Author Description

Cecil Lewis joined the RAF during WW I when he was 17. After ten hours of instruction he went overseas. He flew combat missions until the war ended, then went off to Peking to teach the Chinese to fly. Out of his adventures he found the material for a great classic of aviation and war, SAGITTARIUS RISING. His writing skills took him to Hollywood where he won an Oscar for the screenplay of Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion. When he returned to England, WW II was brewing. Lewis rejoined the RAF as an instructor. He taught a new generation to fly, then went on to posts in Sicily and Greece. His recollection of these times, reflected in letters home to his wife, were published in 1991.