Four Who Dared

An absorbing testament to the contributions of four brave young Canadian volunteers who flew with British Bomber Command in the Second World War.

More than one million Canadians volunteered to serve in the Second World War—both in the Canadian armed forces and in forces across the British Commonwealth. In Four Who Dared, author and historian Kenneth B. Cothliff lifts four Canadian volunteer pilots out of obscurity, highlighting their personal stories and acts of heroism.

Unknown to each other, the four pilots in this book are forever united in their quest to serve their country and its allies in an hour of need. Reg Lane joined British Bomber Command relatively early in the War, rising from NCO pilot to Master Bomber with the elite Pathfinder Force. Jim Moffat ended his flying combat career after twelve operations, becoming a Resistance fighter on the European mainland. Steve Puskas’s comprehensive diaries and unpublished writings provide extraordinary insight into his training as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, an experience familiar to many Commonwealth and British aircrew. Bill Gracie, a Scot who had immigrated to Canada as a boy. Keen to take up the fight when the war began, he was one of the over ten thousand Canadian Bomber Command aircrew who never returned home. Equal parts riveting and humbling, Four Who Dared is a must-read for anyone interested in delving into the lives and sacrifices of our unsung Canadian heroes.