1939 - The Phantom Zeppelin

NEW SERIES - Churchill’s Children is a coming of age story set against a back drop of the true events of the Second World War. From Zulu's, an Indian Princess, secret tunnels and the last public execution in Paris - to phantom Zeppelins and an escape from Nazis in a Spitfire.
Christopher Finch is the son of a wealthy American diplomat and a British journalist who live in London in 1939. The events that unfurl during the next five years, from his spying for Winston Churchill - the British war-time Prime minister - to escaping the closing claws of the Nazi empire, forms and shapes the talented Mr. Finch.
Christopher Finch is not alone in his adventures, he is joined by a group of children from other wealthy and powerful families who have been evacuated from London to Christopher’s parent’s estate in the countryside of England. Together they form a close group of comrades, each with their own lives affected by the war clouds that are covering Europe.
The first episode, 1939 – the Phantom Zeppelin, sees Christopher Finch spying for Winston Churchill who at that time is exiled from the British political arena for being a war monger. Christopher’s eccentric grandfather, an ex-soldier in the British Colonial army, tells him stories of his adventures in Africa and the Middle East, and inadvertently sets Christopher on a path that will change him forever.

When I was a child living in Liverpool, England, I often stayed with my grandparents, near the docks. On those long weekends, they would tell me amazing stories about the Second World War. My grandmother was a great storyteller, sharing her memories next to the fire, smoking cigarettes and constantly drinking tea (and the occasional whiskey). She had a way of telling a story that would pull you in, and with her silhouetted against the perpetual roaring coal fire and cigarette smoke, I would let my schoolchild fantasy soar.

These stories were often about the children in Liverpool who had been evacuated (including her own children, my parents), or about soldiers from families she knew who had gone off to fight and had returned home with tales of their own.

One of the stories she told was that one day she was down on the docks of Liverpool. She had gone down there because the Queen Mary Cruiser had arrived and she had never seen that famous ship

When she arrived at the docks, she noticed a few children from wealthy families playing on the wharf. They were enjoying a moment on land before the ship sailed for the five-day journey to New York. These children were being evacuated - but not to farmers outside the city like my parents. Instead, they would be whisked away by sea or air to glamorous and extravagant America. As she got closer to the children, my grandmother realized they were from different nationalities, and was amazed how easily they jumped from one language to another. They were the children of diplomats and European Royalty, industrialists and the famous. Even though they were young children, they were used to a life that my old grandmother could only dream about.

Those tales rubbed off on me. As a child I used to write short stories about these children, how they would have adventures, and as children how they could move almost unnoticed among the rich and influential of the time.

“Churchill’s Children” is about a group of children who, being inconspicuous, use their position to help gather information for the Allies. They are Churchill’s Children.

The chronicles of Christopher Finch will run to 7 episodes, from 1939 to 1945.