H E Bates

Born in 1905, Herbert Ernest Bates CBE, better known as H.E. Bates, is best-known for works include that include The Darling Buds of May. During the Second World War he was commissioned into the RAF solely to write short stories. The Air Ministry realised that the populace was less concerned with facts and figures about the war than it was with reading about those who were fighting it and many of Bates’ stories were published in the News Chronicle under the pseudonym of ‘Flying Officer X’. Among a number of other works he was instructed to produce by the Air Ministry were _Flying Bombs_ and _Night Fighter_. Because of various disagreements within the Government, the publication of _Flying Bombs_ was banned for thirty years, though it was eventually released in 1994\. This is the first time that _Night Fighter_ has been published. H.E. Bates passed away in January 1974.