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As It Happens

'Fireside' Al Maitland reads Frederick Forsyth's The Shepherd

The year is 1957. An RAF pilot is heading home from Germany for Christmas. Fog sets in, and all radio communication is lost.

This annual reading of Forsyth's haunting short story is an As It Happens Christmas Eve tradition

CBC Radio ·
A black and white image of a small airplane flying through mist.
An RAF Mosquito, circa 1943. (Getty Images)
As It Happens31:34"Fireside Al" Maitland reads Frederick Forsyth's "The Shepherd"

The year is 1957. An RAF pilot is heading home from Germany for Christmas. Fog sets in and all radio communication is lost.

As we have nearly every Christmas Eve since 1979, As it Happens presents a classic reading of  Frederick Forsyth's The Shepherd by our late host "Fireside" Al Maitland. 

To hear The Shepherd, tune in to CBC Radio 1 on Friday, Dec. 24 at 6:30 p.m.  (7 p.m. in Newfoundland) stream it live on the CBC Listen page or the CBC Listen app, or listen in the player at the top of this story.

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