby to life through his meticulous research and conversations with so many who knew him. Sadly he passed away in 2002 before the mystery of Warburton's last mission was solved and he was at last laid to rest (which is thankfully included and described in an addendum and postscript by Chris Goss).

I cannot recommend this enough to anyone interested in wartime aviation or simply wartime biographies. Men like Warburton don't just deserve to be remembered they must be remembered.