Flights of Inspiration

About the Book

“Never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few”.   

Sir Winston Churchill’s homage to the pilots of the Battle of Britain could just have easily applied to “the other few” : aviation pioneers like Brabazon, Rolls,  Sopwith, Grace, and McClean,  who inspired Britain to take to the skies by their exploits on and from Kent's Isle of Sheppey a century ago.

 It all began at Muswell Manor near Leysdown in May 1909, then subsequently at Eastchurch, where Churchill himself took flying lessons. This is the story of those intrepid flying men coupled with personal memories of  life in the birthplace of British aviation in the first half of the 20^th Century.

About the Author

Michael Britten is a journalist who was brought up on the Isle of Sheppey, in the village that became the cradle of British aviation. He knows its history, and as a former ‘swampy’  remains concerned that this corner of the Garden of England continues to be ignored by an ungrateful outside world. 

Too little has changed since he left the island to forge a career in Fleet Street, before travelling the world as a freelance golf writer, contributing to many national newspapers and magazines. Currently living in Spain, he has written books on golf and travel. This is his first venture into modern history.