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Wings of the wind
263 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1985
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June 17, 2026
This is an excellent book of its kind, which is to say, a war story devoted to battle scenes and their lead-ups and consequences. A forward by Major-General Urquhart, former commander of the British 1st Airborne Division, recommends this memoir by one of his former junior officers for its "accuracy" and calls it "realistic and readable".
Stainforth served with the 1st Parachute Brigade in Tunisia, Sicily, Italy, and Arnhem. He was a Royal Engineer officer attached to the infantry and saw a lot of combat. The book covers his introduction to parachuting and thereafter focuses on the battles. There are some vivid combat descriptions in here, such as the feeling of being under artillery fire and the various sounds made by projectiles, explosions and hurtling shrapnel. His description of the Sicily landing is a stand-out because it was so terrifying and at odds with the plan, making his memory of it particularly vivid. His descriptions of the landscapes in which they fought are also good, particularly North Africa, which made an impact because it was so different to his home in Tunbridge Wells.
His account of the battle in Arnhem is worth reading by itself. He entered the town on the day of the landing and was wounded the following day in a particularly dramatic firefight and spent the rest of the battle in hospitals that were blown open, chopped about and shaken by panzerfausts, bullets, bombs and shells. At one point, SS machine gunners were firing down the hospital corridors from one side of the building to the other. The rest of his unit took part in the desperate defence of the bridge, and his account of their defence of a school by the bridge is intense.
His descriptions of the German soldiers he encountered, mostly the SS in Arnhem and paratroopers in Tunisia, are interesting for their contrasting examples of chivalry and brutality. He is willing to probe below the traditional sangfroid of British war memoirs to reveal what he and his mates really thought and felt.
Stainforth notes in a preface that all the characters are real, albeit sometimes composites, but that he has changed their names and sometimes omitted or altered the "more tragic events" to spare their relatives, which is fair enough. The preface is dated July 1949, so it was all very fresh.
If this is the kind of book you like, you won't find much better.
Stainforth served with the 1st Parachute Brigade in Tunisia, Sicily, Italy, and Arnhem. He was a Royal Engineer officer attached to the infantry and saw a lot of combat. The book covers his introduction to parachuting and thereafter focuses on the battles. There are some vivid combat descriptions in here, such as the feeling of being under artillery fire and the various sounds made by projectiles, explosions and hurtling shrapnel. His description of the Sicily landing is a stand-out because it was so terrifying and at odds with the plan, making his memory of it particularly vivid. His descriptions of the landscapes in which they fought are also good, particularly North Africa, which made an impact because it was so different to his home in Tunbridge Wells.
His account of the battle in Arnhem is worth reading by itself. He entered the town on the day of the landing and was wounded the following day in a particularly dramatic firefight and spent the rest of the battle in hospitals that were blown open, chopped about and shaken by panzerfausts, bullets, bombs and shells. At one point, SS machine gunners were firing down the hospital corridors from one side of the building to the other. The rest of his unit took part in the desperate defence of the bridge, and his account of their defence of a school by the bridge is intense.
His descriptions of the German soldiers he encountered, mostly the SS in Arnhem and paratroopers in Tunisia, are interesting for their contrasting examples of chivalry and brutality. He is willing to probe below the traditional sangfroid of British war memoirs to reveal what he and his mates really thought and felt.
Stainforth notes in a preface that all the characters are real, albeit sometimes composites, but that he has changed their names and sometimes omitted or altered the "more tragic events" to spare their relatives, which is fair enough. The preface is dated July 1949, so it was all very fresh.
If this is the kind of book you like, you won't find much better.
Displaying 1 of 1 review