Lives Less Ordinary

Adolf Galland


Though war, death and destruction are almost always bad things in the grand scheme of things, some of those involved or caught up in it, by virtue of our prurient interest in these matters, come to our attention. Some of these people lead, or have lead, remarkable lives. Which is not to say that others do not, nor that one would have to have a hand in the slaughter of ones fellows to have such a life. Now, before succumbing utterly to the doctrine of the death of a thousand qualifications, I come to the point.

We bought a copy of The First and the Last, the autobiography of Adolf Galland. A man who lived a remarkable life. He was trained as a fighter pilot in the German Luftwaffe prior to the Second World War. He flew missions with the Condor Legion in the Spanish Civil War and the Luftwaffe in WW11. In 1941 he was placed in command of Germany's fighter squadrons and in the next year became the youngest general in the German military, aged 29. He remained in the same command until 1945 when, after pointing out that Hermann Goering was an idiot, something that, while patently true, did not endear him to either Adolf Hitler, or the commander of the Luftwaffe, Hermann Goering, and caused him to be dismissed from the High Command. He was sent back to active service and commanded the first ever jet fighter squadron. He survived the war with 105 victories to his credit, if credit be the right word.

In civilian life he built and ran a successful aviation firm. He became fast friends with some of his former adversaries, including the British fighter aces Johnny Johnson and Douglas Bader. He also survived three marriages, and died in 1996, at the ripe old age of 83.