Reviews:

The Mail on Sunday, December 4, 2005: ‘He describes himself as an ordinary working-class lad from Lancashire, but there was nothing ordinary about the courage he and his comrades displayed night after night over occupied Europe... This is a fascinating war-time memoir that deserves a wide readership.’

The Guardian, December 12, 2005: ‘Amid the plain prose, he produces arresting images. A stricken bomber “reared up till it was standing on its tail, as if having received an uppercut from Popeye”; another “shuddered violently, like a dog which had just emerged from water”. Margerison’s account of his own behaviour – which, when he was starving and desperate, was not always selfless – is similarly unaffected. His candour increases one’s admiration for him.’

The Lancashire Evening Telegraph, December 1 and 8, 2005:
‘He joined the RAF much to the consternation of his father who had not only lost his wife but also six of his seven children.’ ‘Russell became a hunted fugitive, helped in his efforts to get home by heroic members of the Belgian Underground. But the escape line had been infiltrated and one day Russell walked straight into the hands of the Gestapo. He was threatened with being shot as a spy before eventually becoming prisoner 379L7.’

Lancashire Life, December 2005: ‘This edition also includes a sequel telling of his return to Belgium 59 years after he was shot down and the reunion with the Belgians who risked everything to help him.’

Intercom, (Offical Magazine of the Air Crew Association) Winter 2005: ‘His story … reflects the experiences of many young men at that time. But it is told with unique honesty, accuracy and vivid detail’.

Daily Mail
‘Boys At War is a minor classic of the other ranks’ war’

Manchester Evening News
‘The vivid story tells of just a few individuals... it is told with meticulous accuracy and total honest recall... it paints a picture far more real than any history book or idealised film could do.’

Best Of British magazine: January, 2006