Under A Feathered Sky: the untold story of NATO’s role in newly independent Kosovo was published a month ago and is already receiving very positive reviews. I wrote ‘Under A Feathered Sky’ to tell the story about the extraordinary events that took place during my 6 month operational tour of duty as a British Army […]
Under A Feathered Sky – video
Over the weekend I decided to share a few thoughts about how the book was written. I wanted to share the story behind how I sat down for the first time and opened my laptop. That first engagement with Under A Feathered Sky was sitting in a small house in northern Portugal. With papers spread […]
The story behind: VJ Day 1944
My father passed away on 9th October last year. In the three weeks before his funeral, I discovered and then read two diaries that he had meticulously kept during his National Service in the RAF between August 1944 and February 1947, when he was demobilised. His journey started out in Glasgow, sailing through the U-Boat […]
The Story Behind: Under A Feathered Sky
It is a week since Under A Feathered Sky was published. In that time the book has been sold in the UK, the US and in Europe. It has also arrived in Kosovo, where it was hand-delivered to the Commander of the Kosovo Security Force, General Rahman Rama, by the UK Defence Adviser, Lieutenant Colonel […]
Published!
The untold story of NATO’s role in newly independent Kosovo
Under A Feathered Sky: what people have said
On Friday, 31st July 2020, Under A Feathered Sky will be published. The book has been previewed by two eminent security and diplomatic professionals, resulting in a strong endorsement from each. General The Lord Richards of Herstmonceux GCB CBE DSO wrote; “In a highly charged and often dangerous environment, peace is frequently bought by a […]
Announcement – Book Publication Date
On 31st July Under A Feathered Sky will be published. It has been 5 years in the writing and I could not be more proud. The book paints a vivid picture of what it is like to work for NATO in a highly politicised environment, amongst a divided international community exposing a clash of cultures […]
The Mayor of Mogadishu
I first got to know Yarisow – as he was affectionately known – back in 2012. I had left behind my career as an Army Officer and moved out to Kenya to be the Chief of Staff in a strategic communications team working in Somalia. I was living in Nairobi, spending weeks at a time […]
It was not what I was expecting when I first ventured into the divided city of Mogadishu in 2010. To be told that the city contained a Christian burial site seemed unlikely. After further research I realised that not only was there a Commonwealth African War Cemetery in the middle of the one of the […]
It was a bit of a scramble to get a seat. I was the civilian Chief of Staff of the UN-contracted Information Support Team, based in Mogadishu International Airport (MIA). During my rounds of UN offices in the camp, I heard that a UN flight was going south to Kismayo International Airport the following morning, […]