Noel Pemberton Billing was a far-sighted polymath of events on the world scene during the first half of the last century. During his sixty-seven years of very full life, he was a prolific inventor and designer of aircraft, a pioneer aviator, playwright, author, actor, gun-runner, spy and much more besides. A forceful and colourful Independent Member of Parliament during World War I, he likened the administration of the country to a 'sorry and sordid play, in which politicians are the actors, the pressmen are the dramatists, vested interests pack the house and the public pay the price'. The victim of several 'dirty tricks' during his parliamentary career, he was forced to conduct his own defence in a politically instigated criminal libel case at the Old Bailey and, against all odds and to much popular acclaim, was acquitted. In this first full biography of Pemberton Billing, Barbara Stoney's thorough research has produced a fascinating and highly readable account of the life of this complex and extraordinary man.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
The Life of Noel Pemberton Billing is Remarkable,
By Biography Buff (Victoria, BC) - See all my reviews
This review is from: TWENTIETH CENTURY MAVERICK (Hardcover)
Noel Pemberton Billing was a far-sighted polymath of events on the world scene in the first half of the last century. During his 67 years of very full life he was a prolific inventor and designer of aircraft, founding his own aerodrome in 1908 and later the Supermarine Company, which went on to produce the Spitfire fighter of WW2. His more than 100 inventions covered such diverse subjects as unbreakable and long-playing discs and one of the first pocket cameras.
He was also a playwright, author, actor, gun-runner, spy and much more besides. A colourful and very Independent Member of Parliament during WW1, he was the victim of several politically instigated "dirty tricks" one of which resulted in him having to defend himself in a criminal libel case. Against all odds and to much popular acclaim he was acquitted. Barbara Stoney's thorough research has produced a fascinating and highly readable account of the life of this complex and extraordinary man.
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