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On August 10th ‘Papa Mike’ was found – crashed into a mountain named Holtaheia. There were no survivors. It was a horrific, unbelievable tragedy. A black cloud descended and Croydonians were devastated. Many knew the boys and families. Croydon became world famous because it was the worst disaster to happen to any school in peacetime. The official enquiry as to why Papa Mike crashed was unresolved. They were all wasted lives.

‘The Lanfranc Boys’ (ISBN 978-0-9531890-3-8.) RRP Price £12.99, by author Rosalind Jones (sister of one of the boys) tells moving previously untold stories of what happened.

‘The Lanfranc Boys’ has a Foreword by Sir Michael Parkinson, (who as a young reporter covered the story for The Daily Express at the time), and an endorsement from
Monica Porter of The Daily Mail’s ‘Missing and Found’ column.

Vividly readable because it is compiled from first hand accounts, the book starts with everyone alive; details the flight out to Norway; the search to find Papa Mike; the painstaking rescue of the victims; then describes the aftermath of the tragedy in Croydon.

It also discusses new theories as to why the plane crashed.
The book is illustrated with 42 pages of monochrome and colour photographs. Nearly 300 people from both Norway and Britain contributed their memories. Dedicated to the Norwegian Red Cross, royalties from sales will assist their International Aid work.