Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #297875 in Books
• Published on: 2008-06-19
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 224 pages

Review
A rare work, ploughing new ground... this is full of 'detective stories', some of which bear joyous fruit. --Flypast magazine, November 2008 issue

Review
"Absorbing... how the people involved needed not only detective skills... but also diplomatic abilities to deal with post-war sensitivities"

About the Author
Stuart Hadaway is an Assistant Curator in the Department of Research and Information Services at the Royal Air Force Museum.

Customer Reviews

An absorbing story of the extraordinary work of an overlooked unit
This skilfully written book weaves together the story of one of the most daunting tasks undertaken by the RAF during and after the last world war. Set against the background of incredible heroism in action and the extraordinary losses suffered by the service this is a story of detective work on a massive scale, undertaken by men and women who had very little qualification beyond their own experiences of the dangers, horror and lost friends; and their sense of duty in seeking answers to the fate of the tens of thousands of airmen missing during the Second World War.

The author highlights the lengths taken by MRES to identify the remains of their comrades, driven often by a generation of senior officers and politicians who understood loss only too well from the previous world war (the ubiquitous A Soldier of the Great War, Known Unto God, inscriptions so sadly common in cemeteries from Flanders to the Dardanelles). In an era before the modern terminology of closure, this was exactly what the MRES attempted to bring to the families of those lost.

This book mixes the technical details of the unit's work with the human stories and tragic loss, the often mixed responses and actions of the civilian populations of Europe in their treatment of the remains of lost aircrew provide an additional very human twist to the story.

A highly recommended book for those with a technical interest in a little documented part of the work of the RAF during and after World War Two, or for those who want a better understanding of the human cost and scale of the bombing campaign by the RAF in Europe (something which has, arguably, been weighted almost exclusively in favour of the casualties on the ground)and a book which still resonates today with the continuing excavation of casualties from both world wars both at home and abroad.

Ground Breaking Study
Very little has been written on the important work of the MRES during and after WWII so this study can justly be called ground breaking. Hadaway goes into great detail providing reams of technical information on his subject and this volume is clearly the result of careful research and hard work.

He manages to balance the technical aspects of seeking out the wreck sites and recovering the bodies with the commemorative nature of the work skilfully. The scale of the losses for the RAF is staggering and the work carried out by this little known unit is well worth reading about. Though I suspect that British readers will be primarily interested in the MRES activities in Great Britain, France and Germany, the contribution of the Commonwealth nations is referred to and there are chapters covering the Far East and the Mediterranean/Middle East etc.

A good deal of extra infomation is provided in the appendices and the book benefits from far more photographic illustration than I would expect from a volume of this kind (over 90 photographs). Overall this is a well written book on a very intriguing and thought provoking subject. I strongly recommend it.

I have learnt a lot about these outstanding men.
This is a book which begged to be written. Fortunately this very competent author was able to interview several of the now elderly gentlemen and give them the recognition that they deserve. It also emphasises the terrible losses suffered by the often (and,in my opinion, unfairly)demonised Bomber Command. A very well written and researched book and a must for all aviation historians.