Fly Boy

Ace Pilot – A Life Cut Short

By Peter Hodge

Published by Big Sky Publishing

RRP $34.99 in paperback

ISBN 9781923300736

SEE BELOW FOR A ‘MEET THE AUTHOR EVENT’ – 21 March 2026

For Peter Hodge, this book represents a ten year odyssey to tell the story of his great uncle, Parker ‘Joe’ Hodge, a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) pilot who tragically lost his life in the Netherlands East Indies during World War II.

Born in Beechworth the youngest of a large family who later moved to Essendon, Joe’s early life included hearing stories of war from his older brothers who had served in the Great War.

He had a deep ambition, no doubt fuelled by the daring exploits of early aviators of the time, to join the fledgling Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), the last of the three services to be established after federation.

Joining up in 1935, by 1938 he was deeply immersed in his flying training at the same time as additional money was being made available to equip the RAAF with up-to-date equipment.

Joe Hodge’s story inevitably develops in lockstep with the transformation of his chosen service.

He was a confident, ambitious, and adventurous young man whose luck would run out in January 1942 as he piloted a Hudson aircraft in an attack on enemy surface craft at anchor off Kema, N. Celebes, a northern most province on the island of Sulawesi.

Peter Hodge has done a fine job of piecing together his great uncle’s life and untimely death.

It is, by turns, compelling and insightful, offering us the chance to understand the life of a young man whose ultimate fate would be shared by many.

FORTHCOMING EVENT

Meet the Author: Peter Hodge

SATURDAY 21 MARCH 2026 AT 10:30AM
YARRA JUNCTION LIBRARY,
1A HODDLE STREET, YARRA JUNCTION, VICTORIA
TEL 03 9800 6462

DETAILS AT THIS LINK