Harold Rosher

Born in 1893, Harold Rosher was a British airman whose surviving reputation rests on the letters he wrote to his family during the First World War. Those letters were later gathered into In the Royal Naval Air Service, presenting his experiences as a Flight Lieutenant in the new and dangerous world of military aviation.

The book follows his training and service in the Royal Naval Air Service, capturing both the excitement of early flight and the constant risk that came with it. What makes his writing memorable is its directness: he records everyday routines, mishaps, and the thrill of flying with the voice of someone living through a fast-changing moment in history.

Rosher died in 1916, still only in his early twenties. His letters remain valuable not just as war writing, but as a personal record of youth, courage, and the brief life of a pilot at the front.