In what has become a tradition for me, I present one of my favorite radio plays, The Shepherd written by Frederick Forsyth and read by Alan Maitland on CBC radio.
Frederick Forsyth wrote the Shepherd in 1972 as a gift for his wife Carrie after she requested a ghost story be written for her. The entire story was written on Christmas Day 1974, and published near that time a year later.
CBC radio produced this version of the story for Christmas eve 1979. It has been rebroadcast every year since.
In what has become a Christmas tradition for this Editor, Military Veterans and Patriots presents Alan Maitland’s reading of the 1975 novella by Fredrick Forsyth. First heard on CBC (Canadian Broadcasting System) radio on Christmas Eve 1979, the reading has been replayed every year since on CBC radio 1.
The Shepherd relates the story of a De Havilland Vampire pilot, going home on Christmas Eve 1957, whose aircraft suffers a complete electrical failure en route from RAF Celle in northern Germany to RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk. Lost in fog over the North Sea and low on fuel, he encounters a De Havilland Mosquito fighter-bomber, which has apparently been sent up to “shepherd” (i.e. guide) him in.