With the full co-operation of the Finucane family, the myth of Paddy Finucane, a wild fighting Irishman can at last be eliminated to reveal a thoughtful, highly disciplined and respected individual, a man born to lead.

Doug Stokes served two years National Service in the RAF and then entered into the world of journalism, working on provincial and suburban newspapers, with two periods in aviation journalism on Aeronautics and Air Clues. He then worked as a freelance writer living in South London. Author of Wings Aflame, a biography of Victor Beamish, he was a dedicated journalist who worked for various newspapers and held a number of editorships. He died in the winter of 1997.