Work in Progress Update and tour of a Lancaster Bomber

On November 25, 2023, I visited the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum in Port Hope, Ontario. As part of my Work In Progress (WIP), I went to research the WWII Lancaster Bomber there, and was given an incredible personal tour of the plane by the flight crew. Thank you to them for their time and expertise. It's an amazing museum near Hamilton, Ontario, largely run by volunteers. Go visit and support them. Lest we forget.

The research was for my middle-grade book about WWII, and my father's experience as a boy working at a Lancaster bomber aircraft factory in 1941. The Canada Council kindly gave me a Research and Creation grant for this book, and a Letter of Introduction about my research. I have such gratitude for this remarkable opportunity. The experts at the Warplane Heritage Museum were delighted to show me around, and I spent a long time talking with them about war, the aircraft, and the aircrew who flew them. It was a difficult day, to be honest. 

IMAGE: Bomber Command Memorial, Hyde Park Corner, London UK

The first Lancaster heavy bombers rolled off the British assembly lines in September, 1941. Over 50,000 RAF air crew died in the Lancaster bombers between 1941-1945, mostly over Europe, and the average age for air crew was 22 years. Younger than my son is now. 

The British bombed at night. 

As I sat in the cramped cabin of the Lancaster, I suddenly understood how dangerous, terrifying, and claustrophobic the night bomber's job was. I had nothing but sorrow for the bombed civilians, and the young men whose job it was to drop bombs from 20,000 feet onto European factories, bridges, and unseen enemies below. It was the first time bombs had been used to such a scale in war, and it was controversial. Experts are still undecided if the RAF bombing raids were successful in bringing a faster end to the war with Nazi Germany. 

UPDATE: THE WAR LANTERN, my middle-grade book is now finished, has a publisher and a PUBLICATION DATE of October, 2026. I tried to make the story focus on the sorrow of war while still allowing the characters to be children (17, 15, and 14 years old), who like dancing, music, and birthday cake. Through the connection between an English boy and a German girl on either side of the English Channel, and a young RAF rear gunner, my characters are still just teenagers, and they're more alike than they are different.

IMAGE: The Lancaster Bomber Rear Gunner Turret. Tiny, cramped, freezing, and deadly, the rear gunner in a Lancaster bomber had a low chance of survival on each bombing raid (as low as 50/50). Sitting in a bubble at the tail end of the huge aircraft, they were easily shot by Luftwaffe fighter planes, and were often killed.

It's been 81 years since the send of WWII, but sadly this story is more relevant than ever. I'll keep readers updated on the cover, the title, origin story and more once the manuscript goes back to the publisher. This has been the most difficult write of my life,

and I have to say that it's a relief to be finished the job of writing this book. It's hard to be constantly engrossed for 3+ years in war, war, war. Especially in the world as it is right now, endlessly at war it seems. Also, the layering of research, the horror of war, creating a workable narrative using family history, and one for younger readers (ages 10+), has tested all my skill to the max. SO MUCH respect for historical fiction writers, for any age of reader!

My newest book is out now, THE LOVE SONG OF MR. BYRD, and it couldn't be more different from my war story. Check it out: a short, classically gentle story about love and friendship one summer, for ages 6-9, or a wonderful all-ages read-aloud.

For more posts about my WIP and research on the Lancaster Bomber.

 

The family story I never expected ...

Murray Dowding's Magic Lantern and Slides @ 1910,
Town Hall, Chipping Sodbury, UK  * Photo courtesy Rich McDonough, Bristol

This photograph is the result of an incredible family story that began in the early 1900s and ended last month, June, 2024. 

What does the photograph depict? 

My grandfather, Murray Dowding (1881-1966), was a well-known photographer and local historian in Chipping Sodbury, UK. 

The photograph at the top of the page shows Murray's "magic lantern" projector from @1910 and two boxes of his silver nitrate slides. These treasures finally found a permanent home after a 54 year wait, and are now on display in the Town Hall cabinet in Chipping Sodbury, Gloucestershire, UK, for all time. 

Image: Murray Dowding's photo of "The Ancient Parish Chest" @ 1910.

The long, black object below Murray's lantern is the 15th century "Parish Chest," which once held birth, death, and marriage certificates, along with landholder title papers. An historical and irreplaceable treasure. On the wall above, the Town motto, and not shown, the town seal and crest.

How did Murray's lantern and slides end up in Chipping Sodbury Town Hall? 

Long ago, after my grandmother died in 1970, Murray's magic lantern and two boxes of his slides were saved from the garbage. A kind (and wise) local man thought that "someone would want them one day," and stowed them away in his cottage attic. 

Fast forward to August 2023, when thanks to a Canada Council Research and Creation grant, I traveled to England to research a children's book about WWII. One day, local photographer and historian Rich McDonough drove me to the countryside to visit someone who "wanted to meet me." 

