Chaz Bowyer

Raymond "Chaz" Bowyer(29 September 1926 – 18 June 2008) was a Royal Air Force armaments and explosives instructor who, after he retired from service, wrote and edited over forty books relating to the operations, aircraft, and men of theRoyal Flying Corps,Royal Air Force,andRoyal Naval Air Service.He also edited for publication the memoirs of the pilots C.P.O. Bartlett,Eric Crundall,andGwilym H. Lewis.

Early life and family

Chaz Bowyer was born inWeymouth,Dorset, on 29 September 1926,^[1]to Reginald (a builder) and Dorothy Bowyer née Northam. He was educated at high schools in Solihull and Nelson, England. He married twice and had a daughter from his first marriage and a son and a daughter from his second.^[1]His first wife pre-deceased him.^[2]A heavy smoker, Bowyer gave up cigarettes for small cigars after a heart attack.^[1]

Royal Air Force

Bowyer joined theRoyal Air Forcein 1943 at the age of 16 under theAircraft Apprentice Scheme,based atRAF Halton.The scheme had been instituted byLord Trenchardto improve the supply of technically trained ground crew and its entrants were affectionately known as"Trenchard brats".^[3]He served for 26 years, became an instructor in explosives and armaments, and was stationed in Egypt, Libya, Palestine, Singapore, and Aden. On his first posting overseas, somewhere in north Africa, he was told to dig a hole in the sand and improvise a tent over it. He often remarked, "If you can't take a joke you shouldn't have joined".^[1]He reached the rank of sergeant before retiring in 1969 to pursue a career in aviation research and writing.^[2]He was a life member of theRoyal Air Force Association.^[2]

Writing

Bowyer produced over forty books relating to the Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force and the Royal Naval Air Service. He toldContemporary Authors:

My motivation? Primarily to place on permanent record accurate accounts of men, deeds, and events connected with Royal Air Force history. This is exemplified (perhaps) byFor Valour: The Air V.C.swhich is now accepted as the standard reference work on the subject. I am tired of reading historical drivel as perpetrated by 'well-known' authors, most of whom are simply novelists or journalists with no background knowledge of genuine aviation history. Too many 'military historians' are simply writers jumping on the history bandwagon only for profit.^[2]

He began to write while in service with the RAF, contributing to squadron newsletters and similar publications wherever he was stationed. His first book attempt was on RAF Calshot^[1]but his first major work wasThe Flying Elephants,a history ofNumber 27 Squadron,Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Air Force from 1915 to 1969 (Macdonald, 1972),^[4]a unit in which Bowyer served,^[1]which received a foreword by Air MarshalSir Andrew McKee.

In 1979 he edited a translation from German into English ofArmand van Ishoven's life of the First World War flying aceErnst Udet,Udet(1977), published in English asThe Fall of an Eagle: The Life of Fighter Ace Ernst Udet.^[5]

He wrote nine titles forIan Allan'sAt Warseries describing the operational career of various British Second World War aircraft. For a time he was the editor of the journal of theCross and Cockade Internationalsociety devoted to the history of aviation during the First World War.^[2]His books were researched through his personal library, clippings, photographs, and especially personal contacts. He rarely consulted the Ministry of Defence or the Public Record Office, though he had good contacts with theImperial War Museum.^[1]

Death and legacy

Bowyer died on 18 June 2008 at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital after a short illness. He was cremated at St Faith's Crematorium, Norwich, on 2 July and his ashes scattered at RAF Halton. He received an obituary in theCross and Cockade International.^[1]

Selected publications

1970s

The Flying Elephants: A History of No.27 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps-Royal Air Force, 1915–69.Macdonald and Co., London, 1972.ISBN 0356038165
Adventures in the Air.Macmillan, London, 1973. (Juvenile, 4 parts)
Airmen of World War I: Men of the British and Empire Air Forces in Old Photographs.Arms & Armour Press, London, 1975.ISBN 0882543563
Hampden Special.Ian Allan, London, 1976.ISBN 0711006830
History of the RAF.Hamlyn, London, 1977.ISBN 0600375889
Sopwith Camel: King of Combat.Glasney Press, 1978.ISBN 095028257X
Guns in the Sky: The Air Gunners Of World War Two.Dent, London, 1979.ISBN 046004429X

