Bill Lancaster- The Final Verdict: The Life and Death of an Aviation Pioneer

2015 | Biography

Captain 'Bill' Lancaster, pioneer flyer of the twenties and thirties, disappeared on a flight over the Sahara in 1933. It was twenty-nine years before his body was found beside the wrecked plane; a log-book, tied to the wing, contained the calm yet moving record of his wait for death. Bill Lancaster's dramatic end was in keeping with his adventurous and colourful life. His service career established his reputation as a man without fear, and when he left the RAF in 1926 he turned to trailblazing. An attempt to be the first man to fly a light plane to Australia involved him with a top woman flyer, 'Chubbie' Miller and, neglecting their families, the pair flew together for four years until the depression forced Lancaster to leave in search of work. How Bill Lancaster made a desperate effort to retrieve his fortunes, how Chubbie fell in love with an American writer, Haden Clarke, while he was away, and how Clarke was shot dead on Lancaster's return, leads up to a full account of one of the most sensational murder trials of the century.

A story as exciting as the age it is set in, its unique denouement leaves the reader free to pronounce his own verdict on Bill Lancaster, pioneer flyer and adventurer.

Ralph Barker (Author)