We arrived at a beautiful 12th century Cotswolds cottage, and an incredible surprise was waiting: two older people who knew my grandfather! And more, they had Murray's magic lantern and slides in their living room!

The biggest surprise of all? Their exact words to me: "We've been the custodians of your grandfather's treasures for over 50 years Philippa, but they really belong to you."

Did I cry? Oh, I tried so hard no to! I was overwhelmed, frankly.  My grandfather's magic lantern? Two boxes of his slides? I gathered myself, and promised the two kind older people that I would find a place in Chipping Sodbury to house Murray's treasures. And soon. 

Image: Author with Murray Dowding's @1910 magic lantern and slides, a gift from two wonderful custodians after waiting 50+ years for someone from the family to claim them! Photo courtesy Rich McDonough.

I should note here that my grandfather took thousands of images, many of which are safe in local archives and private collections in the UK. The images in these two boxes have been digitized and made public. I  should also note, that my grandfather and his family lived at 62 Broad Street, right across from Town Hall, for three generations. The box I'm holding in the image has Murray's handwriting on it, his address, and the name of the slides within: William Tyndale.

So now, I had to find the magic lantern and slides a home. As you can see, the lantern on its display box is quite large! Who would take it and keep it safe?

With some guidance from new friends in UK, I approached Chipping Sodbury Town Hall. After some back and forth with me in Toronto, the council agreed there was historical and cultural value in Murray's treasures, a local who lived and photographed the area for over 50 years from @1890 - 1945. Image: Murray's photo of Stonehenge, @1905

Much of the town's history is recorded in my grandfather's photographic legacy, and his magic lantern slide talks were part of the social history of the time. My father, Marcus, often spoke of how, as a young boy, he moved the slides across the front of the projector lens while his father, Murray, gave his talk. An expert in local history, the Roman camps, 16th Century Martyr William Tyndale and much more, Murray's magic lantern talks were held in halls and centres across Gloucestershire. Today, many of Murray Dowding's photos hang in Town Hall and in local pubs and businesses. 

And now, as of June 2024, his magic lantern and a few boxes of his many thousands of slides are waiting in Town Hall for the next generation to enjoy. Thank you to everyone who helped make this happen, and thank you to Chipping Sodbury Town Hall for seeing value in ancient technology and images, and in my grandfather's contribution to local culture and historical legacy. By all accounts he was a modest man, but I like to think Murray might be a little glad to see his work curated and protected for all time.

Image: Murray Dowding, Ridley, Gladys, and my father, Marcus, the little guy at right, @1930.

More about Murray Dowding on this blog

More about research for The War Lantern, my children's book set in England in 1941  

 

The moment of truth for a new manuscript ...

Author with her manuscript. 

"The main challenge of researching and writing this book was learning to cope with the daily, relentless exposure to the horror of war ... " 

- P Dowding, Final Grant Report Excerpt, May, 2024

Yesterday, I printed out the manuscript for my next book for the first time. It's a WWII story for middle-grade readers.

This is a big step and part of the process for me, but it's scary. 

My writing process is always to take a story as FAR as I can on screen, then when I've got a real first draft with a beginning, middle, and end, I print it out. It's also a tipping point when I feel like I JUST can't look at this book on the screen anymore, because I can no longer see it, connect to it, love it.

It's a moment of truth to hold a printed manuscript for the first time.

So many questions...

Does this neural capture of symbols work? Do the symbols I assembled on the page in this particular order add up to something that is moving, interesting, reflective of my first impulse to assemble them? Will this particular assembling mean something to me, to others, and is it an assemblage that I can be invested in for all time?

Is this symbol assembly (all 230,866 of them) ANY GOOD?

This manuscript is a war story for middle-grade readers set in WWII, and based on my father's experience as a 15-year-old on a particular day in 1941. There's a new genre of auto-fiction for me here, plus a deeply personal family story. The story also explores a fictional German's experience, which is frankly terrifying. I learned a lot more than I expected about Nazi Germany and how it manipulated children. 

Author at the Gloucestershire Archives,
Gloucester UK, September 2023

A massive amount of research has gone into this manuscript, including a trip to England last fall to visit various archives and bomb sites. 

Thank you to the Canada Council for the Arts for their generous Research and Creation grant which allowed me to write this book. I'm planning upcoming posts about the experience of writing a Canada Council for the Arts grant proposal: what to do if you get the grant (take it!); doing the research; writing the final report. For me, it's been a truly fascinating and rewarding 18-month cycle from grant proposal to the photo above, me holding the printed manuscript for the first time. 

