A Small Share in the Conflict

The wartime letters and diaries of Flt Lt Henry Chessell are a piece of social history. Although they do not have the excitement of battles fought and won on foreign fields and there is no smell of cordite, the personal records of war on the home front, set against the backdrop of international events, give a good impression of the slow, relentless, grind and struggle of the civilian population over six years of war. They also give a tantalizing glimpse of the contribution made to the war effort by some of the unseen 'backroom' R. A. F. and inter-service units that were working under a cloak of secrecy.