Dr Adam Claasen, author of Grid: The life and times of one of New Zealand’s greatest military heroes will be speaking at 10am on Tuesday 13 May in the Theatre at the Air Force Museum of New Zealand.
Adam’s biography of Air Commodore Keith ‘Grid’ Caldwell CBE, MC, DFC & bar, Croix de guerre, was published last year and is a stunning piece of scholarship.
Grid tells the story of Caldwell’s remarkable exploits during the First World War. Flying single-seat fighters against the best of the German air force, including the Red Baron’s Flying Circus and airmen such as Werner Voss, Caldwell accumulated 26 victories in aerial combat.
Over his illustrious career he flew with numerous ‘stars’ of the British air service, including Albert Ball, William ‘Billy’ Bishop and Edward ‘Mick’ Mannock. In the last year of the war, aged only 22, he was given command of the new 74 Squadron. Under his leadership 74 ‘Tiger’ Squadron become one of the war’s most feared and revered units.
Grid details Caldwell’s journey from early flight training in Auckland to his death-defying sorties over enemy lines on the Western Front. It also details his pivotal role in sustaining military aviation in interwar New Zealand, and his role in reinvigorating interest in the airmen of the First World War during the 1960s and 1970s.
Read our review: Grid: The Life and Times of First World War Fighter Ace Keith Caldwell by Adam Claasen – Air Force Museum of New Zealand
Buy Grid from our store: Grid – Air Force Museum of New Zealand
Date: Tuesday 13 May
Time: 10am
Where: Theatre, Air Force Museum of New Zealand, 45 Harvard Avenue Christchurch.
