An absorbing testament to the contributions of four brave young Canadian volunteers who flew with British Bomber Command in the Second World War.

The sacrifice of Canadian soldiers in the Second World War was staggering. Over the course of the conflict, more than one million Canadians served in the Canadian Army, the Royal Canadian Navy, the Royal Canadian Airforce, and in forces across the British Commonwealth, including the Royal Airforce. More than 44,000 Canadians were killed in the war, and more than 54,000 were left wounded. In Four Who Dared, author and historian Ken Cothliff lifts four Canadian volunteer pilots out of obscurity, highlighting their personal stories and acts of heroism.

The four pilots in this book were unknown to each other, but they are forever united in their quest to serve their country and its allies in an unprecedented hour of need. Reg Lane joined British Bomber Command relatively early in the War, rising from NCO pilot to become a Master Bomber with the elite Pathfinder Force. Jim Moffat ended his flying combat career after twelve operations, becoming a Resistance fighter on the European mainland. Steve Puskas’s comprehensive diaries and unpublished writings provide extraordinary insight into his training as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, an experience familiar to many Commonwealth and British aircrew. Bill Gracie, a Scot who had immigrated to Canada as a boy, was keen to take up the fight when the war began, with the sole aim of becoming aircrew. Sadly, he was one of the over ten thousand Canadian Bomber Command aircrew who never returned home. Equal parts riveting and humbling, Four Who Dared is a must-read for anyone interested in delving into the lives and sacrifices of our unsung Canadian heroes.