![\"Text](\"https://test.russellphillips.uk/media/posts/203/DEFE-2-152-excerpt.png\")
Daring and determined is moving forward. It’s currently with the proofreader, and I’m planning to run a Kickstarter. Backers will get the book before it is on sale elsewhere, and you can sign up to be notified when the campaign goes live.
\n\n\n\nPre-orders at vendors should be available when the campaign launches, or soon after. I’m hoping to have a publication date of 10th February, the anniversary of the operation.
\n\n\n\n\n", "image": "https://test.russellphillips.uk/media/posts/207/Daring-and-determined-KS-blog.jpg", "author": { "name": "Russell Phillips" }, "tags": [ ], "date_published": "2026-08-05T10:32:00+01:00", "date_modified": "2026-08-07T15:01:36+01:00" }, { "id": "https://test.russellphillips.uk/first-draft-complete/", "url": "https://test.russellphillips.uk/first-draft-complete/", "title": "First draft complete", "summary": "I’m very pleased to be able to report that I’ve finished the first draft of my next book. It still…", "content_html": "\nI’m very pleased to be able to report that I’ve finished the first draft of my next book. It still needs edits of course, but I’m on track to publish later this year or some time next year.
\n\n\n\nThank you to all of you that filled in the poll to help me decide on a title for the book. I can now tell you that it will be called Daring and determined: The first British paratroop raid.
\n\n\n\nFor those of you that enjoy podcasts, News of the War is worth a listen. Andy Aitcheson and Merryn Walters go through news stories published during the Second World War. The result is interesting and entertaining insights into contemporary views.
\n\n\n\nIf you prefer to read, take a look at Richard Baber’s blog, Baber on Wargames. I started following Richard's blog back when I was still actively wargaming. As the title suggests, the primary focus is on wargaming, but he includes a lot of history, often relatively obscure twentieth century military history.
\n\n\n\n\n", "author": { "name": "Russell Phillips" }, "tags": [ ], "date_published": "2026-07-11T11:25:56+01:00", "date_modified": "2026-08-07T15:01:36+01:00" }, { "id": "https://test.russellphillips.uk/international-museum-day-2026/", "url": "https://test.russellphillips.uk/international-museum-day-2026/", "title": "International Museum Day 2026", "summary": "Today is International Museum Day. My local museum is undergoing a major refurbishment, so most of it is closed. The Spitfire…", "content_html": "\nToday is International Museum Day. My local museum is undergoing a major refurbishment, so most of it is closed. The Spitfire gallery, theatre and cafe are still open, and there’s a small display of items chosen by museum staff.
\n\n\n\nThe key in the photo is one of the items on display. It’s the key to Lidice, one of only three. It was presented to the Lord Mayor of Stoke-on-Trent in 2017, during a visit to Lidice marking the 75th anniversary of the massacre and destruction of the village.
\n\n\n\nI tell the full story of Lidice and the connection to Stoke-on-Trent in A Ray of Light, but the short version is that in 1942, Hitler ordered the Czech village of Lidice to be destroyed in retaliation for the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich.
\n\n\n\nThe village was completely (and literally) erased, even being removed from maps. At the end of the process, there was nothing left. But a doctor in Stoke-on-Trent galvanised the local miners into action, and they raised the equivalent of nearly two million pounds in today’s money.
\n\n\n\nThat money was used to rebuild the village, and it still stands today. Hitler had wanted the memory of Lidice to die, but the village still lives on, with a monument to all those that have been killed in war.
\n\n\n\nThe display states that the person who chose it did so because of “the immense weight of 20th century history that sits behind it”. For me, it’s another example of why museums are so important. Seeing the actual key is much more impactful than simply reading about it. If you’re ever in Stoke-on-Trent, take the time to visit the Potteries Museum and see the key for yourself.
