Project Outline

Lost history. Forgotten heroes. 

There are 2,947 names on the wall of remembrance at the Battle of Britain Memorial. 2,947 stories.

58,000 more names of the fallen on the walls of the Bomber Command Memorial.

Dozens of those stories have been immortalised in books and films — tales of the fighter aces and bomber heroes that helped shape our collective memory.

But they represent only a fraction of the thousands whose voices have faded with time.

This film is for them and millions more who were never heard at all.

The Lost Pilot follows filmmaker Mike Boswell as he tries to uncover the elusive, buried wartime life of his father, Reg: a barrow boy from Northampton, who became one of the rare few to fly combat sorties both in Bomber Command and then Fighter Command during WWII.

Strangely, Reg's RAF career was scarcely documented until the rediscovery of his logbooks.

These fragile documents spin a thread that leads to The National Archives and creates a trail through the changing cultural and physical landscape of Britain in wartime — and a story almost lost to history.

Through interviews, archive footage, logbooks, and modern-day locations and recreations, we piece together Reg's path: from market stall to Wellington sorties behind Dunkirk, and Battle of Britain Spitfire sorties with legendary 19 Squadron and beyond.

But this is more than a personal story. It's a new lens on our shared wartime legacy. One that focuses not on the aces and household heroes but on those often overlooked in the story of World War II.

This is a film about forgotten heroes. About class, courage, love — and the quiet triumphs that helped win a war and shape a nation.

Director –  Mike Boswell

I've spent thirty years making commercial films.

Now, I'm telling a story that adds a valuable coda to the history of WWII. 

I never really knew about my dad's war. He died when I was just eight. I only heard second-hand, and often highly embellished tales from my older siblings that blurred into Boy's Own myths, captivating my childhood imagination.

Decades later, I discovered his RAF logbooks. What they revealed challenged everything I thought I knew.

By December 1940, Reg had flown over fifty combat sorties. Yet his war record is barely documented. Why?

He survived when many of his compatriots did not. How?

The logbooks became the key to unlocking Reg's history. Revealing that the truth is often hard to pin down, I've learnt history can be an unreliable narrator as my search for elusive facts progressed through often conflicting accounts.  

The Lost Pilot is part bio, part mystery, and a road movie: a journey through archives, airfields, and landscapes changed by war and its legacy.

Why Reg? Why Now?

We know the names of the flying aces and the generals. But what about the kid who left school at 15 — and, against the odds, still made it into the cockpit of a Spitfire?

Inspired by one pilot's original logbooks and photographs, this documentary will add another page to our heritage. It's a story that will be shared and appreciated by future generations, inspiring them with the courage and resilience of those who came before.

As an experienced filmmaker, I'm uniquely placed to bring Reg's story to life – one untold war story that I can share. 

This isn't just a film about war. It's about peering through the fog of history and finding just how far some people had to climb before they even got off the ground.

Where Your Money Goes

We've already conducted in-depth interviews with aviation historians and WWII specialists and shot extensive B-roll footage across Britain's historic airfields.

We've come a long way, but now we need your support to bring this project to completion. Your contribution is vital to us, and we're grateful for your help in making this film a reality.

Your support will allow us to:

- Film the final interviews and locations 

- Edit the full feature-length documentary

- Develop archive and enhanced visual sequences 

- Complete sound design and an original score 

- Cover licensing and rights fees 

- Finalise post-production

Target: £15,000 

Stretch Goal: £25,000 – to support more post-production finesse and archive licensing, edit short series episodes for exhibition partnerships, publicity and festival rollout.

Join Us

Thank you for spending some time with The Lost Pilot. We invite you to be part of this unique opportunity to uncover a story that had almost been lost in time.

Your contribution will help create a lasting cultural artefact, and we couldn't do it without you.

Backers will be thanked in the credits, get exclusive updates, and receive early digital access to the film. Higher-tier supporters unlock exclusive previews, access to crew and producer-level recognition.

With your support, we'll finish a film that finds not just one Lost Pilot but recognises the thousands whose stories may never be told.

Click to choose a reward tier and help contribute to the sum of our shared national heritage.

Please share this campaign with your friends, fellow WWII history and Battle of Britain buffs, aviation enthusiasts and anyone else who you think might be interested. Thanks again.