Arthur Aldridge
with Mark Ryan
The Last Torpedo Flyers
The true story of Arthur Aldridge – Hero of the skies
Simon and Schuster (May 2013)
Arthur Aldridge was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his bravery in taking out German cargo ship SS Madrid in December 1941, during which he lost a wing tip. He was lucky enough to survive his squadron’s attack on the Axis’s maritime fleet during the notorious Channel Dash, which saw 40 RAF planes shot down. ‘Arty’ was awarded a Bar to his DFC for sinking two enemy ships off Malta and rescuing a fellow pilot while wounded, as his own Beaufort took four shells. Arthur Aldridge and his loyal gunner, Bill Carroll, who also contributes his memories, are two of the last torpedo airmen left alive.
Lyn Rigby’s story charts the unfathomably difficult time she has endured since May 2013 when her son, 25-year-old Fusilier Lee Rigby, was butchered on a London high street by two British-born young men compelled to avenge the killing of Muslims by the British armed forces. The savage brutality of the killing shocked the nation, and the ramifications spread to the highest levels of government, questioning the security of social networking sites that allowed the fanatics who murdered her son to discuss their intentions online and unchecked.