No Empty Chairs by Ian Mackersey

[alex revell]

Ian Mackersey is a documentary film maker and an aviation writer of repute, whose books include the acclaimed biographies of the pioneer aviator Jean Batten, the great record breaking Australian pilot, Charles Kingsford Smith, and the Wright brothers. No Empty Chairs is his first book to deal with the aviators of the First World War and is a rare book, in that it is of interest not only to the general reader without a specialised knowledge of the subject, but also to those people who have studied the Great War and the part played in that conflict by the Royal Flying Corps, later the Royal Air Force.

The book is divided into thirty-one chapters, covering such diverse subjects as the proliferation of public schoolboys as commissioned pilots; flying training; the Fokker scourge; the raids by both Zeppelins and aircraft on Britain; Bloody April; the Bishop controversy; the death of Richthofen; the role played by Trenchard, etc.

Each chapter deals with an aspect of the RFC and RAF, from the early days to the end of the war, but collectively gives an excellent overall picture of the development of the RFC and RAF, putting the air war in context with the fighting on the ground, detailing the part played by the British air services in each of the main battles.

In the literature of the air war, the essential and all-important work of the two-seater crews of the reconnaissance and artillery spotting aeroplanes is all too often overshadowed by the more colourful, and wrongly perceived, glamour of the part played by the fighter pilots. The author has corrected this and has successfully detailed the part played by both.

The main thrust of the book, however, the personal side of the war by those who fought, is brought vividly to life with the quotation of many letters and diaries of the pilots, observers, and - unusually - those unsung heroes, the ground crew. These personal, and often intensely moving accounts, vividly bring home how the strain of daily flying and fighting in the air took a incredible toll on the physical and mental health of the combatants, resulting in shattered nerves, and often complete nervous breakdowns: conditions which were met with scant sympathy and little understanding by the high command. The author returns to this theme throughout the book and for me this is a slight flaw, in that it tends to give the impression that all aircrew suffered in this respect. The other side of the picture, of those pilots and observers who, despite their fears, and frequent nightmares of being shot down in flames - every fliers dread - successfully contained them and avoided the extremes, is not mentioned.

The book also paints a shocking picture of the incompetence, even stupidity, of the hierarchy of the RFC, many of whom were not pilots nor had any knowledge of aviation. One chapter, entitled The Instructors Who Stuttered, relates how pilots, whose nerves were completely shattered by war flying, were allocated as flying instructors, as a ‘rest’ from combat flying. Many of these ‘instructors’ were completely unfit to teach, regarding their pupils as being as dangerous as their erstwhile opponents on the Western Front, and their disinterest led to just over two thirds of trainee pilots losing their lives in flying accidents - a shocking statistic. Other chapters detail how the rigid class system of the day, with a recruitment selection favouring the public schoolboy, led to a waste of potential talent, and how the high casualty rate later necessitated a relaxation of the officers and gentlemen only rule for commissioned rank.

No Empty Chairs is a fine, thought provoking book. Recommended without reservation

[Michael Molkentin]

Hi Alex

Thanks for this review. I am a big admirer of Mackersey's Kingsford Smith biography- he's a fantastic writer and a very thorough researcher (and a great, generous bloke). I am looking forward to getting my hands on a copy.

From the sample I've read I was a bit concerned that his criticism of operational level command and other issues such as training might - being overshadowed by his dominant theme of tragedy - lack nuance. Taking your review it seems my fears might have some foundation. I certainly don't think that incompetence, stupidity or inexperience characterised the RFC's leadership. Mistakes aside, Trenchard and Henderson oversaw the extraordinary evolution of the flying corps from practically nothing to the largest and most tactically effective air force in the world. As for wing and brigade commanders, practically all of them had previously served in a cockpit and were, as far as I can tell, by far the most qualified officers available in the British Army for the job. As for training, the phenomenon Mackersey describes (according to your review) was certainly very real - but for a period, and even then, for quite legitimate reasons caused by expansion pressures on the RFC (which ultimately the politicians set via broad strategic policy). A look at training in 1918 reveals an impressive organisation that produced aviators comparatively well equipped for the job- I hope Mackersey acknowledges this too; I hope he acknowledges the triumph of the RFC as well as the immense tragedy.

