It’s a while since I’ve read a book in one sitting but did just that with this excellent work. I just had to know more about the subject, a larger than life character in the true Boys Own tradition. If asked to name an RFC pilot with connections to Antarctica, most of us would immediately think of Tryggve Gran. I was unaware of Bickerton but his contribution to Antarctic exploration was greater than that of the Norwegian.

Stephen is a distant relative of the story’s hero and has undertaken extensive research, as evidenced in the sources and bibliography, to uncover the full details of a fascinating character who thoroughly deserved the accolade of the book’s title. Combine the subject with Stephen’s readable style of writing and you’ve got a book worth having.

Bickerton’s adventures began with a search for pirate gold on Cocos Island before joining Mawson’s 1911-1914 Australian Antarctic Expedition as mechanic cum odd-job-man. The expedition was one of research, under the auspices of the Royal Geographical Society and not a rush for the pole. Mawson had bought a REP Type D monoplane, hoping to utilise it in exploration work but it was crashed in Australia. Bickerton was instrumental in converting the remains into a mechanised sledge that proved its worth when the party reached Antarctica.
Upon return to England, Bickerton was set to join Shackleton’s Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition and played his part in preparations that were undertaken in Norway. The war intervened and he enlisted as a private soldier. He was soon commissioned and served in France before transferring to the RFC as an observer in May 1916. Posted to 10 Sqn, he flew operationally and was slightly wounded before an experiment with a pyrotechnic of his own creation went wrong. His injuries were severe enough for him to be posted home and after recovery he trained as a pilot. He returned to France in July 1917, joining 70 Sqn. Bickerton flew and fought on Camels until severely wounded by ground fire that September. He ended up at Martlesham Heath but his flying was ended, following a crash in Vimy B9953. He was classed as 40% disabled when he left the RAF in 1919.

Unable to settle post-war, Bickerton lived in East Africa and then Newfoundland, before ending up in California, where he was involved in property development. Woman trouble made him leave and his next adventure was as guide to an expedition that was designed to keep a rich young man, Tom Hanbury, out of woman trouble. The third member of the expedition was William Rhodes-Moorhouse, son of the VC winner. Bear hunting and canoeing in the Canadian Rockies was followed by a journey from Cape Town to Cairo, by plane, lorry and train.

Marriage into the aristocracy followed, and then, via connections he had built up over the years, employment in the film industry, as screenwriter and then editor. During WW2, he re-enlisted in the RAF and served throughout the war on administrative duties. He died in 1954.

The book is filled with details of these adventures and more, with many famous and familiar names appearing. I doubt whether anyone, after finishing this book, could disagree with its title. The story and the way it’s told are brilliant