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LOCAL SENIOR, JIM BLACKBURN, GETS BOOK PUBLISHED.

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Contributed by: Jim Blackburn on 7/24/2007

In 2004, Jim wrote a memorial to a very good friend that he had met in Santiago, Chile in 1983. In 2006, the memorial was expanded into a short story and in 2007 is being published in book form. Jim was a Captain with Eastern Air LInes and flying new routes to South America in 1983. He got to be close friends with Norman Riddell, at that time. Jim's new book: "NORMAN...a most unforgettable character", is the true story about his former RAF pilot friend.
His friend, Norman, had a fantastic life and Jim tells of many of his adventures.
Norman was born in England in 1916 and moved to Chile, with his family, but was educated in top boarding schools in Scotland and England in the 1920s. At fourteen, Norman became a translator for the President of Chile and at fifteen, he learned to fly. At sixteen he was hired as a co-pilot with the new Panagra Airways. At nineteen, he fought briefly in the Spanish Civil War, while awaiting a flight training class assignment in the RAF. There he flew fighters in the Battle of Britain (1940). Wounded in both legs, he recovered and later led a daring escape flight just before the fall of Singapore (1942). He was a personal pilot for General Charles DeGaulle and after the war was a Captain with British South American Airways (BSAA). He flew in the Berlin Air Lift and later lost both legs due to complications from his old Battle of Britain wounds. He trained as a master carpenter and learned to walk without a limp. Being a double amputee didn't slow Norman down. He became: a travel agent; movie set builder; boutique owner, builder and operator of three British pubs, band manager, and partner in an aircraft trading firm. Norman's motto was:" NEVER GIVE UP"!

This inspiring story is available for ordering, on line, at Amazon.com or your local book store.

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