Author of over 60 well-received books during a lifetime of dedication, inspired by the Spitfire and Battle of Britain stories, Dilip now writes for Pen & Sword – and is himself a living link to the past, given his privileged relationships with countless wartime survivors.
Specialising in the human element of the Battle of Britain and Spitfire stories, and sharing them in a uniquely engaging and accessible way, Dilip’s first book was published in 1990. Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, he organised numerous high-profile exhibitions, book launches and symposiums, attended by a host of the Few and wartime personalities – providing the public unprecedented opportunities to meet names from the pages of history. This visionary approach was recognised in 2003, when Dilip was made an MBE for ‘services to aviation history’.
Elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Historical Society in 2006, Dilip has First Class Honours in Modern History from University Worcester, and is a retired police detective whose work is renowned for being evidence-based – often challenging long-accepted myths; he has worked on numerous television documentaries on an international basis throughout his long career, on and off-camera, and continues to do so. In 2023, his investigative work led to Air Chief Marshal Sir Keith Park, commander of 11 Group covering London and the south-east during the Battle of Britain, being added to the ranks of the Few, Dilip having proved that the great man actually flew operational sorties between 10 July – 31 October 1940.
In recognition of his lifetime commitment and contribution, in 2024 Dilip was elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Aeronautical Society, following a stringent peer-reviewed process, and membership of London’s prestigious Royal Air Force Club. By the Battle of Britain’s 85th anniversary in September 2025, all eight volumes were published of Dilip’s one-million-word official history produced for the Battle of Britain Memorial Trust CIO, in recognition of which he was made Honorary Vice-President. The volumes are endorsed by HRH the Princess Royal, HRH Prince Michael of Kent, three former chiefs of the air staff, the Director General of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, the Lord Mayor of London, the current Lord Dowding and Stephen Park, great nephew of Sir Keith Park. All are available from Pen & Sword, this unprecedented, landmark, project setting a new benchmark is research.
NOTE: THIS WEBSITE IS ALWAYS WELL OUT OF DATE BECAUSE DILIP IS TOO BUSY RESEARCHING AND WRITING TO KEEP IT UP TO DATE!!
As Battle of Britain fighter ‘ace’ Wing Commander George Unwin DSO DFM famously said, ‘If you want to know anything about the Battle of Britain and the Few, don’t ask us, ask Dilip!’
