Having been born in Leith, near Edinburgh, Brown went on to become a student at Edinburgh University studying modern languages – with an emphasis on German. While there, he became a stuntman rider to earn extra money. One of his more memorable feats was his ride in a ‘wall of death’ with a lion in his motorbike sidecar. 3. He was a fluent German speaker, and interrogated Himmler and G öring Further research into official records called into question other aspects of Eric’s early life. I started to see from the where the character of Eric was born, developed and blossomed. He was every bit the hard-bitten professional and the martinet in the beginning and then I saw how the national treasure aspect came about too. The next problem was keeping the word count down. That meant re-writing and editing – author’s hate to cut words but my publisher, Rowland White came up with a solution – detailed captions on a hundred photographs, many not seen before. A thumping great biography of the flying ace who made Top Gun look tame ... enthralling' DAILY MAIL

Another detail that Beaver disproved during his research was Brown’s claim that his father Robert served as a pilot in the Royal Flying Corps. “I did get his father’s military record and he was in the Royal Flying Corps, but not as a pilot – he was a labourer working on the observation balloons.” The end product is ‘compelling, fascinating and frequently jaw-dropping’ says James Holland and who am I to argue? Sadly, Eric did not leave the East Surrey Hospital after he was admitted and passed away on 21 February 2016. I spoke at his funeral and again at his memorial service. Crucially, I received his papers, notebooks, and the loan of family albums. His logbooks, however, went to the Fleet Air Arm Museum – but not before I had had a chance to read them. Gathering the evidence From 1st July 2021, VAT will be applicable to those EU countries where VAT is applied to books - this additional charge will be collected by Fed Ex (or the Royal Mail) at the time of delivery. Shipments to the USA & Canada: Riveting ... one of those must-read books, compelling and full of incidents that leave you gasping with surprise ... an incredible story' FLYERSome might say ‘The World’s Greatest Pilot’ but Paul Beaver, author of a new biography of Eric Brown called simply ‘Winkle’, said his publisher, Penguin Michael Joseph, vetoed that for the book’s cover because it might upset the Americans. Maybe, maybe not. The author had exclusive access to Capt Brown's logbook, family photos and personal effects. (via Paul Beaver) By a twist of fate, it turned out to be the Glenn Miller’s final public performance. The following day, Miller flew to Paris. His aircraft disappeared over the English Channel in atrocious weather, with all on board lost.

Brown had two favourite aircrafts. When it came to piston-engined planes, Brown favoured the de Havilland Hornet (which he said was “over-powered” and like a “Ferrari in the sky”); when it came to jets, Brown preferred the F-86 Sabre Model E (which had a moving tailplane that helped pilots manoeuvre at very high speeds). 10. Brown flew more aircraft than anyone else in historyHaving read Wings On My Sleeve, Brown’s autobiography, I was intrigued by the man who wrote it. He focused so much on the aircraft he flew that the were huge question marks in my mind about what formed the man himself. This book (fortunately published not long after I’d read the former) largely answers all my questions and others I hadn’t thought to ask. If you're coming to Coles by car, why not take advantage of the 2 hours free parking at Sainsbury's Pioneer Square - just follow the signs for Pioneer Square as you drive into Bicester and park in the multi-storey car park above the supermarket. Come down the travelators, exit Sainsbury's, turn right and follow the pedestrianised walkway to Crown Walk and turn right - and Coles will be right in front of you. You don't need to shop in Sainsbury's to get the free parking! Where to Find Us He carried, to his dying day, pieces of plexiglass lodged in his cheek and mouth that they couldn’t operate on and remove,” says Beaver. “To land on an aircraft carrier that is moving 60ft up and down, whilst wounded and with one eye inoperable because it is coated in blood, is quite remarkable.” In his book, Winkle: The Extraordinary Life of Britain’s Greatest Pilot – our Book of the Month for June 2023 – author Paul Beaver draws on Brown’s own papers and fascinating new research to uncover surprising new information, creating a definitive account of this globally revered, legendary pilot. Here we explore 10 interesting facts about Brown’s extraordinary life and flying career. 1. He was at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, leading to a meeting with a German fighter ace

An incredible life ... Brown took a secret to the grave that makes his story all the more remarkable The Sun As Paul said to us, he wanted this book to be about the man, rather than the aircraft, and it’s an extraordinary tale of a talented but complicated man who served his country in many ways. If you look at his life, he had a scholarship to the Royal High School in Edinburgh, studied at Edinburgh University and commanded a squadron and an air station at Lossiemouth. He is a Scot, sounded like a Scot and played rugby for Scotland as an adolescent. It would also have been interesting to read more of Brown's post-Naval career. I'm surprised that he did not wind up employed by one of the major American companies...or as a contract instructor at the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School.I knew Eric Brown for nearly 40 years – he was Superman, absolutely brilliant,” says Beaver. “I knew him at the time that he was just becoming a national treasure. He had written a lot about aeroplanes, but there was nothing really about his character.” Brown rubbed shoulders with myriad people throughout his life, from “the Royal family to Shirley Bassey to astronauts to German war criminals”. He even performed on stage with the legendary Glenn Miller Orchestra in late 1944. Of course, Winkle decides that flying the right way up is boring and so he leads inverted past the Prime Minister’s aeroplane, not realising that the Prime Minister’s private secretary has a camera and takes a snap.” Eric must have looked a bit forlorn, so Glenn asked him, ‘Can you play an instrument?’ Of course, Eric couldn’t, but he said, ‘I can play the drums’, which is actually not true. So, he became the second drummer and just drummed away.” The carriage filled with young children arriving in Scotland remains a poignant image. “Everyone wanted girls and he was, I think, the only boy on the train. It is very sad when you reflect on it now, but if it hadn’t have happened, I don’t think we would have had the same Eric ‘Winkle’ Brown.”