If you fly as a Royal Air Force pilot for 47 years then, apart from breaking a record for length of service, you are likely to have collected a story or two about that service. In this charmingly frank account, Squadron Leader Norman Rose spells out the ups and downs of his Service career. The ‘ups’ were acknowledged with the award of the Air Force Cross (twice) and two ‘Green Endorsements’ (pats on the back) in his log book. On exchange from the RAF he served, with merit, with the Royal Malaysian Air Force. This too was acknowledged with their equivalent of the MBE. But there were ‘downs’ - a measure of that frankness of this account is the telling of the story of hitting some power lines in a Percival Prentice and definitely coming straight down! Light is shed on the good and bad of Service life. Wartime fighter pilot, flying instructor, ferry pilot, test pilot, long range transport pilot - at the end of his service Norman chose to give back something of which he had received by commanding a unit, until the age of 65, that gave air experience to Air Training Corps cadets - which completes the circle, that organisation being the origin of his flying career. With retirement, Norman Rose’s unique career attracted the attention of two organisations - The Guinness Book of Records and The Guild of Air Pilots and Navigators. The former granted him an entry as the longest serving RAF pilot. The latter honoured him with the not often awarded title of ‘Master Air Pilot’. There are lots of accounts of the wartime exploits of the Royal Air Force - not many of those ‘Cold War’ years. Norman’s story spans both in a very readable way.