John "Junior," who himself has beaten four federal prosecutions on racketeering, murder and mob charges, said he wanted his father to be portrayed fairly. "My father was an icon. He was a man larger than life," he said.

After recovering from his burns Smith trained as a flying instructor and spent the next two years training student pilots. In June 1943 he left for North Africa and served on the air staff at the time of the invasion of Sicily and Italy. He commanded the Advanced Flying Unit at Setif in Algeria, established to provide new fighter pilots with in-theatre training before they moved on to fighter squadrons in the Mediterranean area.

Royal College of Music

The sky is high and wide this is a place of skyscapes rather than landscapes. Along the seafront, a haphazard line of houses all colours, shapes and sizes spills holiday visitors daily on to the little promenade, or to enjoy fish and chips on the beach (one of my favourite treats).

July. You know, if Id been a good jumper, I would have touched the ceiling, I leapt so high. In fact for a moment I thought I was going mad, it was dark, evening had fallen, and I thought that I was going mad, but it was nothing, you know. Only that Id drunk too much, then I saw phantoms in front of my eyes, fluttering around the tip of my nose, dancing and laughing and jumping fit to upset everything.