\n", "image": "https://test.russellphillips.uk/media/posts/205/Key-to-Lidice.jpg", "author": { "name": "Russell Phillips" }, "tags": [ ], "date_published": "2026-05-18T09:59:00+01:00", "date_modified": "2026-08-07T15:01:35+01:00" }, { "id": "https://test.russellphillips.uk/book-progress/", "url": "https://test.russellphillips.uk/book-progress/", "title": "Book Progress", "summary": "Progress on the writing of my next book is slower than I would like, but the cover artist is making…", "content_html": "\nProgress on the writing of my next book is slower than I would like, but the cover artist is making progress. This is the first time I’ve hired an artist, and I’m finding the process interesting.
\n\n\n\nThe image above shows how he’s blocked out colours and started to block out buildings. I’m very pleased to note that he asks a lot of questions so that he keen to get the details right.
\n\n\n\nIn other news, Bookshop.org in the UK and US now have my books in DRM-free ebook format. In the US, they also have hardcover and paperback copies.
\n", "image": "https://test.russellphillips.uk/media/posts/204/CoverProgress.png", "author": { "name": "Russell Phillips" }, "tags": [ ], "date_published": "2026-03-04T21:14:33+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-08-07T15:01:35+01:00" }, { "id": "https://test.russellphillips.uk/rant-channel-4s-commando-2002/", "url": "https://test.russellphillips.uk/rant-channel-4s-commando-2002/", "title": "Rant: Channel 4's Commando (2002)", "summary": "Time for a bit of a rant. I've mentioned before that I'm currently researching Operation Colossus, the first British paratroop…", "content_html": "\nTime for a bit of a rant. I've mentioned before that I'm currently researching Operation Colossus, the first British paratroop operation.
\n\n\n\nI discovered a Channel 4 series called \"Commando\", which aired in 2002. The fourth episode is about paratroopers, and talks about Colossus. Geoffrey Palmer, as the narrator, tells us that the aqueduct that the raid was intended to destroy was \"a structure of little strategic importance.\" In case the viewer wonders why the British would bother to attack such an insignificant target, he continues, \"It was chosen to test whether a hit-and-run raid from the air could be pulled off deep inside enemy territory, and to see if the RAF could accurately drop parachutists close to a given target.\"
\n\n\n\nDocuments at the National Archives show that neither of these claims are true. British planners believed that destroying the aqueduct would have grave implications for the Italian war effort. It was expected that three major ports would be affected, disrupting supplies to Italian troops in North Africa and Greece. Document DEFE 2/152 expresses the hope that the attack \"might turn the scale and bring one or both campaigns to an abrupt end\".
\n\n\n\nThe claim that the operation was only mounted to give the paratroopers something to do is also demonstrably untrue. The idea of destroying the aqueduct didn't originate with anyone involved with training paratroopers. Rather, it came from a civilian working for an engineering company. He contacted the War Office and suggested that attacking an aqueduct on the acquedotto pugliese system would severely disrupt the Italian war effort.
\n\n\n\nHaving decided that this was something worth trying, the planners did not immediately turn to the nascent paratroop force. Their first port of call was the RAF's Bomber Command. They responded that it wasn't feasible to destroy an aqueduct by bombing. Next, the Special Operations Executive (SOE) were consulted. They took some time to look into it, and decided that it wasn't feasible. Only then was the job was given to the paratroopers.
\n\n\n\nNone of the men involved in the operation are still with us. At least some of them were alive when the Channel 4 programme was filmed (some of them are interviewed). It's entirely possible that they went to their graves believing that they risked their lives for no good reason. I hope not, I really do.
\n", "image": "https://test.russellphillips.uk/media/posts/203/Commando.png", "author": { "name": "Russell Phillips" }, "tags": [ ], "date_published": "2025-12-12T16:12:05+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-08-07T15:01:35+01:00" }, { "id": "https://test.russellphillips.uk/signed-hardbacks-and-a-message-in-a-bottle/", "url": "https://test.russellphillips.uk/signed-hardbacks-and-a-message-in-a-bottle/", "title": "Signed hardbacks and a message in a bottle", "summary": "First, a bit of news: I have some hardbacks left over from We Have Ways Fest, so I’m selling signed…", "content_html": "\nFirst, a bit of news: I have some hardbacks left over from We Have Ways Fest, so I’m selling signed copies in my shop, at the same price as the standard hardback.