Per Ardua Ad Astra, Bomber Memorial, UK, 2023

Obviously, there's still much to do. Massage story, fact-check every historical item with my notes. Here's a tip: do not trust your memory of the researched facts to be accurate. It almost never is, which is astonishing. I have two university degrees (one is an MA), I've researched dozens of papers, but this is completely different. Further steps also include creating a "backmatter" section with links and addenda. I need to get the manuscript to my editor soon-ish, for his first read. Time presses on!

I'll leave you with my final sentences for the CCA report. The question was, "explain your main achievements and challenges in writing this book." The achievements were easy, the challenges not. 

A partial excerpt of my answer to the last part: 

"The main challenge of researching and writing this book was learning to cope with the daily, relentless exposure to the horror of war. What seemed like a story worth telling, became a constant battle to not look away. I had to learn to limit my exposure, to find ways to mitigate what I was discovering ... "

That's the truth of it, friends. Writing historical war fiction for kids is a constant battle to not look away. But it seems like a more important challenge than ever. Let us not look away from war, let's look at war together and remind the next generation, as gently as we can, that they can choose alternatives. I truly hope that this is what the manuscript I hold in my hands suggests, that was my intention. Stay tuned!

I have another book about war for kids, OCULUM ECHO (2022). It's a dystopian cli-fi, with war and pandemic, the sequel to OCULUM (2018), which was nominated for several reader's choice awards. Read a 5-star review here.

All blog posts about this new book and the Research and Creation Grant.

FYI, I haven't settled on a final title for the book yet! Stay tuned on that too.

A little more about Murray, Marcus, and Philippa Dowding in the Yate and Sodbury Voice ...

 

 

"Septimus Murrells Dowding (aka Murray Dowding, 1881-1966) was one of the most renowned figures in the modern history of Chipping Sodbury ... he was a notable civic figure and local historian ... Dowding was also a colourful character, eccentric, and well-read ..."

Really lovely to see my grandfather Murray Dowding, my father Marcus Dowding, and me (yes, Philippa Dowding), all connected in this article by David Hardill, in the Yate and Sodbury Voice. Thank you, David!

Here is the full article: Yate's Dowding Connection, October 4, 2023, by David Hardill

I recently returned from a fascinating research trip to England, in which I was visiting archives to read about WWII and the day my father survived the main bombing of Parnall's Aircraft Factory, in Yate. He was 15 years old on February 27, 1941, and although he survived the bombing, 53 of his coworkers and friends did not. I've always known about this story, but I've never researched it before, and I have to say that the experience was incredibly moving.

At the Gloucester Archive:
Holding one of
Murray's postcards.

There are so many ways to sidle up to our histories, yet sitting in an archive and reading or listening to first-hand accounts of your intimate family past ... no one can really prepare you for the impact that makes upon you. How it changes you. How past and present come face to face in a sudden jolt. It's a fascinating experience.

Thank you to the Canada Council Research and Creation Grant, for sending me on this fascinating journey. I'm still processing it, but I will be adding more and more information here in the weeks and months to come. This research will culminate in a young adult/late middle grade novel, more to come on that!

At right: "The open mouth of this hideous face was used as a peep-hole from the Lady's gallery into the banqueting hall at Little-Sodbury Manor House, Glos. A rare specimen. Dates from about 1500. Copyright, M.D."

More posts about Murray Dowding here.

Update: The War Lantern will be published October, 2026.

Research, roots, and Saxon ramparts

 

Author and road named for her grandfather, 
Murray Dowding, near Old Sodbury, Gloucestershire.
Photo credit: Rich McDonough

After taking hundreds of photos on my recent research trip to England, this one kind of captures a lot of how the trip went. 

It was fantastic. I met family (some I'd never met before) and friends old and new, discovered histories, heard narratives, and drew close to my roots here, in Chipping Sodbury, part of the beautiful Cotswolds. 

At left, I am standing beside the street named for my grandfather, Murray Dowding, who was a talented photographer and who took thousands of photos of his part of England from the 1890s-1930s. His photographic record is in archives all throughout Gloucestershire, and part of my trip was to see as many as I could.

The other part of my trip was to research a book based on my father's experience as a boy, bombed during a work shift at the local Yate aircraft parts factory (Parnalls), in 1941. 

Read more about THE WAR LANTERN here.

Difficult reading, hard material to work with, I drew close to the war and my father in a way I never have. The book-writing commences now.

I discovered so much about my father's life in wartime England, in archives and on-site videos, and through listening to the Yate Oral History Project (headphones image). Thank you to David Hardill for all his help there.

This part of the research trip was generously supported by a Canada Council Research and Creation grant, and I am and will be forever thankful for the opportunity to travel to England (where I was born) to do research on a book about my father's wartime experience. Stay tuned, it will be finished next spring, more to come as I work with all this material.

More to come too, as I slowly process and digest this amazing trip. Trip of a lifetime friends, truly.