417 Squadron History

Peter Henderson teaches history at Douglas College in New Westminster,
B.C.

This is what I would describe as popular history. It is a fairly short book, written in an informal style with plenty of illustrations. It is written at an appropriate time, since the Squadron in question has just been disbanded and, although it has been disbanded and re-formed before in its life, the present Canadian military position does not make re-formation likely again.

Formed first in England in 1941, and affiliated with the city of Windsor, Ontario, the unit’s life is traced through Europe and subsequently back to Manitoba and Alberta. Perhaps because of its informal style, the book does give the flavour both of the wartime years and of the subsequent period back in Canada. It would be a must purchase for anyone connected with the unit, and for the general aviation reader it does convey the spirit of a very Canadian organization with strong connections to other Commonwealth units, to Britain, and to the United States.