\n\n\n\nThis is an amazing news story. In 1916, two Australian soldiers on a troop ship wrote letters to relatives, put them in a bottle, and threw it overboard. The bottle was found by a family collecting rubbish on the beach last month.
\n\n\n\nThe family traced a great-nephew of one soldier, and the great-granddaughters of the other, and will be sending the letters to them.
\n\n\n\nYou can read the full story, along with photos of the letters and the men that wrote them, at ABC News.
\n\n\n\n\n", "image": "https://test.russellphillips.uk/media/posts/202/message-in-a-bottle.jpg", "author": { "name": "Russell Phillips" }, "tags": [ ], "date_published": "2025-11-06T09:49:00+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-08-07T15:01:35+01:00" }, { "id": "https://test.russellphillips.uk/the-pencils-that-helped-allied-airmen-to-escape/", "url": "https://test.russellphillips.uk/the-pencils-that-helped-allied-airmen-to-escape/", "title": "The pencils that helped Allied airmen to escape", "summary": "Earlier this month, we went to the Lake District on holiday. While there, we visited the pencil museum in Keswick.", "content_html": "\nEarlier this month, we went to the Lake District on holiday. While there, we visited the pencil museum in Keswick. It's more interesting than you might expect, but one set of exhibits in particular caught my eye. These were about special pencils made during the Second World War for MI6 (responsible for foreign intelligence), MI9 (escape and evasion), and the Special Operations Executive (SOE, espionage behind enemy lines).
\n\n\n\nCharles Fraser-Smith had the job of securing specialised equipment and gadgets for MI6, MI9, and SOE. His cover story was that he worked in the Ministry of Supply's Clothing and Textile Department. When one of the organisations requested something (e.g. a compass hidden in a button), he would contact a manufacturer of that type of equipment, then work with them to create the specialised version. He contacted the Cumberland Pencil Co. in 1942, because he'd had a request for pencils containing a hidden map and compass. Pencils are a very mundane item, and aircrew carried them as part of their navigation equipment, so they would not arouse suspicion.
\n\n\n\nFraser-Smith had compasses made that were small enough to fit in a standard pencil, and maps printed on specially created fine tissue that would not rustle. The map was tightly rolled up around a thin wire, then tied in place. Maps and compasses were supplied to the company's management in strict secrecy. Most of the people working at the factory had no idea about this unusual project.
\n\n\n\nThe technical manager, Mr Fred Tee, was given the task of working out how to hide the maps and compasses. Crucially, it had to be done in secret. The factory workers and the local population had to remain unaware of the special pencils.
\n\n\n\nBecause of the great need for secrecy, it was decided to modify finished pencils, rather than add a hiding place during production. Each evening, a few managers would return to the factory after it had closed. They would take a box of completed pencils, remove the ferrule and rubber, and drill a hole from the top. A few centimetres of lead were left in place, so that it would still function as a standard pencil. They then inserted the map, added the compass, and replaced the ferrule and rubber.
\n\n\n\n![\"Photo](\"https://test.russellphillips.uk/media/posts/201/pencil-escape-map.jpg\")
Four different maps were printed. One had a general map of Germany, and the others had escape routes marked to the Netherlands, Belgium, and Switzerland. The pencils were marked with the numbers 101, 102, 103, or 104 to identify the map contained.
\n\n\n\nThe modern factory makes and sells a facsimile of the escape pencil, supplied in a special case. When they decided to make these, they first tried to recreate the original method used during the Second World War.
\n\n\n\nHowever, when they drilled into the pencil they found it created a tremendous mess, with graphite going everywhere. So instead, they opted to create the map compartment during manufacture, while the pencil is still in two parts. It's impossible to keep the process secret this way, but that's no longer a concern.
