George Heagney reviews Grid: The life and times of First World War fighter ace Keith Caldwell by Adam Claasen for Manawatū Standard:
‘The story of a remarkable New Zealander and famed World War I fighter pilot Keith Caldwell has been brought to life in a new book.
Massey University historian Adam Claasen has just published a book called Grid: The life and times of First World War fighter ace Keith Caldwell.
Caldwell was a World War I pilot, flying one-seater fighter planes against the Germans, but was also involved in aviation once he returned home to New Zealand.
Claasen previously wrote a book called Fearless about New Zealand airmen, but he said Caldwell deserved his own biography.
“This was due to the fact he had spanned such a great part of the war. He was there for 27 months on the Western Front serving in the air service.”
Caldwell started the war as a second lieutenant and ended as a major in charge of a squadron at age 22.
“People’s lives could be counted in weeks and some times days. To last that long is just remarkable.”
Claasen said Caldwell was highly regarded and a strong pilot who flew with many other famous pilots.
Technology changed during the war and the fighter aircraft developed rapidly.
Caldwell was in the thick of it, involved in sorties against some of the best German pilots, and had 26 victories.
“It is remarkable. He had close calls, a number of crash landings and brushes with death that he survived.”’
Read the rest of the review here.
