In the Royal Naval Air Service Being the war letters of the late Harold Rosher to his family

These letters open a window onto the everyday life of a young Royal Naval Air Service pilot in the first months of the Great War. Harold Rosher, a frail boy from Beckenham who struggled with asthma, volunteers as soon as war is declared and rushes through training at Brooklands and Hendon to earn his wings. His correspondence with family records the excitement, fear, and the stark transition from student to combat aviator.

The letters are raw and unpolished, peppered with the slang of the day, yet they convey the palpable tension of early bombing raids and the awe of flying over the Channel. Rosher describes cramped seaplane decks, the camaraderie of his squadron, and moments of solitary reflection high above the sea. Together they give listeners a vivid sense of what it was like to serve in a brand‑new branch of the armed forces, still defining its own rules and dangers.