Our History

Once Upon a Time in War with Melody Foreman

In this episode of the Fighting High Podcast, Steve speaks with author Melody Foreman about her lifelong fascination with wartime stories and the human experiences behind them. Drawing on her background in journalism, biography, and storytelling, Melody explores how memory, artefacts, and personal histories shape her work. She reflects on writing A Spitfire Girl and her relationship with ATA pilot Mary Ellis, highlighting themes of modesty, courage, and resilience. The conversation also covers her research into actors and filmmakers in wartime, revealing how conflict shaped creative lives.

Central to the discussion is her new book, Love as Strong as Death, which tells the intertwined stories of war artist Eric Ravilious and pilot Ginge Culver. Through letters, loss, and love, Melody examines the emotional realities of war, emphasizing storytelling as a powerful way to connect past and present.

Love as Strong as Death is released in June 2026 and available from the Fighting High website www.fightinghigh.com

Remembrance

Spitfire Ace Leonard Haines DFC

In this special remembrance episode, Fighting High tells the story of Flying Officer Leonard Archibald Haines DFC—Battle of Britain ace, leader, and one of Fighter Command’s young heroes. Drawing on his vivid combat reports and deeply personal letters, we follow Leonard from the chaos of Dunkirk through the height of the Battle of Britain, where he claimed multiple victories in the skies over southern England.

But alongside the precision of combat, his letters reveal something more: the voice of a very young pilot—eager, humorous, and determined to do his part.

Newly married and decorated with the Distinguished Flying Cross, Leonard’s story does not end in combat, but in tragedy, during a training flight in April 1941.

This episode brings together action and humanity, offering a powerful portrait of a young man at war—and a life cut short.

We will remember him.

Leonards combat reports are taken from the respective chapter in the book Fighting High - WW2 Air Battle Europe.

Leonard's letter excerpts are sourced from the Haines, Leonard Archibald Collection, held in the Ball State University Libraries, Archives and Special Collections - and are reproduced with their permission.

Insights

Light Night Striking Force: The Mosquito Menace

In this episode of the Fighting High Podcast, we explore the story of the Light Night Striking Force—Bomber Command’s fast and highly effective Mosquito force. Joined by author Sean Feast, we trace its evolution from a small diversionary force into a precision striking arm.

Flying the versatile Mosquito, these crews combined speed, skill, and innovation to deliver powerful attacks with remarkable efficiency. We also examine the experienced men behind the missions and challenge long-held assumptions about the force within a force.

This is the story of how a modest idea became one of the most effective elements of the Allied air offensive.

(Senior commanders mentioned in the podcast are: Air Vice Marshal Donald Clifford Tyndall Bennett, CB, CBE, DSO (8 Group); Air Chief Marshal Sir Ralph Alexander Cochrane, GBE, KCB, AFC (5 Group); Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Arthur Travers Harris, 1st Baronet, GCB, OBE, AFC (AOC-in-C Bomber Command).)

The podcast is hosted by Steve Darlow and details of Steve's and Sean's books can be found on www.fightinghigh.com

Details of the two books mentioned in the podcast - Mosquito Down! by Frank Dell and Brett Piper, and Resolute by George Dunn, Ferris Newton and Steve Darlow - can be found on www.fightinghigh.com

(Picture of Guy Lockhart in the graphic is copyright Sean Feast.)

In this opening episode of Series 2 of The Fighting High Podcast, we hear the remarkable story of Lancaster Pathfinder pilot Andrew Desmond Pelly DFC, in his own words.

Recorded in 2010, this interview traces his journey from eager young recruit to captain of a four-engine bomber at just twenty-one. Desmond recalls his training under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, the forging of a tight-knit crew drawn from across the world, and the realities of operations with Bomber Command. From his first nervous sortie to the intense demands of Pathfinder duties—marking targets at the head of the bomber stream—he provides a vivid insight into life in the air war over Europe.

His story reaches a dramatic climax on his 41st operation, when his Lancaster is shot down over Germany. What follows is a powerful account of survival, loss, and captivity, including interrogation by the Gestapo and eventual liberation in 1945.

Reflective, candid, and often understated, Desmond offers a deeply personal perspective on duty, leadership, and the moral complexities of the bombing campaign. This is a compelling first-hand account of courage, professionalism, and the lived experience of Bomber Command aircrew.

