I have had a Daily Telegraph obituary book of one kind or another in the downstairs loo for as long as I can remember, and this, the latest in a long series, will take pride of place. Bishop was the newspapers' Aviation Obituary Editor and his story of excluding some notable fakers (unlike The Times) is fascinating. In one case, the claim of having been awarded the AFM and Bar was too much for him to stomach. The Dramatis Personae are grouped (eight First World War Veterans, including my hero Gwilym Lewis) and date from the time their obituaries first appeared in 1987. Other groups of interest to us include Planemakers - what an amazing man T.O.M. Sopwith was! - Escapers and Evaders, and, of course, The Girls. A Fleet Air Arm book is in preparation, although the RNAS is covered here, and I am sure that will be a treat too. Two things come to mind; first, how small, physically, most airmen are (or were?), and second what a familiar roll call of wonderfully brave men (and women) are in the Index at the end.