Short Stories and Articles
A number of my short stories and articles can be read via the links below.
A Local Hero
A Local Hero is a piece about Pilot Officer Laurie Whitbread, the Battle of Britain pilot buried in a Ludlow churchyard who inspired my RAF career and writing. Over the years, it has appeared in several publications, including this version on Pages 5 and 6 of Ludlow Heritage Magazine, and you can listen to an audio version through this link to the archive page of Celtica Radio. My Battle of Britain novel, Wings Over Summer, is dedicated to Laurie's memory and a picture similar to the one opposite sits on my desk as I write, presented in appreciation of the dedication by Laurie's nephew at a book signing in Ludlow.
A Local Hero is a piece about Pilot Officer Laurie Whitbread, the Battle of Britain pilot buried in a Ludlow churchyard who inspired my RAF career and writing. Over the years, it has appeared in several publications, including this version on Pages 5 and 6 of Ludlow Heritage Magazine, and you can listen to an audio version through this link to the archive page of Celtica Radio. My Battle of Britain novel, Wings Over Summer, is dedicated to Laurie's memory and a picture similar to the one opposite sits on my desk as I write, presented in appreciation of the dedication by Laurie's nephew at a book signing in Ludlow.
The Eye and the Storm
Approaching Ascension Island
The Eye and the Storm, follows a Hercules crew struggling to land at Ascension Island in the South Atlantic during a storm. I arrived on Ascension the day after the event on which it is based. It won second prize in the Writers' Forum monthly short story competition. Prior to this, several of my other stories had been highly commended in the same publication, but this was the first to win anything.
A copy of The Eye and the Storm can be downloaded here.
It was also read on Dave Carrington's show, Squaring The Circle, on Celtica Radio.
A copy of The Eye and the Storm can be downloaded here.
It was also read on Dave Carrington's show, Squaring The Circle, on Celtica Radio.
A Scrap of Hope
A short story about the bombing in August 1943 of Peenemunde, the World War 2 German terror weapon development site. The story won second prize in the monthly Writers' Forum short story competition and appeared in #169 in October 2015. It was also featured on Dave Carrington's show, Squaring the Circle, on Celtica internet radio. It can be read here.
A short story about the bombing in August 1943 of Peenemunde, the World War 2 German terror weapon development site. The story won second prize in the monthly Writers' Forum short story competition and appeared in #169 in October 2015. It was also featured on Dave Carrington's show, Squaring the Circle, on Celtica internet radio. It can be read here.
Band Aid
Band Aid is a short story beginning in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, at the time of the Ethiopian Famine in 1984. The meat of the story is a dramatic flight out of the country in a damaged C-130 Hercules, a flight that ends with a shocking event that has lasting effects of the chief protagonist. It is loosely based on a flight on which I was the co-pilot. It was aired on Celtica Radio in July 2015, and can be read here.
Band Aid is a short story beginning in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, at the time of the Ethiopian Famine in 1984. The meat of the story is a dramatic flight out of the country in a damaged C-130 Hercules, a flight that ends with a shocking event that has lasting effects of the chief protagonist. It is loosely based on a flight on which I was the co-pilot. It was aired on Celtica Radio in July 2015, and can be read here.
The Greater Good
This story is set on a Pacific island during (another) storm, and follows the adventures of a crew battling the weather to reach their aircraft and take off on a vital mission. It was highly commended in the Writers' Forum monthly competition and was also broadcast on the Dave Carrington Show on Celtica internet radio station. The Greater Good can be read here.
This story is set on a Pacific island during (another) storm, and follows the adventures of a crew battling the weather to reach their aircraft and take off on a vital mission. It was highly commended in the Writers' Forum monthly competition and was also broadcast on the Dave Carrington Show on Celtica internet radio station. The Greater Good can be read here.
The End of the Line
The End of the Line, a story of loss and revenge in the wake of an atrocity in Northern Ireland, won second prize in the Writers' Forum monthly competition (Issue 150 in March 2013). It was read on Dave Carrington's show on Celtica Radio in August/September 2014, and can be read here.
Courting Disaster
Courting Disaster is the story of an artist whose penchant for painting nudes gets him into hot water. It's a lighter story than my usual offerings and won third prize in The Writers' Forum short story competition. It is reproduced here.
Courting Disaster is the story of an artist whose penchant for painting nudes gets him into hot water. It's a lighter story than my usual offerings and won third prize in The Writers' Forum short story competition. It is reproduced here.
Articles
Over the years, I've had many articles published. I've also had many letters published in local and national newspapers, especially in the first few years after retirement, when I went into angry colonel mode and wrote to the national and local papers and my MP whenever something wound me up, which was quite often. I still write to my MP and the papers on occasion, but nowhere near as often. One of the articles is available to download below.
Over the years, I've had many articles published. I've also had many letters published in local and national newspapers, especially in the first few years after retirement, when I went into angry colonel mode and wrote to the national and local papers and my MP whenever something wound me up, which was quite often. I still write to my MP and the papers on occasion, but nowhere near as often. One of the articles is available to download below.
Extreme Everest Science Update
An article I wrote about a weekend during which we were given an update of the science behind Extreme Everest, a medical research expedition I was privileged to be a part of in 2007.