\n\n\n\nIf you're ever near Keswick, I recommend a visit to the museum. The escape pencils aren't the only interesting exhibit. I'm a little frustrated that I didn't discover all this before I wrote Setting Europe Ablaze, but only a little. There is always more to learn, and learning can happen in unexpected places.
\n\n\n\n\n", "image": "https://test.russellphillips.uk/media/posts/201/escape-pencil.jpg", "author": { "name": "Russell Phillips" }, "tags": [ ], "date_published": "2025-08-27T16:37:23+01:00", "date_modified": "2026-08-07T15:01:35+01:00" }, { "id": "https://test.russellphillips.uk/we-have-ways-speaker-line-up/", "url": "https://test.russellphillips.uk/we-have-ways-speaker-line-up/", "title": "We Have Ways speaker line-up", "summary": "We Have Ways Fest, the Second World War history festival organised by Al Murray and James Holland, have released the…", "content_html": "\nWe Have Ways Fest, the Second World War history festival organised by Al Murray and James Holland, have released the full speaker programme. I’ll be speaking about Operation Ironclad, the invasion of Madagascar, at 14:00 on Saturday, at the Arsenal stage.
\n\n\n\nOne talk I'm very keen to see is \"The Sexual Revolution\", about LGBTQ+ people in the 1940s, including a trans man in the Land Army.
\n\n\n\nYou can see the full programme here. Tickets are still available, and kids go free.
\n", "image": "https://test.russellphillips.uk/media/posts/200/Ironclad-The-First-Invasion-We-Have-Ways-Fest-2025.jpg", "author": { "name": "Russell Phillips" }, "tags": [ ], "date_published": "2025-08-04T09:45:00+01:00", "date_modified": "2026-08-07T15:01:35+01:00" }, { "id": "https://test.russellphillips.uk/final-chance-to-buy/", "url": "https://test.russellphillips.uk/final-chance-to-buy/", "title": "Final chance to buy", "summary": "This We'll Defend was one of the first books I wrote. It's getting increasingly out of date, though, so I've…", "content_html": "\n![\"Book](\"https://test.russellphillips.uk/media/posts/199/This-Well-Defend-Final-Small-199x300.jpg\")
This We'll Defend was one of the first books I wrote. It's getting increasingly out of date, though, so I've decided to take it off sale.
\n\n\n\nUntil the end of the month, print and ebook copies are available at a steep discount here on my website. After that, it will only be available second hand.
\n", "author": { "name": "Russell Phillips" }, "tags": [ ], "date_published": "2025-07-16T13:02:36+01:00", "date_modified": "2026-08-07T15:01:35+01:00" }, { "id": "https://test.russellphillips.uk/we-have-ways-fest-full-speaker-line-up-announced/", "url": "https://test.russellphillips.uk/we-have-ways-fest-full-speaker-line-up-announced/", "title": "We Have Ways Fest: full speaker line-up announced", "summary": "I mentioned last month that I'm going to be talking at We Have Ways Fest in September. The full line-up…", "content_html": "\nI mentioned last month that I'm going to be talking at We Have Ways Fest in September. The full line-up of speakers (over 60 of them) has now been announced. You can see the list on their website.
Personally, I'm looking forward to seeing the talks by Niall Cherry, Roger Moorhouse, Victoria Taylor, and Merryn Walters.
As I said last month, I’d like to do more talks, so if you’re a member of a group that would like to book me to give a talk about the subject of any of my books, email me or check out my profile on Speakernet.
\n\n\n\n![\"Book](\"https://test.russellphillips.uk/media/posts/198/Mosquito.jpg\")
I bought the ebook of Mosquito by Rowland White for 99p recently. I don't know now long it'll be at this price, so if you want it, I suggest you buy it now.
I've been fascinated by the Mosquito for as long as I can remember, so this promises to be an interesting read.