About Us - A Family Affair

Powered by the desire to know and be more.

Anne, a registered and practising Occupational Therapist, helps add that special creative spark to our events and products, providing advice, alternatives, visual displays and direction when needed.

Fizz is currently reading Education. When not pouring her all into her chosen vocation, Fizz remains on standby for ideas, photographic support and a valuable extra pair of hands.

After reading History of Art, Ben joined the Royal Air Force, which taught him several important lessons, including how to read a map. Whilst the map reading skills failed to stick, determination and humour, combined with post-service experiences and learning, helped Ben gain the confidence to strike out in the creative industries and establish the McClelland & Chase Communications Bureau.

Ben remains involved in the military and veteran community as a writer, wounded-in-service veteran and supporter of the reserve and cadet organisations' excellent work at a local level in the East Midlands.

Coco Maru Underpaw, is our in-house Wellbeing Coordinator. Coco is McClelland & Chase Communications Bureau's latest recruit, charged with ensuring happiness remains 14/10, Scooby Snax are well stocked, and all cheese tax is promptly paid. To learn more about adopting your own in-house Wellbeing Coordinator, Boop the Snoot!

Experience and Belonging

Take your work, not yourself, seriously.

Over the past 25 years, Ben has gained much experience, building a formidable portfolio of work. Yet, in every task, he strives to find the little details, the unknowns, and the uniqueness to help my research and work stand out.

Supporting his determination to maintain the highest level of professionalism, as well as being a Freeman of the City of London and a Freeman of the Company of Communicators Ben is also a member of the following organizations;

Member of the British Guild of Agricultural Journalists

Member of the National Union of Journalists

Member of the Society of Authors

Member of the Royal Air Force Historical Society

Member of the Society for Army Historical Research

Affiliate member of the Royal Aeronautical Society

Honorary Member of the Pen and Sword Club (Defence Communications Practitioners)

He is also an Accredited Amazon Author.

A visual portfolio of some of 105 of the 200-odd projects Ben has undertaken as an individual artist or under the banner of McClelland & Chase Communications Bureau can be seen at The Dots.

Specialist Subjects

Find what you love doing, and never work another day in your life.

From the vernacular architecture of the British Isles to the latest innovations in aviation, it’s fair to say that Ben has a wide range of historical interests. He’s worked alongside a host of academics and professionals who has guided him to where he’s at now with infinite patience and kindness.
Initially working as a social researcher, Ben has produced numerous articles and books covering the following subjects;

Agriculture and Horticulture; areas of interest include social and technical developments over the past 150 years, including environmental changes and challenges.

Military Studies; areas of interest include conflict in the MENA region, British Yeomanry and Cavalry Regiments, aviation and soft-skinned military vehicles.

Civil Aviation; here, interests are focused on the development of aviation since the signing of the 1919 Paris Convention, including aeronautical technical design and innovation, corporate identity and social impact.

Art and Design; Ben’s BA dissertation focused on the work of Joseph Wright of Derby. He’s continued to enjoy studying art, including mid-twentieth-century graphic design and illustration, photography, and Victorian and Edwardian civic architecture.

There will always be new or expanded areas to study; that’s the joy of history, and Ben’s sure his appetite to continue learning more will lead him down undiscovered rabbit holes.

Pen & Sword Books Listings

Because sharing knowledge is a privilege

Ben has written over 250 articles on art, military, aviation, social and rural themes. He started writing during his service with the Royal Air Force and has since completed the prestigious British Guild of Agricultural Journalists John Deere Agricultural Journalism Training Award, finishing as an Honour Roll Student.

Ben has been extremely fortunate to have several titles commissioned and published by Pen & Sword Books, focusing on military history and aviation, which are available internationally. All titles feature the work of Contract Partners who have shared their expertise as Master Modellers and writers to help deliver books that enthral as much as they inform.

Titles currently available, with more to be published shortly, are:

Land Craft 5: M113, Pen & Sword Books, 2021, ISBN: 9781526789778
Land Craft 6: Humvee, Pen & Sword Books, 2021, ISBN: 9781526789815
Land Craft 7: Land Rover, Pen & Sword Books, 2021, ISBN: 9781526789730
Land Craft 10: Landing Craft & Amphibians, Pen & Sword Books, 2022, ISBN: 9781399092135
Battle Craft 1: The Battles of El Alamein, Pen & Sword Books, 2022, ISBN: 9781399007627
Battle Craft 2: Operation Market Garden, Pen & Sword Books, 2022, ISBN: 9781399007665
Battle Craft 3: Battle of the Bulge, Pen & Sword Books, 2022, ISBN: 9781399007702
Battle Craft 4: Stalingrad, Pen & Sword Books, 2022, ISBN: 9781399007740
Flight Craft 27: The Boeing B-17, Pen & Sword Books, 2023, ISBN: 9781399086462
Flight Craft 29: The Boeing B-29, Pen & Sword Books, 2023, ISBN: 9781399040648
100 Years of Civil Aviation; A History from the 1919 Paris Convention to Retiring the Jumbo Jet, Pen & Sword Books, 2023, ISBN: 9781399065962

All of these, and works by other fine authors, can be found here.