Newark author publishes second book focused on his personal story and mission to find out more about an unknown relative who died during wartime
A Newark author has published a book telling the story of how he discovered he had an unknown relative who died in a wartime flying accident.
The book — What Happened — by Adrian Bean, a member of the Fosseway Writers Group, published his second book on July 15.
Adrian is an experienced and well-known writer of television drama and radio plays for the BBC.
His new book is a true account of the author’s relative who died near Newark in 1941, with the only information about the relative being his name and the year of his death.
Curious to find out more about what happened over eighty years ago, the finding led the author on a personal discovery and remembrance mission.
It included revelations about the many Polish servicemen and women who fought with the RAF and were stationed at nearby RAF Syerston, some of whom were killed in the same accident.
What he was to discover about the circumstances leading up to and surrounding the mid-air collision that resulted in the loss of a large number of airmen was astonishing and tragic.
“Researching and writing the book also helped me to come to terms with recent traumas in my personal life,” said Adrian.
He added: “In finding out what happened over eighty years ago I was able to accept and understand what had happened more recently to me.”
In putting together the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle to find out what happened to his uncle, LAC William Bill Parkinson, the author met and interviewed a large number of people from the local area who had memories of wartime Newark or personal connections to the crash, as well as Polish family members living in Poland and elsewhere in the UK.
Adrian’s first book — L For Lanc — is a collection of short stories about life on a local wartime bomber station, published by Newark's independent publisher Another Small Press.
The author’s books are on sale on Amazon or directly on the publisher’s website.