Clean Sweep: The Life of Air Marshal Sir Ivor Broom

by Tony Spooner

The remarkable story of a lad from the Rhondda Valley who rose from the rank of Sergeant Pilot to Air Marshal receiving the DSO, three DFCs, an AFC and other decorations along the way. He completed three tours of operations over enemy territory including 31 extremely dangerous low level attacks on enemy targets from the beleaguered island of Malta. This is not only the story of a skillful and courageous pilot but also relates Sir Ivor's varied and interesting post-war life. In 1955 he set a new speed record flying from Canada to England in a Canberra bomber, became Commandant of CFS which included the management of the Red Arrows and he commanded No.11 Group at the height of the Cold War. Clean Sweep provides a fascinating glimpse of RAF life through some of its most eventful years.

288 pages, Paperback

Published September 9, 2002

Reviews

[Fovmodels · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tony Spooner wrote gold when he wrote the autobiography of Ivor Broom. The details of Broom’s life, military service and career are masterfully illustrated in this phenomenal book. As always, Spooner uses his experiences in WWII to write an incredible book about a fellow veteran. I highly recommend this book to any Malta battle enthusiasts, as well as WWII nerd in general. In addition, Broom’s post WWII RAF career was so interesting, I’m afraid to say I found it more interesting than his WWII exploits, which were also incredible. I’ve read 3/4 of Spooner’s books so far and I can say with certainty that this is my favorite so far.