Biography
Don’t Look Back is an intimate account from the Second World War told with the frankness and innocence of a 22-year-old RAF wireless operator from a Lancaster bomber.
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Don’t Look Back is an intimate account from the Second World War told with the frankness and innocence of a 22-year-old RAF wireless operator from a Lancaster bomber. Alone and lost in Nazi occupied Europe during late 1943, he is catapulted into a dangerous world of the Resistance, the Comet Escape Line and the men and women who risked everything in their fight against the Nazis. It is the start of a nightmare which pushes him to the limit of endurance.
Keith Morley writes a compelling and human story which transcends the reserve and modest underplay present in many personal memoirs and accounts of the period.
This gripping memoir will appeal to anyone interested in true accounts of wartime escape and evasion.
Here's what readers have to say about this book....
An excellent read! I must confess to having met Ron Morley when I was in the Air Scouts nearly fifty years ago. Ron, and another ex. RAF colleague Aurther Blow, come down one evening, and captured our imaginations, with tales of their wartime experiences. It was a fabulous evening, and when I heard all these years later, that Keith had written a book about his father's exploits, I just knew it would be good as I already had had a taste of it. What Keith does astonishingly well, is add a fantastic level of detail, without the narrative getting slow or boring. I genuinely could not put this book down!
An excellent read, painstakingly researched in immense detail and historically, it has no doubt filled in many blanks for people, myself included. From a literary perspective the descriptions of the environment and the characters, their thoughts and feelings convey not only the loneliness and fear of the unknown, but the extreme trepidation, bravery and desperation of the plight of all involved in the war. It reinforces with a genuine realism how such RAF evaders and the resistance fighters fought for their survival on a daily basis. Well written, I completed it within a few days and whether war stories are your genre, or not, you will be gripped by the human aspects of this exciting true story.
This is an incredible story, full of bravery, loneliness and despair, written in the style of a memoir, by the author about his father's experiences as a member of RAF aircrew, shot down over German occupied Belgium. It details his escape through Belgium, France and Spain, the hardships faced, and the challenges overcome. It is an inspirational account, and well worth reading.
This is a story that isn't just based on real life, it is real life. It’s as true as it gets. The author has listened to his father’s story then painstakingly researched it, visited the locations, and even met some of the people involved. The book is written in the first person in the style of a novel, and a beautifully crafted one at that. The author has studied his art and clearly knows how to write well. I was surprised by how much I didn’t know about the war. My parents were children at the time so their viewpoint was limited, and older relatives didn’t speak about it. Most of what I knew came from television or films, leaving a large gap in my awareness. This book has filled in some big gaps. I had to look up some of the words in a dictionary (note - don’t bother asking Alexa what a quizling is - she thinks it’s a person who does quizzes). If you’re the kind of person who likes to look things up then you’ll be happy with this book as there are hundreds of facts for you to check. My lasting impression of Don’t Look Back is the emotions which come across so well, from the pilots vomiting with fear when their names appear on a rota to our protagonist’s feeling of relief at finally being able to have a shower and put on clean clothes. War stinks in more ways than one. The biggest surprise was the lack of cameraderie and the loneliness. In the films they’re all in it together old chum, back slapping and swaggering with confidence. It seems that reality was more about hiding in the shadows and the abject terror of knowing that they really are out to get you. I’ll always be grateful to Keith Morley for opening my eyes.
Beautifully written, a really compelling story that transports you back to the moment - I work as a guide of the Comet Line but focus more on the stories of the Basque members of the resistance. Keith now brings to life what it feels like to be a pilot, young, lost, afraid and totally out of his depth. It has given offered me a very important dimension to the story. Thank you.
