061185 - WRECKS & RELICS: 30th Edition

By David Willis

Very few special interest books can lay claim to getting anywhere near a 30th edition, so Wrecks & Relics must be doing something right to merit this remarkable longevity. First published in the 1960s, every edition of Wrecks & Relics has been eagerly sought after by aviation enthusiasts, historians, restorers and curators alike.

Through its first five decades, the book’s author was Ken Ellis. He has now passed the baton to David Willis, who has assisted Ken in the production of recent editions. The transition has thus been seamless and Wrecks & Relics is in good hands and will continue to be the go-to source charting and highlighting changes and trends in the preservation of the aviation heritage of the British Isles. With in-depth coverage of more than 700 locations across the UK and Ireland, it lists more than 4,000 aircraft including their potted histories, previous identities and arrival dates.

Wrecks & Relics remains the only publication required to discover the incredible aeronautical treasures found across these islands. It provides a trusted, comprehensive rundown of museums and collections and their exhibits – static or flying – together with workshops, military ‘gate guardians’, stored and instructional airframes etc. It also reveals redundant and even derelict airframes being used for the most unlikely of purposes, including ‘glamping’ and at paint-ball sites.

Each edition of Wrecks & Relics is profusely illustrated with both colour and black and white photographs and is fully indexed making easy the task of where to go over the weekend, or where to find an extant example of a favourite aircraft type. Whether it travels in the car or sits on the bookshelf, this new and fully revised edition of this classic publication will continue to be the most useful and accurate companion to the aviation heritage of the British Isles, which will be referred to again and again.