Browsing in his grandfather's study, young Jamie discovers a notebook entitled "This Was My War" and finds himself pulled into the life of East End London teenagers whose adolescent years were overtaken by the devastation of World War II. As Jamie follows his grandfather's story in which "war" changes from silver screen exploits to bombs exploding on neighbourhood streets and the deaths of friends, John Wayne is superseded by real life heroes such as Canadian ace pilot Willie McKnight,who won two DFCs (Distinguished Flying Crosses) in his sorties against the Germans in the Battle of Britain. In his attempt to learn about the seemingly forgotten local hero, Jamie visits the Calgary Aerospace Museum and soon becomes involved in an adventure to find the missing parts needed to complete the construction of a working Hurricane. The Hurricane, he discovers, was even more important than the Spitfire in air battles. In Hurricanes Over London, Reid blends the daily lives of adolescents from two generations as Jamie relives his grandfather's story and discovers for himself fascinating events in both English and Canadian history.

Charles Reid, a Londoner by birth, spent his early years surviving the London Blitz. It was these early experiences that inspired his first novel, Hurricanes over London. After a stint in Britainâ??s Royal Navy, Charles returned to civilian life and went on to have a successful sales career, both in his native England and in his adopted land, Canada. Upon retirement he found there was still some unfinished business that needed his attention. He had noticed the dearth of any serious attempt to bring to a younger generation of Canadians the contribution made by previous generations to the cause of freedom. He started with the story of Willie McKnight, the fighter pilot whose exploits were revealed in Hurricanes over London. In this novel, he combined his own experiences of the turbulent war years of his childhood with those of this legendary fighter pilot, who became a hero to his generation. Continuing his idea of bringing stories of famous Canadian achievements to readers, his next book, Chasing the Arrow, revealed the political mistakes that led to the demise of one of the worldâ??s great fighter planes, the Avro Arrow. In his latest novel, he has brought together a number of stories in the same vein. Ghost of Heroes Past covers both world wars and the Russian Revolution. These stories tell of the exceptional courage displayed by men and women in all branches of the services. Charles Reid makes his home in Nanaimo, British Columbia.

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