A Pride of Unicorns - The Biography of the Atcherley Brothers by J Pudney: 1960 1st Ed.HB

Author: John Dudney

Publisher: Oldbourne

Pagination: 240

Format: Hardback 

Condition: Good, ex-library, with shelf and edge wear, and library stamps and inscriptions inside covers.

1st edition.

THE ATCHERLEY TWINS, born  in Yorkshire in I904, became  legendary figures. These identical  twins rose rank by rank carrying  their legend with them until Air  Vice Marshal David Atcherley  was posted missing in 1952 and Air  Marshal Sir Richard Atcherley  retired from the R.A.F. in 1959.  The Atcherleys never reached  the top. Nevertheless they made  their presence felt profoundly.  They have not cut a great figure indivisible as they are—in the  memoirs of the leaders of the  Second World War, yet at their  own level they were men of great  significance.  In the lives of these two men  dedicated to the R.A.F., a large  measure of the spirit of the Air  Force is revealed. They were  completely identified with the  R.A.F. Attitude; the mingling  of technical skill with irrepressible  fun. The author of this book  envisages a world of Lions and  Unicorns, in which the Lions  represent the Establishment and  the Unicorns are the innovators  who challenge convention, create  a tempo of their own and live  to see their ideas and attitudes  adopted by the Lions.   Their story here is told with  unusual candour. Throughout  his life, Sir Richard Atcherley’s  letters home were preserved by  his mother, and this correspond-  ence provides an important  contribution to the text. With  this unique material the author,  John Pudney, has been able to  build a candid, deeply sympathetic portrait of Richard  Atcherley and of his amazing  twinship with David.