You may well ask where the world would be without ‘spotters’ (and other dedicated enthusiasts), more familiar to many perhaps as the train and plane variety, hugging the sides of railway embankments or peaking through link fencing on the periphery of airfields.

If you thought that was a bit obsessive, be aware that there are some who get their kicks from tracking buses!

Each to his own: personally I prefer a spot or two on the veranda, sans camera and notebook.

Obsession is of course vital to the worlds of collecting artefacts, works of art, and even historical knowledge for its own sake.

Some folk may be driven to distraction by the obsession habits of their companions.

However, one of the more important synonyms for ‘obsession’ is that word of so many complexions, ‘passion’, which is the essential ingredient if one is interested in the pursuit of matters of heritage and history.

A depth of definition for that word is amply expressed in a new book by the Bermudaphiles, Ewan Partridge and Tom Singfield, being Wings over Bermuda, on the subject of the history of aviation at the Island, from its beginnings in 1919.

Published by the National Museum of Bermuda Press, the volume, as it has taken flight, is the product of over a decade of tracking, finding, recording and writing about the mechanical birds that have taken to the local skies, after tens of thousands of years of hegemony by cahows, longtails and other feathered inhabitants.

The result is a magisterial book of 300 pages with innumerable photographs and images, enough to make aeroplane enthusiasts out of the unwary.

The book reflects the passion of those two individuals, not only for planes, but for this smallest of landing places, out in the middle of nowhere and, before the late 1930s, only accessible by air on a regular basis to the aforementioned denizens of the ether.

There are a number of such folk to whom, while not of our rocky soil born, Bermuda is indebted.

Singfield and Partridge stand with earlier writers, such as my schoolteacher of old, Sister Jean de Chantal Kennedy, or more recently, the professorial couple, Drs Sandy Campbell and Duncan McDowell, to name only three.

The book was launched at the Commissioner’s House on 29 May 2014 to an enthusiastic crowd and Permanent Secretary (and former museum trustee) Wayne Carey made a few remarks on behalf of the Minister of Community, Culture and Sports, Wayne Scott.

“The National Museum of Bermuda has an enviable record of publishing important works about Bermuda and its heritage

“This latest publication, Wings over Bermuda, by Ewan Partridge and Tom Singfield recounts the extensive history of aviation in Bermuda from its 1919 origins, through the era of giant flying boats and piston-powered airliners, to the modern jets of today.

“There are many who remember the days when seaplanes were a special feature of our cultural landscape, connecting land, air and sea.

“The book tells a compelling story about the rise of Bermuda as a strategic wartime base for Allied forces, focusing on the US military airbases that served as a platform for defence through the Second World War and the Cold War, the airfield of which eventually became the hub of Bermuda’s civilian aviation gateway.’

“Wings over Bermuda reveals a previously overlooked and somewhat undervalued element in the development of commercial and military transatlantic aviation.

“The book contains hundreds of rare photographs and tells some unheard aviation stories, including the importance of the Bermuda Flying School in helping the Second World War effort.

“On behalf of Minister Scott, I want to congratulate the National Museum of Bermuda for continuing to explore unique aspects of Bermuda’s heritage and bringing them to life for public awareness and consumption.

“I also wish to congratulate the authors, Ewan Partridge and Tom Singfield, for a expertly researched and well written book. which will be much appreciated by historians, aviation enthusiasts, and the public in general.”

An air veteran from US Navy Air Squadron VP-45 at Bermuda, William Haynes, wrote thus to the authors: “Your book arrived. What a joy it is! It will take me months to get through it all but reading just the parts covering my days there in the late 1950s was a real treat.

“The two of you have done a masterful job of research, writing and editing. It’s clear, concise and very interesting. I did not expect anything nearly so comprehensive or such high quality.”

Those remarks were underscored by Lou Marrero, a radio/radar operator at Bermuda in 1958 with Squadron VP49: ‘Received the book this morning. You and Ewan should be proud of your efforts. The book is amazing! Very well written.

“The detail and photos make you want to not put it down. No wonder it took so long; you have covered everything! Congratulations.”

So you see, this week I am leaving the turning of the pages to you, for the heritage story is not on this page today, but in Tom and Ewan’s book.

So you have to stop whatever spotting you are doing and get on down to the store and get your copy of Wings over Bermuda: your life will be enhanced, even if you already knew the difference between a Curtiss and a Concorde.

In ending, we shall go back to the beginning and thank the donors who sponsored some of the production costs of Wings over Bermuda.

Foremost is Jean Bird, who gave in memory of her husband and former museum trustee, Lieutenant Geoffrey Robert Bird RNVR, Fleet Air Arm 828 Squadron.

The Hon Ernest DeCouto, CBE JP and Mrs Phyllis De Couto, Tim Davidson, and BAS-Serco Limited, represented by Jamie Sapsford, also contributed: to all these, the Trustees of the National Museum extend their thanks for helping the elegant book take to the air.

Edward Cecil Harris, MBE, JP, PHD, FSA is Director of the National Museum. Comments may be made to director@nmb.bm or 704-5480.