A Castlemaine woman has used her time in pandemic isolation to write and publish a book documenting the incredible life of her father, a Spitfire reconnaissance pilot in WWII.
Anne Rittman says ferreting out the story of Harold Murray Rittman’s daring and dangerous deeds as a photographic reconnaissance pilot resulted in her discovering things about her dad that she never knew.
“Once I started digging through all of this material I really discovered who my father was,” says Anne who has published Spitfire: The plane that crushed Hitler’s dreams! through her own recently-established publishing business – Fab Entertainment.
“Luckily my mother kept all the letters, documents and photographs relating to my father’s experience as a photo reconnaissance pilot in WWII,” she says.
Anne has trained as a professional writer through RMIT and has also previously worked as an arts ceramicist, writer and publisher.
She says writing Spitfire has enabled her to better know her parents, and grandparents, though the war time letters they wrote each other.
“The sheer courage of my father was heart-stopping,” she says.
“But despite his fear he flew 90 missions over heavily guarded enemy territory and brought back invaluable information for the Allies.
“He won the DFC (Distinguished Flying Cross) for bravery and exceptional determination.”
Anne says writing Spitfire in recent months was such an engaging process she could hardly wait to start work each morning.
Yet despite this she says she would never have written the book were it not for the time spent in pandemic-induced lockdown and isolation.
“It’s definitely a project done in Covid times. If I was not in isolation I’d never have done this.”
Instead, goaded by the strict entry deadline, she has even managed to enter her new 195 page book in the prestigious Australian War Memorial’s Les Carlyon Literary Prize to be announced later this year.
Anne is no stranger to the literary scene, having previously written and published several books including co-authoring a highly collectable tome – Brunswick Street, Art & Revolution capturing the cultural and arts scene of this iconic Melbourne street in its heyday.
But she says that finally getting the story of her father down in print has been especially personally satisfying.
“It feels as if I’ve done what was meant to be done,” she says.
Copies of Spitfire are available for purchase via Anne’s Facebook page, with its first limited print run already quickly snapped up.