The Flying Hours: The Compelling Memoir of Squadron Leader Andrew Millar DSO, DFC, and the Second World War Battle Against Japan - Hardcover

Millar, Andy

9780993212901: The Flying Hours: The Compelling Memoir of Squadron Leader Andrew Millar DSO, DFC, and the Second World War Battle Against Japan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0993212905 ISBN 13: 9780993212901

Publisher: Fighting High Publishing, 2015

Squadron Leader Andrew Patrick Millar’s Distinguished Service Order citation attests to his ‘superb leadership’, and ‘excellent example and personal achievements’ that were ‘largely responsible for the high standard and efficiency’ of his squadron. The Flying Hours is Squadron Leader Millar’s candid and retrospective personal account of his experiences while serving as a pilot with the Royal Air Force and commanding No. 20 Squadron in the Far East during the Second World War battle against the Japanese.
Utilizing notes made at the time and his comprehensive logbook Andrew Millar’s gripping prose describes the trials and tribulations of mounting combat operations against the Japanese while based in India and Burma, firstly in Westland Lysanders and then piloting Hawker Hurricanes. The No. 20 Squadron motto was facta non verba (actions not words) and Andrew Millar was clearly a well respected man of action. The award of the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Distinguished Service Order are testament to the fact that a young man, who read medicine prior to volunteering for the Royal Air Force, became a highly skilled pilot who led by example.
Incorporating previous unpublished photographs The Flying Hours recalls in detail Andrew Millar’s operations against the enemy, the strains of combat, and the hardships and difficulties under which his squadron lived, along with the interpersonal relationships, and the minutiae of life. The brutal and uncompromising fighting in Burma has often been described as the ‘Forgotten War’. We are fortunate that Squadron Leader Andrew Millar’s memoir ensures that one crucial element of the Far East air war is no longer ‘forgotten’.

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About the Author:

Andy Millar is a retired Navy Commander, having served 26 years in the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) and 14 years in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The David Millar who features in Lost at Sea was his father. Andy was born in the UK in 1939. His family emigrated to New Zealand after World War Two, upon his father’s return from enduring three years as a POW in Japan. Joining the RNZN in 1959, Andy trained as an officer at the Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, UK. Over the next 26 years he rose to the rank of Commander, before transferring to the RAN to take up a position with the Collins Class submarine project. A highlight of his career was a secondment to the Royal Malaysian Navy from 1966–68, during ‘The Confrontation’ with Indonesia. During this time, he commanded a Fast Patrol Boat of similar size and capability to the German E-boats that feature in Lost at Sea. Andy retired from the RAN in 1999 and now lives in Canberra.

Review:

"While many books have been produced about fighter and bomber operations, this is one of the very few written by an Army Cooperation pilot, a category that was peculiarly British and like the Westland Lysander that Millar and his men flew, there was no counterpart in the US military...Apart from providing a rare view of Army Cooperation flying in one of the conflict's lesser known theaters, Millar had an eye for vivid details of characters and situations. Sometimes shocking, occasionally sad but more often very funny, The Flying Hours is highly recommended." (Aviation History)

“it is a remarkable social and operational look at India and Burma and a reminder of the challenges faced at all levels by those serving in the ‘forgotten war’.” (Flightpath Magazine)

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