Alan Bott

Pre-war career

Bott worked as journalist before and just after the outbreak of the war, serving as "special correspondent" of the Daily Chronicle, based in Basel, Switzerland. He reported on the British air raid on the Zeppelin factory at Friedrichshafen on 21 November 1914, and travelled to the Swiss town of Romanshorn, on the opposite side of Lake Constance, to observe the German response, on one occasion going out into the middle of the lake on a boat to gain a closer look.

Post-war career

Bott had written his first book An Airman's Outings, an account of the life of a British flying officer, while still serving in No. 70 Squadron in 1916. It had been published in 1917 under the pseudonym "Contact", and republished in the US as The Flying Ace and Cavalry of the Clouds. He followed it up with Eastern Nights and Flights, published in 1920, an account of his capture, imprisonment and subsequent escape. Between 1920 and 1926 he returned to journalism, as a special correspondent and as a drama critic for various newspapers.

Bott also retained his interest in flying, being granted a commission as a class "A" flying officer (on probation) in the Reserve of Air Force Officers on 22 May 1923. He was transferred to class "C" on 7 October 1924, and relinquished his commission on completion of service on 22 May 1926. On 3 June 1928 he received Royal Aero Club Aviator's Certificate No. 8309 on the DH.60 Moth at the Hampshire Aero Club.

Bott died in a hospital in Westminster, London, on 17 September 1952.

Bott married Josephine Blumenfeld, daughter of Daily Express editor R. D. Blumenfeld, at Petworth in June 1930. They had three children; Simon (b. 1931), Annabel (b. 1933) and Susannah (b. 1935).