1980s

Supermarine Spitfire.Arms and Armour/Bison, 1980.ISBN 0890093210
Air War Over Europe: 1939–1945.William Kimber, London, 1981.ISBN 0718302389
The Age of the Biplane.Hamlyn/Bison, London, 1981.ISBN 0600349454
Fighter Command 1936–1968.Dent, London, 1981.ISBN 0460043889
Surviving World War II Aircraft.Batsford, London, 1981.ISBN 0713434317
The Encyclopedia of British Military Aircraft.Arms and Armour Press,London, 1982.ISBN 0853685177
Images of Air War, 1939–45.Batsford, London, 1983. 0713437847
Bristol Blenheim.Ian Allan, 1984.ISBN 0711013519
Mosquito Squadrons of the Royal Air Force.Ian Allan, 1984.ISBN 0711014256
Bristol F2B Fighter: King of Two-Seaters.Ian Allan, 1985.
Gloster Meteor.Ian Allan, 1985. (Postwar Military Aircraft: 2)ISBN 0711014779
Tales from the Bombers.William Kimber, London, 1985.ISBN 0718305663
The Wellington Bomber.William Kimber, London, 1986.ISBN 0718306198
Beaufighter.William Kimber, London, 1987.ISBN 0718306473
Royal Air Force Operations, 1918–38.William Kimber, London, 1988.ISBN 0718306716
The Short Sunderland.Aston Publications, 1989.ISBN 0946627347

1990s

Handley Page Bombers of the First World War.Aston Publications, Bourne End, 1992.ISBN 0946627681
Halifax & Wellington.Haynes, 1995. (With Brian J. Rapier)ISBN 1856481735
Royal Air Force, Calshot, 1913–1961.Frank Smith Maritime Aviation Books, 1997.ISBN 0953102300

At War series

(All published by Ian Allan, London & Weybridge.)

Mosquito at War,1973.
Beaufighter at War,1976.ISBN 0711007047
Sunderland at War.Ian Allan, 1976.ISBN 0711006652
Coastal Command at War,1979.
Path Finders at War,1979.ISBN 0711007578
Bomber Group at War.Ian Allan, 1981.ISBN 0711010870
Desert Air Force at War,1981. (With Christopher F. Shores)
Wellington at War,1982.ISBN 0711012202
Hurricane at War.Ian Allan, 1985.ISBN 0711005648

Biographical

Albert Ball, VC.William Kimber, London, 1977.ISBN 0718300459
For Valour: The Air V.C.s.William Kimber, London, 1978.
Bomber Barons.William Kimber, London, 1983.
Eugene Esmonde, V.C., D.S.O.William Kimber, London, 1983.ISBN 0718304098
Fighter Pilots of the RAF 1939–1945.William Kimber, London, 1984.ISBN 0718305191
Men of the Desert Air Force, 1940–1943.William Kimber, London, 1984.ISBN 0718305396
Men of Coastal Command, 1939–45.William Kimber, London, 1985.ISBN 071830554X

Edited works

Bartlett, C.P.O.Bomber Pilot, 1916–1918.Edited by Chaz Bowyer. Ian Allan, London, 1974.ISBN 0711005451
Crundall, E.D.Fighter Pilot on the Western Front.William Kimber, London, 1975. (Uncredited)ISBN 0718301447
Lewis, G.H.Wings over the Somme, 1916 1918.William Kimber, London, 1976.ISBN 0718303245
Van Ishoven, Armand.The Fall of an Eagle: The Life of Fighter Ace Ernst Udet.William Kimber, London, 1979.ISBN 071830067X
Royal Air Force Handbook 1939–1945.Ian Allan, London, 1984.ISBN 0711013187
Gibson, Guy.Enemy Coast Ahead.Bridge Books, Wrexham, 1995. (Editor and introduction)ISBN 1872424503
Royal Flying Corps Communiques: 1917–1918.Grub Street, London, 1998.ISBN 1898697795

References

^^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h"Chaz Bowyer", Norman Franks,Cross and Cockade International,Vol. 39 No. 3 (2008), p. 199.
^^a ^b ^c ^d ^e"(Raymond) Chaz Bowyer",Contemporary Authors Online,Gale, 2001. Retrieved 12 July 2017.(subscription required)
^Cover notes,For Valour: The Air VC's.Metheun, London, 1985.ISBN 0423016903
^Robbins, Keith. (1996).A Bibliography of British History, 1914–1989.Oxford: Clarendon Press. p. 379.ISBN 978-0-19-822496-9.
^The fall of an eagle: the life of fighter ace Ernst Udet / Armand van Ishoven; English version [translated from the German] by Chaz Bowyer.British Library. Retrieved 12 July 2017.

[cross-1] ^^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h"Chaz Bowyer", Norman Franks,Cross and Cockade International,Vol. 39 No. 3 (2008), p. 199.

[gale-2] "(Raymond) Chaz Bowyer",Contemporary Authors Online,Gale, 2001. Retrieved 12 July 2017.(subscription required)

[valour-3] Cover notes,For Valour: The Air VC's.Metheun, London, 1985.ISBN 0423016903

[Robbins-4] Robbins, Keith. (1996).A Bibliography of British History, 1914–1989.Oxford: Clarendon Press. p. 379.ISBN 978-0-19-822496-9.

[5] The fall of an eagle: the life of fighter ace Ernst Udet / Armand van Ishoven; English version [translated from the German] by Chaz Bowyer.British Library. Retrieved 12 July 2017.

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