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Search - List of Books by Ralph Barker

Ralph Barker (born 1917 in Feltham, Middlesex) is an English non-fiction author with over twenty-five books to his credit. He has written mainly about the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and Royal Air Force (RAF) operations in the First and Second World Wars, and about cricket.

He was educated at Hounslow College, and on leaving school joined the Sporting Life in 1934. Subsequently he went into banking. He had started writing, and several of his sketches were used in West End revues.

Following the outbreak of World War II, in 1940 he joined the RAF as a wireless operator and air gunner. He served in the Middle East and West Africa as well as in the UK, and completed two thousand flying hours before he was demobilized in 1946. He briefly went back to banking, before going into civil aviation as a radio operator. At the end of 1948, he rejoined the RAF and went to Germany as a public relations officer in connection with the Berlin Airlift. He spent two years in service broadcasting at BFN Hamburg. He was then posted to the Air Ministry to work on official war narratives.

His first book, Down in the Drink, was published in 1955. He has since written many more on a military aviation theme. Barker left the RAF in 1961 in order to write full time. He was a frequent contributor of feature articles to the Sunday Express.

He turned to cricket writing in 1964, with Ten Great Innings. John Arlott, reviewing Ten Great Bowlers, its follow-up, described Barker as "a master of the reconstruction of past cricket matches". His most substantial book on cricket is a history of Tests between England and Australia, published in 1969, which included a report of every match and a summary of each series. The statistics were provided by Irving Rosenwater.

Barker played regularly for the RAF's cricket club, the Adastrians, and subsequently for several clubs in Surrey, including West Surrey, whom he captained for a number of years.

Bibliography   more

This author page uses material from the Wikipedia article "Ralph Barker", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0
Total Books: 54
Bill Lancaster The Final Verdict The Life and Death of an Aviation Pioneer
ShipBusters British TorpedoBombers in World War II
2010 - Shipbusters British Torpedobombers in World War II [Stackpole Military History Series - The Stackpole Military History Series] (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9780811706445
ISBN-10: 0811706443
Genre: History
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Down in the Drink Their Deadliest Enemy Was the Sea
2008 - Down in the Drink Their Deadliest Enemy Was the Sea (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9780755317523
ISBN-10: 0755317521
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Men of the Bombers
2008 - Men of the Bombers [Reminiscence] (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9780753194195
ISBN-10: 0753194198
Genre: History
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The Last Blue Mountain
2006 - The Last Blue Mountain (Paperback)Hardcover
ISBN-13: 9781904466307
ISBN-10: 1904466303
Genre: Sports & Outdoors
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RAF at War Part of the Epic of Flight
2003 - Raf at War Part of the Epic of Flight (Hardcover)
ISBN-13: 9781844470334
ISBN-10: 1844470334
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A Brief History of the Royal Flying Corps in World War One
2002 - A Brief History of the Royal Flying Corps in World War One [Brief Histories] (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9781841194707
ISBN-10: 1841194700
Genre: History
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The Royal Flying Corps in France From Bloody April 1917 to Final Victory
1996 - The Royal Flying Corps in France From Bloody April 1917 to Final VIctory (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9780094765504
ISBN-10: 0094765502
Genre: History
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The Royal Flying Corps in France From Mons to the Somme From Mons to the Somme
1995 - The Royal Flying Corps in France From Mons to the Somme From Mons to the Somme [History and Politics] (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9780094751903
ISBN-10: 0094751900
Genres: History, Science & Math
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The Royal Flying Corps in France From Mons to the Somme
1994 - The Royal Flying Corps in France From Mons to the Somme [History & politics] (Hardcover)
ISBN-13: 9780094684508
ISBN-10: 0094684502
Genre: History
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That Eternal Summer Untold Stories from the Battle of Britain
1991 - That Eternal Summer Untold Stories From the Battle of Britain (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9780006375432
ISBN-10: 000637543X
Genre: History
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Children of the Benares
1990 - Children of the Benares (Paperback)Hardcover
ISBN-13: 9780586208236
ISBN-10: 0586208232
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GREAT MYSTERIES OF THE AIR
1988 - Great Mysteries of the Air (Paperback)Paperback, Hardcover
ISBN-13: 9780713720631
ISBN-10: 0713720638
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Purple Patches
1987 - Purple Patches (Hardcover)
ISBN-13: 9780002118699
ISBN-10: 0002118696
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Verdict on a Lost Flyer The Story of Bill Lancaster  Chubbie Miller
Goodnight Sorry for Sinking You
1984 - Goodnight Sorry for Sinking You (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9780002164641
ISBN-10: 0002164647
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The RAF at War
1981 - The Raf at War (Hardcover)
ISBN-13: 9780809432912
ISBN-10: 0809432919
Genre: History
  • Currently 5/5 Stars.
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Not Here But in Another Place
1980 - Not Here But in Another Place (Other)
ISBN-13: 9780312579616
ISBN-10: 0312579616
Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics & Social Sciences
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Blockade Busters
1977 - Blockade Busters (Hardcover)Hardcover
ISBN-13: 9780393056099
ISBN-10: 0393056090
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The Blockade Busters
1976 - The Blockade Busters (Hardcover)Hardcover
ISBN-13: 9780701121891
ISBN-10: 0701121890
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Cricketing Family Edrich
1976 - Cricketing Family Edrich (Hardcover)
ISBN-13: 9780720709094
ISBN-10: 0720709091
Genre: Sports & Outdoors
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Down in the Drink [Books for Today] (Hardcover)