Also 2/3 of all pilots in training being killed in accidents seems like a bit of a suspect statistic- do you know where he got this? (does the book have end notes for that matter?)

Does he rely on mainly published sources? I know he lives in NZ; did he get to Britain to do some work in the archives?

Anyhow, I'll have a read and let you know. Again, thanks for the review; I really look forward to reading it.

[Staffsyeoman]

Hardly out in hardback here in the UK - and already available in The Works (a remainders chain) for £6.99

[Paul bardell]

I am at the moment about 1/2 way through this book, and must say it is living up to Alex's comments and recommendation's as seen above.

some of the chapters are very moving to read.

a fine book.

regards

Paul

[Michael Molkentin]

Here's my review of No Empty Chairs for the Australian Society of World War One Aero Historians (http://www.ww1aero.org.au/) newsletter.

No Empty Chairs: the Short and Heroic Lives of the Young Aviators who Fought and Died in the First World War

Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2012

New Zealand filmmaker and aviation writer Ian Mackersey takes the title of his new book on Great War airmen from Major-General Sir Hugh Trenchard’s solution for flagging morale in his squadrons. Trenchard insisted on the immediate replacement of losses so that their comrades had little time to brood over their absence from the mess. Pragmatic and compassionate in equal measure, it tells us something of the man who led the RFC for most of the war and the reality Britain’s young pilots faced.

The title is a fitting one in many ways. Mackersey focuses on the Western Front and the RFC, impressionistically using the experiences of individuals to illustrate broader aspects of the air war. He arranges the book chronologically, though each chapter has strong thematic focus. As the title also suggests, Mackersey’s dominant motif is tragedy: the loss and disruption of young lives in pursuit of an entirely new form of warfare. Overall, it is an approach that readers of books such Dennis Winter’s The first of the few or Ralph Barker’s A brief history of the Royal Flying Corps in World War One, will be well-familiar with.

Avid readers in the subject will also find Mackersey’s overall story of the air war familiar, as will they many of his chief subjects (Cecil Lewis, Arthur Lee, Ira Jones, Ball, Mannock, Richthofen et al). That said, Mackersey uses private papers from the Imperial War Museum, RAF Museum and elsewhere to introduce us to some whom we are less likely to know. Society members will be particularly interested in Geoffrey Wall from Melbourne, an early-war enlistment into the RFC who Mackersey uses to illustrate deficiencies in RFC training in 1916.

As readers of Mackersey’s previous books would expect, No Empty Chairs is a pleasure to read. He writes a disciplined, refined and well-paced narrative; his considerable talent as a biographer is evident in the sharp pen sketches he provides of his subjects and his astute insight into their characters. Stylistically, the book’s only flaw is Mackersey’s propensity for purple prose. Some readers may tire of his description of things as “horrific”, “staggering”, “shocking”, “devastating” and “appalling”. With material as inherently dramatic as the letters and diaries he uses, a lighter touch would have sufficed- and indeed, increased its impact.

Although Mackerssey thanks an impressive number of archives around the globe in the acknowledgements, it is not clear from the select bibliography or rather vague endnotes which primary sources he examined specifically or how they shaped his interpretations. From the RFC’s voluminous official records at the UK National Archives he cites (incorrectly) a single file. It is therefore difficult to know what to make of Mackersey’s statistics, which sometimes differ considerably from those in official records and other books. His claim that “just over two-thirds” of airmen who died during the war did so in training; that the British lost 500 pilots and 1000 aircraft during April 1917; that German victory tallies were ‘essentially more accurate’ than their British counterparts; and that the British suffered four times as many losses as the Germans, to offer a few examples, need substantiation. Of course, books for a general readership don’t need the kind of references that a thesis or peer reviewed article require, but they should provide evidence when departing from generally accepted facts and figures.

Still, most readers will find little reason not to enjoy No Empty Chairs. It is a compelling read, a tight, polished narrative history populated by fascinating individuals skillfully brought to life on the page. One could effortlessly devour it in a few sittings. It will introduce the story of the Great War in the air and the fascinating lives it consumed to a new audience, something the Society certainly applauds.