This episode includes archive audio recorded during interviews by Steve Darlow with Second World War veterans. These recordings were made during original research for published historical works and are used here with the greatest respect. The purpose of their inclusion is to preserve and share firsthand historical testimony.

For more details about Fighting High books visit www.fightinghigh.com

Our History

Making Spitfire, Lancaster, Mosquito: Planes, People, Passion

In this episode of the Fighting High podcast, author Sean Feast sits down with award-winning film editor and director David Fairhead to explore the journey behind some of the most celebrated aviation documentaries of recent years.

David reflects on his early fascination with filmmaking and why editing is at the heart of storytelling and how that craft prepared him for directing.

The conversation then turns to the making of Spitfire, Lancaster and the forthcoming Mosquito. David shares how Spitfire began as a passion project fuelled by determination rather than budget, the challenges of filming rare aircraft in the air, and the five-year struggle to bring the story to the screen. He discusses lessons learned on Lancaster, including capturing 38 invaluable Bomber Command interviews, and reveals how Mosquito completes an unplanned trilogy—films that are ultimately less about aircraft and more about the people who flew, maintained and lived through them.

A rich, personal insight into filmmaking, history and remembrance.

Directed by David Fairhead and Ant Palmer Lancaster was released in 2022 and Spitfire in 2018.

Remembrance

When the Letters Came

In this first Fighting High Podcast Remembrance episode, When the Letters Came, Steve Darlow shares deeply personal wartime correspondence revealing the human stories behind the air war. Through moving letters between families, friends, and survivors, listeners hear of sacrifice, grief, courage, and enduring remembrance. Featuring the stories of a heroic Canadian pilot, a Lancaster crew’s families, two grieving Australian mothers, and a navigator’s post-war account, this episode honours the voices of those who wrote — and those they remembered.

This episode includes recordings of letters found in archives during original research for published historical works and are used here with the greatest respect. The purpose of their inclusion is to preserve and share first-hand historical testimony.

Note: In the 5 December 1944 letter from Mr Kinsey to John Barker he refers to a Flying Officer Dobson. Indeed the letter says ‘Dobson’, but in fact this should be Brian Boston the bomb aimer.

Mr Kinsey's letters were read by Brendan O'Hea, and Mrs Cummings’ and Katherine Bethell’s letters by Emma Kemp.

Reg Barker’s story is told in the book Last of the Kriegies, by Reg and Steve Darlow, and John Valentine’s story in the book Geprüft by Frances Zagni. Martin Little features in the book Epitaphs of Bomber Command by Dave Gilbert and Steve Darlow. All these books were published by Fighting High. Bill Maloney’s story is told in the book Flightpath to Murder by Steve Darlow.

For more details about Fighting High books visit www.fightinghigh.com

Hangar Talk

The Mosquito Fighter-Bomber: Inside the Restoration

The de Havilland Mosquito fighter-bomber was one of the most remarkable aircraft of the Second World War — fast, versatile, and feared.

What did it take to bring a wartime wooden aircraft back from decades of quiet storage — and why does its story still matter today?

In the first of our Hangar Talk episodes of the Fighting High podcast, Steve Darlow speaks with leading Mosquito authority Ian Thirsk to explore the long and painstaking restoration of the aircraft at the de Havilland Aircraft Museum - a challenge that demanded historical insight, engineering skill, craftsmanship, and extraordinary perseverance.

If you’d like to see the Mosquito fighter-bomber for yourself, and learn more about the work of the team who brought it back to life, you can visit the de Havilland Aircraft Museum online at www.dehavillandmuseum.co.uk.

For more details about Fighting High books visit www.fightinghigh.com

Insights

The Heroes of Bomber Command - Gazing Into The Abyss

In this episode of the Fighting High podcast, hosted by Steve Darlow, we examine the men of RAF Bomber Command and the powerful stories that have grown around them. Drawing on firsthand accounts, soundbytes from veteran interviews, and years of research, the episode looks beyond myth and legend to reveal what these young airmen actually faced: fear, loss, comradeship, and extraordinary moral courage. Who were the men behind the statistics, can they justifiably be described as heroes, and how have their stories been told, reshaped, and sometimes misunderstood? This is a compelling journey into history, memory, and the enduring legacy of Bomber Command.

This episode includes archive audio recorded during interviews by Steve Darlow with Second World War veterans. These recordings were made during original research for published historical works and are used here with the greatest respect. The purpose of their inclusion is to preserve and share firsthand historical testimony.

For more details about Fighting High books visit www.fightinghigh.com