In March 1941, Nazi Germany bombed Glasgow, where James Alfred Wight (James Herriot) had grown up. His boss, Donald Sinclair (Siegfried Farnon) gave him leave to visit his parents. While there, his mother slept in one of the few undamaged houses in the neighborhood, leaving James and his father to sleep on the floor beneath the family dining table. According to his son Jim Wight, in his book The Real James Herriot, James was "so infuriated by this affront to his beloved city that he signed up to join the Royal Air Force."
By November 1942, when he was finally called to serve, twenty months had passed. He had married his wife Joan (Helen Alderson), and she was pregnant. James worked hard in his new calling, and was one of a few recruits who flew a single engine Tiger Moth solo after two weeks. Yet a recurring medical issue which had plagued him in his youth struck again. As RAF authorities were keen on their pilots being one hundred percent fit, this cast his prospects of defending England's skies in doubt.
In Will Franz and Sam Glanzman's graphic novel, The Lonely War of Captain Willy Schultz, young Willy had also seen his military career overturned. When his commanding officer was shot by a German soldier, he was accused of murder. Yet the jeep taking him to meet the firing squad hit a landmine, giving him an opportunity to escape certain death.
Here's the remaining preview pages, courtesy of Drew Ford at It's Alive.
Wow! You certainly can't blame Willy for taking any opportunity to stay alive. Still, what an unexpected turn of events!
If you'd like to read more of the graphic novel Drew Ford calls "one of the most controversial World War II stories of all time," follow the link for The Lonely War of Captain Willy Schultz at the end of this post. As for James Herriot...
In July 1943, he was sent to an RAF hospital. Sadly, the operation went badly. So he watched his fellow recruits head off to Canada to continue their training, and he was sent to a convalescent home. After that, he was shuffled around in the RAF system. Finally, after two applications, and a year in the military, he received his discharge.
In November 1943, James Alfred Wight was allowed to reunite with his wife, get to know his new son, and resume his work with Donald Sinclair in their veterinarian practice in Thirsk. He may not have gotten to defend the skies above Britain, but at least he returned home (and without having to don a Nazi uniform).
Dragon Dave
P.S. Many thanks to Drew Ford at It's Alive for sharing this preview with us, and to Jim Wight for writing his biography The Real James Herriot.
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Order The Lonely War of Captain Willy Schultz
