At times thrilling, ordinary, self-deprecating, visceral, and tragic. To read the events of WWII through the eyes, ears, and feelings of someone so young, so vulnerable, and brave is something that is rarely found in published histories of war. This is action as it happened, told to you by somebody who was there, with a down-to-earth, matter-of-fact tone. One can't help be moved by his words, and reading it after his death made it all the more poignant. Vivid, wholly convincing, compelling. One of the best memoirs for years about the experience of flying in war Max Hastings, Sunday Telegraph

First Light on Vimeo First Light on Vimeo

In May 1940, before his flight training was complete, [4] Wellum was posted to 92 Squadron, which was a combat squadron flying Spitfires. [5] It was at 92 Squadron that he first encountered a Spitfire, and flew the aircraft for the first time. Later, in First Light, he wrote of the experience: "I experienced an exhilaration that I cannot recall ever having felt before. It was like one of those wonderful dreams, a Peter Pan sort of dream". [3] Much later, in an unpublished interview with The Times, Wellum recalled: "After I joined the squadron they went to Dunkirk and by the end of that day we'd lost five people, four of whom I'd met the night before in the officers' mess. I thought, 'Hold on a minute, this is bloody dangerous!’ " [4] Holland, James (February 2001), Interview with Geoffrey Wellum , Curiously, in Wellum's book, Kingcome is spelled all the time as "Kingcombe". Wellum describes Kingcome as "the finest fighter pilot I ever flew with" and recommends his book A Willingness to Die This was so affecting! That it was true made it all the more poignant to watch. The fact that Wellum was teenager when he entered the RAF makes me realize all over again what the people of England were willing to do to protect their homes and their land. They sent their boys.Vivid, wholly convincing, compelling. One of the best memoirs for years about the experience of flying in war' Max Hastings, Sunday Telegraph An extraordinarily deeply moving and astonishingly evocative story. Reading it, you feel you are in the Spitfire with him, at 20,000ft, chased by a German Heinkel, with your ammunition gone Independent

First Light by Geoffrey Wellum - Penguin Books Australia First Light by Geoffrey Wellum - Penguin Books Australia

The whole thing feels unreal and I can’t believe this is really happening. I must be getting lightheaded! What a pity, in a way, that an aeroplane that can impart such a glorious feeling of sheer joy and beauty has got to be used to fight somebody.”If England had fallen to Germany, the country could not have been used as the launching point for the D-Day landings and the liberation of Europe. Over the coming months he and his fellow pilots play a crucial role in the Battle of Britain. But of the friends that take to the air alongside Wellum, many never return. We were discussing a scene in which 'Boy Wellum', the hero of our story, makes his first flight in a Spitfire and our actor, Sam Heughan, couldn't wait to get into the air. Two months before the outbreak of WWII, seventeen-year-old Geoffrey Wellum leaves school to become a fighter pilot with the RAF. Bursting with youthful energy and enthusiasm, he makes it through basic training to become the youngest Spitfire pilot in the prestigious 92 Squadron. Thrust into combat almost immediately, Wellum finds himself flying several sorties a day, caught up in terrifying dogfights with German Me 109s. Over the coming months he and his fellow pilots play a crucial role in the Battle of Britain. But of the friends that take to the air alongside Wellum many never return.