FROM a young age Rick Searle had an affinity for war heroes and that led him down a 15-year research path into an infamous pilot.
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Rick was born in Tenterfield during the early 1940’s and was based at a London Bridge camp with his father.
His dad was called to serve at the camp during the Battle of the Coral Sea period.
Mr Searle says he was “inducted” into wartime life while spending his infancy in the area.
Once the war had ended Mr Searle traded war for kid-friendly television.
“I started writing as a freelance in about 1982.
“I was doing some freelance stuff for ABC Radio when I developed Butterfly Island.”
Mr Searle’s children’s program ran for three seasons across two networks and was picked up for BBC.
In the late 80’s he focused his attention to educational productions targeted at a different audience.
He was a driving force behind documentaries delving into the sugar industry, the links between the cattle and tech industry and estimates he put his name to roughly 100 likeminded pieces.
After the war his father became a customs officer and it kicked off Ricks love for aviation.
“I would hang around the hanger – I learnt to fly but had a medical condition that stopped me from being a pilot.
“In secondary school it was my dream.”
Over the years he continued delving into the world of aviation when one day he happened upon some interesting publications written by Bill Taylor.
“I didn’t know who he was if I’m honest.”
As he found out more about the man, Rick was hooked.
Patrick Gordon ‘Bill’ Taylor was a pioneer of Australia aviation and a military cross recipient.
For the better part of a decade Rick has been researching and refining his knowledge of ‘Bill’.
“I went to the National Library and they gave me 95 boxes of material – I photographed something like 2500 images on my Ipad of the information.
“In the 1950’s he was a household name – so I was surprised to learn nobody had written a book about him.”
Mr Taylor was awarded the George Cross for bravery while saving the life of Charles Kingsford Smith during a flight across the Tasman.
This forms part of the 384 page book, The Man Who Saved Smithy, Mr Searle has pulled together about Mr Taylor.
“I think he was a great Australian – everything he did was for family or country. He was a genuine fair dinkum bloke who ran his own race.
“I had tremendous satisfaction writing about him,” Mr Searle said.
The book is available from today.