Melbourne Ten - Brian J Rapier

There was ! Their correct identity was given in a previous edition of Airfield
Review quite some time ago and I'm sure it was written by Geoff Simmons . I suspect the correct details appear in his new book on early East Yorkshire airfields which is on another thread in this section .

I actually checked with York City Council to see if Brian Rapier was still a licensed taxi driver with them . They have just replied and he isn't and as such they do not keep his details on file . A friend of mine did some geneology sleuthing and he does not appear to have 'popped his clogs' so he is out there somewhere !

David wrote:

...by Brian J Rapier , published in 1982 by Air Museum Publications (York) Ltd. , No1 Driffield Terrace , The Mount , York , YO2 2DD ; ISBN 0-9507326-1-3 ; offered at a pre-publication price of £11-95 and retailed at £15-95 . An A4 sized hardback book , well illustrated with photographs , maps and sketches it tells the story of 10 Squadron , Shiney Ten , during its stay at Melbourne between 1942-45 . Quite a rare book so be prepared to pay a premium price for a good copy !
Rapier also wrote 'Warplanes Return No1' which was published in September 1970 and 'No2' which followed in August 1972 - the for-runners of the modern aviation archaeology books and compiled without the use of a GPS ! Perhaps his best known work is 'White Rose Base' mentioned in a previous thread and again , a true trailbazer of its genre . There are at least two editions of this , the first in July 1972 and the larger A4 format in October 1980 . There may have been another and copies are quite easy to come by .
He publicised a book entitled 'Gisela' for production in 1983 but I dont think it was ever published ? All of Rapier's book were published by the same company which had no direct connection to YAM at Elvington although several members of AMP did join YAM . Sadly I never got to meet the man himself who I believe was , and may still be , a taxi driver in York ?

I am looking for a copy of the Rapier book "Melbourne Ten" without much success.
Does anyone know where i might obtain a copy?
I am compiling a history of a deceased Uncle killed in action on 28 May 1944 over Antwerp while flying a Halifax MkIII for 640 SQN. However, he spent most of his wartime service flying with 10 SQN at Melbourne and I am told that Melbourne Ten is a history of 10 SQN which should prove extremely useful in my researches.

Thanks,
Chuck In Virginia

Hi Chuck
Welcome to the forum. I've had a look on abebooks.com and abebooks.co.uk but Melbourne Ten is not on offer at the moment. It will be worth checking the site regularly to see
if one appears for sale. Are you aware of Bomber Command Losses of the Second World War? If not, I have the 1944 volume and can write out the details for you. Briefly, the
crew names are Williams/Lambert/Olsen/Riley/Crawford/Messenger/White. It was the only 640 Sqn Hali lost that night.
Dave

Good evening all,

Brian Rapier was my grandfather, he unfortunately passed away a few years ago. I believe some of his work was loaned to the elvington museum. The rest of his work and research remains with the family.