UK

041562 - GINGER LACEY: FIGHTER PILOT

By Richard Townshend Bickers

Squadron Leader James Harry "Ginger" Lacey DFM & Bar (1 February 1917 - 30 May 1989) was one of the top scoring Royal Air Force fighter pilots of the Second World War and was the second highest scoring British RAF fighter pilot of the Battle of Britain, credited with 28 enemy aircraft destroyed,five probables and nine damaged.Written in a style which gives a great insight, not only into Lacey's life but the character of those who fought the battle and beyond, Bickers' brings home the reality that was faced by the young men of the RAF and provides some idea of what made a successful fighter pilot. During the Battle of France and the Battle of Britain, Lacey had been shot down or forced to land due to combat no less than nine times.