The War Diaries of Colin Dunford Wood, Volume 1: North-West Frontier, India & Iraq, 1939-41

Colin Dunford Wood had an extraordinary war. He was only one of two survivors of 60 Indian army recruits who joined the RAF in WW2 where, despite his poor eyesight and having to cheat on his medical, he went on to fight in four theatres of war: the North-West Frontier, Iraq, Burma and Germany.This first volume contains a unique record of two little-known campaigns: the fight against the Fakir of Ipi on the North West Frontier; and a rare first-hand account of the Battle of Habbaniya in Iraq, an episode that came very close to driving a wedge through the heart of the British Empire at one of the most perilous junctures of its history. Just 39 trainee pilots and their RAF instructors, in ancient biplanes, stood between the Iraqis and the Luftwaffe, and Britain's Middle East oil supply. Pilot cadet Colin was one of them.