Written by 43 Squadron's intelligence officer, Hector Bolitho, Finest of the Few revolves around Bolitho's friend, fighter ace John W.C. Simpson, who shot down 13 German aircraft during the Battle of Britain. The book was written in 1941 and was based on John Simpson’s Combat Reports, his personal letters and papers together with Hector’s own recollections of the heady days of the summer of 1940.