Moral Fibre: A Bomber Pilot's Story

Having read several of author Helena Schrader's excellent novels about the Battle of Britain, her latest, Moral Fibre is another exciting, excellent and poignant read! I could not put it down as I was drawn quickly into the life of bomber pilot "Kit" Moran. His personal history of being deemed LMF, lacking in moral fibre, for refusing to fly a mission drew me immediately into his inner emotional life, After being examined by a psychiatrist in terrific back-and-forth dialogue, he is then released back to flying by being allowed to train as a pilot,The title of the book Moral Fibre is very apt as there are three aspects of it in the novel, I think. First is the moral fibre of steeling oneself to do what has to be done, i.e. fly dangerous missions bombing Germany. The second is said by Rev. Reddings in his sermon at a wedding: he asks if being a survivor of the war is God having "......given us a second chance to demonstrate our moral fibre?.....an obligation to counter lies, prejudice, hatred and arrogance with truth, tolerance, justice and righteousness?" The third refers to Georgina's moral fibre in her love, care and support of Kit after his war injuries.New to me was the description of how the RAF bomber crews were formed by the process of "crewing up". Rather than each man being assigned to an aircraft and a particular pilot, the men in a large group chatted with each other and informally coalesced into groups around each pilot until that pilot had a full complement of men committed to flying with him.The missions over Germany were thrillingly described as each man's job was shown in detail during the flights over and back. How the Lancaster bomber flew, its strength and weakness were all shown via dialogue among the crew and in superb, exciting action.Racism at the particular time of the novel is shown via the thoughts and reactions of Kit and Kit's mother who is of mixed race, as her mother is a from the African Zulu people. Also, the risk of loving someone very deeply-even though they could be shot down at any moment-is poignantly described through Kit's and Georgina's evolving thoughts and feelings towards each other.The Historical notes, RAF Rank Table, Note on the RAF term "lack of moral fibre and the Glossary were invaluable in aiding this reader to a deeper understanding of the novel.As well as thrilling action in the air, there are lots of deep thoughts concerning war, romance during wartime, class and racial prejudice during the time period as described by the author. Many times while reading, I had to put the book down and think about the many excellent philosophical questions Helena Schrader posed. This is one you will definitely re-read.I can't recommend this superb story highly enough!

I loved this book. Like the rest of Ms. Schrader's books, I couldn't put it down once I started. (So I have to make sure I can sleep in the next day before starting!) I may be unusual, but I started with her glossary in the back. Her characters sound like WWII pilots and ground crew, so I wanted to understand the lingo before I started. We like to think of the bombing crews as handsome, dashing, and brave--but Ms. Schrader's characters are oh so human with strengths and weaknesses. But put in extraordinary situations. What would I have done? Would I have clutched in an actual bombing raid? And what about the ones who love these soldiers with such depressing odds of surviving? Do they deny their feelings, like Phillipa, or love knowing that he might not return? My mother took the latter approach and married my father, she was 16 and he was 19 or 20, before he went overseas. (Dad came back, obviously, or I would not have been born.) I also loved learning how characters I met in her previous book, "Lack of Moral Fibre," developed n this book. Great read!

Well developed characters and great backstory capture life of the young men and women during WWII in Great Britan. If you like fighter pilot action, I was sucked into the sorties over Germany and acquired new knowledge about WWII aircraft. There's complex family relationships, conflicting politics of the time, romance, some supernatural elements, and best of all a well told story. Highly recommend for general fiction, historical fiction, and WWII aeronautical fans!

This was such a powerful and thought-provoking WWII historical fiction read. The author perfectly captures the chaos and struggles of men and women during WW2 who fought against Hitler’s regime in the skies and on the ground. The attention to detail the author utilized in the narrative and the heavy emphasis on setting and tone really brought the history aspect of the novel to life perfectly.Yet it was the character development and themes that really spoke to me in this read. The way the author wove these themes of racism, grief, PTSD, and “good versus evil” was fantastic to see, as they mirrored the historical context of the war so seamlessly. Kit’s development in particular was so moving, as the psychological and societal impact of his experiences during the war and his background overall played a role in the development of this rich and captivating read.

At a time when we are seeing the obituaries of those last remaining centenarians who flew in the bombing raids against Germany and who helped to end the war in Europe, it is fitting that Helena Shcrader’s new book should tell the story of one of those crews, who, newly trained, joined Squadron 617, the Dam Busters, and took part in some of the key raids towards the end of the war. This is a book that you will not want to put down, as the story of young men putting their life on the line in the flack filled air over German occupied Europe takes hold. The book leads you through their training, crewing up, and their first sorties and gives an authentic and fascinating picture of what it takes to keep a good team together. The main character is Kit Moran, who first featured in the long story, Lack of Moral Fibre, and who becomes the pilot skipper of the Lancaster Bomb Z-Zebra, but his crew are all full-blown characters in their own right and the jobs they do as flight engineer, navigator, bomb aimer, wireless operator and upper and rear gunners are all essential to the success of any mission. The detail of how they flew and the hardships they had to put up with is an eye opener to those who have only ever flew in comfort, and clearly the result of intensive and thorough research. The tale of the flights themselves keep you turning the pages, and then the author takes you to the Yorkshire countryside where Kit’s romance with the trainee teacher Georgina blossoms. This is historical fiction at its best – an exciting and authentic action account of aerial war-fare coupled with a tender love story. The way in which the author makes you believe that the story is actually happening as you read, brings this fictional tale to real life. The most gripping and moving book I have read in a long time.

This is yet another excellent novel from the busy pen of Helena Page Schrader.As a qualified historian, she researches her subject matter thoroughly. Her style grips the reader’s attention making it difficult to put the book down.Even secondary characters are realistic human beings arousing one’s immediate understanding.“Moral Fibre” continues the story of former Flight Engineer Kit Moran, now a pilot in his inner personal war together with his war against WW2 Germany along with his crew. It is not necessary to have read the previous books as there is a useful prologue but I would heartily recommend anyone to read the whole collection “Where Eagles Never Flew” , “Grounded Eagles” (three novellas), and “Moral Fibre”.Dr Shrader gained her PhD at the University of Hamburg her dissertation being a history of the German resistance to Hitler led by General Olbricht.

Moving tale of awful times for so many in the dark days of WW2