Rolf Richardson, a retired pilot, gives a fascinating glimpse into commercial airlines during the 1960s

Rolf Richardson expertly weaves fact into fiction to create a gripping historical novel that observes the trials of early commercial airlines…

Rolf Richardson’s newest ebook, Coffin Corner, is a gripping novel following the experiences in life and in love of Archie, a young RAF pilot, who embarks upon a thrilling journey to the exotic land of Singapore, in his exciting new career as an airline pilot.

“In the military we'd been trained to kill. In the commercial world this is not looked upon as a good idea. My god was now Safety.”

The year is 1960, dawn of a new decade, and twenty-four year old Archibald Staples finds himself finally ready to begin a new adventure. Drawn in by an advert for ‘The World’s Friendliest Airline’, Archie finds himself launched headlong into the burgeoning world of commercial airlines, where he believes his glittering future as a pilot awaits.

Yet, Archie discovers that his new career doesn’t come without its own set of challenges. Tropical storms, dodgy designs and a ruthless workplace are just some of the many obstacles that Archie must overcome. The young pilot finds that he must shrug off the mentality of the older, war-time generation, who were trained to complete their mission at any cost. Instead, Archie’s era of peacetime calls for a change in the airline tradition, to accommodate for a safer, more efficient future.

This is a story of people who worked in the 'teenage years' of the airline industry: the pilots, engineers and cabin crew; the entrepreneur who got the airline off the ground; the ageing aviatrix, with progressive ideas, in charge of personnel. It's also a story of the struggle to rebuild Singapore after the ravages of war; and to navigate the thorny path from being a colony to independence.

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