It seems obvious that Bader was a 'strong' character - otherwise he wouldn't have 'bounced back' from his double amputation and returned to being a pilot.
This no doubt gained him 'enemies' as well as accolites - history is mixed about his actual qualities.
He was no doubt a good self-publicist (as was Horatio Nelson, whereas Cuthbert Collingwood was actually the man in charge at Trafalgar who completed the victory) so perhaps you should treat accounts of Bader with appropriate scepticism. His disability obviously highlighted his escapades - had he been without this his history wouldn't be remarkable in any way. There must have been dozens who had similar achievements.
Oh - and 'Reach for the Sky' was written by Paul Brickhill, not Douglas Bader . . .
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Never a person to hide his opinions, Bader also became controversial for his political interventions. A staunch conservative with traditional Victorian values, his trenchantly-expressed views on such subjects as juvenile delinquency, apartheid and Rhodesia's defiance of the Commonwealth (he was a staunch supporter of Ian Smith's white minority regime) attracted much criticism.
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