Sailor In The Sky

by Graham Jooste

Overview

"He was the outstanding fighter pilot of the 1939-1945 war. His inspired leadership, added to his gunnery and implacable determination, made him second to none, a fact acknowledged by us all. Sailor was perhaps, a man more than any other, that could say in all truth: 'I Fear No Man'." Air Vice Marshall Johnnie Johnson, CBE DSO DFC, WW2 Fighter Ace Adolph Gysbert Malan, universally known as "Sailor", is regarded as one of the very greatest fighter pilots of the Second World War. As Graham Jooste's detailed, compelling and timely biography reveals, Sailor began life on a South African farm before joining the merchant navy. Even before the war, he quickly distinguished himself as a pilot. He would go on to play a vital part as one of the "Few" during the Battle of Britain in the summer of 1940, when the outcome of the whole war hung in the balance. While the bulk of the book rightly concentrates on Sailor's wartime experiences, Graham Jooste also details his political involvement in post-war South Africa, at a time when, to his horror, the ruling National Party had embraced an openly racist ideology and began to implement the country's notorious Apartheid system.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781528960441
Publisher:	Austin Macauley Publishers
Publication date:	10/30/2019
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	334
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Graham Jooste was born in 1937 at Willemsdal, Greylingstad, a small town in the Transvaal Province of South Africa. He received his early education at various Afrikaans and English schools, wherever his father was transferred to while working in the bank. Because of this he became fully bilingual which was to stand him in good stead throughout his career. He was accepted into the South African Nautical College, "General Botha", for the 1952-1953 intake. He captained the cricket, boxing and rugby sides and was appointed to the rank of Senior Cadet Captain. Upon graduation he was awarded Second Prize in the Queen's Gold Medal Competition. He proceeded to sea with the Ellerman & Bucknall Steamship Company, and after a few years came ashore. He was active in business and started a wholesale and manufacturing enterprise. He was always interested in history and visited most of the Boer War battlefields around the country. He lectured to various groups about specific episodes during the conflict and was called upon by a college to assist in their History Department. Although not active in business anymore he writes a monthly article for a magazine about historical personalities with South African connections.