Tuning in…
Tuning in…
Castaway
1 appearance
Battle of Britain fighter ace who shot down 11 enemy planes and later served as equerry to King George VI.
On the island
Eight records
The keepsakes
The book
In conversation
Presenter asks
0:13You began life as an RAF pilot, but you have an army background in the family, have you not?
Well a little bit, but not entirely army. Uh army and navy and even administration. I think my father was more of an administrator.
Presenter asks
1:39When war broke out, you were in Britain. What time?
Uh that's right. It was uh purely accidental. I mean, anybody could have done it. But it was qu quite an accident that this guy happened to meet me and or we met uh just uh off the g the Yorkshire coast. It's quite near Whitby.
Presenter asks
2:28After the Battle of Britain you were appointed group captain. That took you into the realms of policy making, did it?
Not really, no. I think I'd been capable of making any policy, right, really. Uh I don't know what you feel about policy making, but uh no, I went to the staff college where I was simply taught to kill more efficiently or to teach other people to kill more efficiently. And it's fantastic, really. The uh the uh uh I was horrified, I must say, but I went I did it, one had to do it. But uh it is horrifying how humans can set themselves to the scientific business of killing other human beings. It seems a very wasteful process.
Anthony Burgess
The luxury
Presenter asks
3:06On the strength of your service record, the late king asked for you as an equerry. What exactly are the duties of an equerry?
Well I think basically an equerry is uh a personal aid to the king. Uh during his tour of duty, which may be two or three weeks, uh he's absolutely on duty uh during twenty four hours. And if the sovereign it was the king in my case, the late king if he rings the bell, will you want to be there and not out shopping in Bond Street or in Piccadilly or something? Uh you accompany the king on all his um excursions, visits and so on.
Presenter asks
6:12What were the most adventurous stretches of the trip [around the world]?
Well, it was very tough in parts uh in Persia. In Iran, uh there were some quite tough uh bits there. um Afghanistan. I think the toughest of all was in the Burmese jungle. up in the north of Burma. and at one time it took me seven days to cover twenty four miles. and the car was rather badly damaged, and I had to sit down on my backside and mend it.
“I was a little bit offbeat, I must say, in deciding to become a pilot.”
“It was purely accidental. I mean, anybody could have done it.”
“it is horrifying how humans can set themselves to the scientific business of killing other human beings. It seems a very wasteful process.”
“I turned over to the back inside cover, and there was a tiny map of the world, and I thought, God, I want to drive round that.”
“I think the only reason why I didn't [go on writing] is that I'd just married. And my darling wife said to me, Well, do you really think that you can survive on your makings, on your uh your profits as a writer? And I lost my nerve.”