Kenneth Poolman

It feels shameful to admit that, despite living in Gloucester, I had never seen flying any of the iconic aircraft designed and built in the area by the Gloster Aircraft Company. This was rectified earlier this year when I saw the only two currently airworthy Gloster Gladiators flying together at Duxford. And equally shamefully, it was only then that I first learned of the legend of Faith, Hope and Charity. Seriously, how can I call myself an avgeek and not know these things?

For those not in the know, Faith, Hope and Charity were the names given to the four Gloster Gladiators (yes, three names, four aircraft, bear with me on this!) that were Malta's only air defence for three weeks in June 1940.

Because of its position in the Mediterranean, Malta was a key strategic point during the Second World War, and when Italy joined the war in June 1940, one of their tasks was to ensure that Malta, then part of the British Empire, was seized, thus ensuring clear passage for ships to get supplies to troops in North Africa. Malta was considered indefensible, and so no air defences had been put in place.

The Italians expected to seize Malta in a day. The didn't expect to meet any air defence; so they were on the back foot when they were greeted by three out-dated bi-planes.

These three were the now-legendary Faith, Hope and Charity. In an effort to prove that Malta could be defended, senior officials at Hal Far airfield got permission to take over 4 Sea Gladiators left by the Navy; at any one time, 3 of the 4 were kept serviceable, with the fourth as a spare for when one of the other three was rendered temporarily unserviceable.

Kept airborne by courage, skill and sheer hard work, these Gladiators showed that Malta could be defended, and as a result, eventually more aircraft were sent in, including Hurricanes, Swordfish, Blenheims, Wellingtons and Spitfires. Despite many raids by Italian fighters and bombers, and later the Luftwaffe, the island never gave up, and never fell into enemy hands.

This book tells the tale of the island during the siege of 1940-41, and the huge contribution made by the Gloster Gladiators and their pilots. It's packed full of anecdotes that remind you of the spirit showed by Britain during the war, as well as the sad losses suffered by our armed services. It had me smiling, laughing and teary-eyed.… (mer)

Poolman's account of this specialised area of the air war and the Battle of the Atlantic (for it is mainly the Atlantic theatre that's relevant here with an occasional reference to the Mediterranean and Eastern fronts) is probably one rung short of "must read", but is none-the-less a useful addition to the war history cornucopia.

Poolman's obviously limited by the availability of source material, with some ships' efforts, and some aircrafts' too, being described in great detail whereas other pass with barely a mention. However, "barely a mention" is at least a mention and sometimes that's this book's weakness. Whilst it is worthy of the author not to exclude an 87-ton trawler as she'd have had her own story and casualties that are as relevant as any others, it can sometimes be a little tedious to read a list of attacks or to know which shipyard had constructed the ship in question that do not seem to add to the overall picture. What might have helped here are a few maps, given those the detailed picture might have been clearer to the average reader.

However there is a good deal of interesting information in the book, not least about the need to keep the Condor in service with the Greif not coming through as promised and the impact that the CAM and MAC ships had - plus the length of time it took to get these operational.

Overall a good addition to any military library and certainly something for those with more than a passing interest in the subject to enjoy.… (mer)