The Wings of Pegasus by George Chatteron

Forward by Boy Browning

It is entirely fitting that this book, the story of the Glider Pilot Regiment,

should be written by the man who created and commanded the regiment during the last war.

It tells of the birth pangs and later the achievements of a unit

which consisted of soldiers trained to fly by the Royal Air Force,

who were destined to pilot their comrades of the army into battle,

and then to join them in the fighting on the ground.

This dual role required the highest standard in the individual,

the ability to work with and thoroughly understand the technique,

training and language of two services,

and to be acceptable and integrated with both.

The fact that the raising and training of the regiment was achieved in so short a time

was largely due to the imagination, the foresight and the inter-service knowledge

of the commanding officer.

The author, Brigadier George Chatterton, had the advantage

which he sets out in the early chapters of being trained as a naval cadet at Pangborn,

then to become a fighter pilot of great ability,

and finally to gain experience in the army when commanding a company

in an old and distinguished regiment of the line.

Because of this background, he was ideally suited to undertake the task of creating a regiment,

which was to play a vital part in the organisation of Britain's first airborne forces.

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