EDITION 1146
9 NOVEMBER 2026

Good morning.

On this day in 1920, preparations were underway for one of Britain’s most poignant ceremonies. Four unidentified servicemen had been recovered from the battlefields of France, their bodies brought together so that one could be chosen to represent the nation’s missing.

Brigadier General Louis Wyatt selected one, knowing nothing of his identity. Two days later, on Armistice Day, the Unknown Warrior was buried in Westminster Abbey, in the presence of King George V.

But what became of the other three?

They were reburied in France, although conflicting accounts leave their final resting places uncertain. Four men. Four lives sacrificed. Four families left without answers. One was buried among kings. Three returned to obscurity.

All were equally deserving of remembrance. Only chance determined which one came home.

As ever, 10 THINGS you didn’t know last week.

William Montgomery
Editor

1. HOW TO LEAD WITH COURAGE AND COMPASSION. Remembrance Day is an opportunity not only to honour those who made the ultimate sacrifice, but also to reflect on what military service can teach us about leadership. During my 30 years in the Royal Navy, from the lower deck to the wardroom, I learned that leadership is not about rank, authority or personal ambition. It is about responsibility, integrity and the people who depend upon you. Here are five lessons that are just as relevant in the boardroom as they are on the battlefield. READ MORE

2. REMEMBRANCE, PRIDE AND THE NEXT GENERATION. Yesterday, I attended the Remembrance Sunday parade at Stowe School as the guest of a student serving in its Combined Cadet Force. Watching him take part, I couldn't have been prouder of him. Our guest speaker was Commodore Adrian Nance, a fellow former shipmate of HMS Ark Royal, although we served at different times: I as a navigator, he as a Commanding Officer. The most moving moment came as the names of some of the 270 Old Stoics who lost their lives during the Second World War were read aloud. Behind every name was a young life, a grieving family and a future never realised. Standing among today’s young cadets was a powerful reminder that remembrance is not simply about honouring the past. It is about passing its lessons to the next generation. Your action: This Remembrance Week, share the story of someone who served with a younger person. Help ensure their sacrifice is remembered, not merely commemorated.

3. WE ARE ONLY NINE MEALS FROM ANARCHY. There is an unsettling theory that civilisation is just nine meals away from anarchy. Three days without food, and social order could begin to collapse. First expressed in 1896, the warning reflects our dependence on supermarkets and continuous deliveries rather than substantial stockpiles. Interrupt those deliveries through fuel shortages, cyberattacks or infrastructure failures, and shelves could empty rapidly. The 2000 fuel protests exposed this vulnerability. A September 2026 National Audit Office report raised further concerns about Britain’s preparedness for catastrophic food-supply disruption. Nine meals is not a scientifically established countdown to chaos, but a powerful reminder of how fragile modern supply chains can be. Why leaders should care: Efficiency without resilience creates vulnerability. The systems we depend upon most are often those whose failure we least anticipate. Your action: Identify three critical dependencies in your organisation. How long could you function without them, and when did you last test your contingency plans?

4. SEVEN MONTHS BENEATH THE WAVES. HMS Vengeance, one of Britain’s four nuclear-armed submarines, is expected to return to Faslane after at least 208 days at sea, setting a new Royal Navy patrol record. Her 140 crew have spent almost seven months submerged, isolated from family and friends, receiving just one heavily restricted personal message each week. Since 1969, Britain has maintained a continuous nuclear deterrent at sea. But increasingly lengthy patrols also expose the pressures facing an ageing submarine fleet awaiting replacement. I originally joined the Royal Navy intending to become a submariner but was declared medically unfit because I couldn’t equalise the pressure in my left ear. Instead, I was sent to Bletchley Park. Every cloud…!Why leaders should care: Extraordinary dedication can conceal overstretched resources. When exceptional effort becomes routine, resilience is already being tested. Your action: Identify those whose extraordinary efforts keep your organisation running. Thank them, then ask whether the demands you're placing on them are sustainable.

5. DO CURVEBALL INTERVIEW QUESTIONS WORK? Imagine attending a job interview and being asked how many tennis balls would fit inside a Boeing 747. Or what the probability is of drawing two aces consecutively from a pack of cards. Both featured in reports about unusual questions posed to candidates for Goldman Sachs internships. Supporters argue such questions reveal creativity, problem-solving skills and an ability to think under pressure. Critics suggest they create unnecessary stress and tell us little about someone’s suitability for the job. Why leaders should care: Recruitment should identify genuine ability, not simply reward confident interview performances. Your action: Please vote in our latest poll and tell us whether unusual interview questions have a place in recruitment. VOTE HERE

6. BRITAIN SPENDS £1.27 FOR EVERY £1 COLLECTED. New research from the Adam Smith Institute reveals that England spends £1.25 on welfare for every £1 collected in income tax and employee National Insurance. In Wales, the figure reaches £1.88, while London spends just 78p. Across England and Wales, the average is £1.27. Only one in four constituencies contributes more through these taxes than it receives in welfare. Almost half the spending covers state pensions. The figures exclude other tax revenues but raise important questions about financial sustainability. Why leaders should care: Compassion and financial responsibility must coexist. Commitments without sustainable funding eventually threaten both. Your action: Examine the long-term affordability of your commitments. Are you creating obligations that future generations will struggle to honour?

7. LATE BLOOMERS WIN. We’re rather fond of the prodigy myth. The child genius. The early bloomer. The idea that if you haven’t “made it” by 25, the ship has sailed. Nonsense. A major study of 34,000 exceptional performers - from Nobel laureates to Olympic champions - found that most were not child prodigies at all. What mattered more was breadth early on, patience, and the freedom to explore before specialising. Progress was often slow, uneven and delightfully non-linear. Leadership works the same way. The best leaders I’ve known didn’t sprint up a single ladder; they zig-zagged. Lower deck to wardroom, in my case. Experience before entitlement. Curiosity over certainty. So if you’re still finding your stride, take heart. Depth comes with time. Perspective comes with range. And mastery, it turns out, often rewards those who arrive later - but wiser.

8. NINE ENGLISH CLUBS ARE PLAYING IN EUROPE. A remarkable nine Premier League clubs - 45% of the division - are competing in European football this season, equalling the record set last year. Five are in the Champions League (Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Aston Villa and Liverpool), three in the Europa League (Bournemouth, Sunderland and Crystal Palace), and Brighton in the Conference League. England earned an additional Champions League place through its clubs’ European performances, while Crystal Palace qualified by winning last season’s Conference League despite finishing 15th domestically. Perhaps the most extraordinary story is Sunderland, who spent four seasons in League One before returning to the Premier League in 2025. They finished seventh in their first season back and are now playing European football for the first time in 53 years. Bournemouth, meanwhile, are making their European debut. Your action: Look beyond the established favourites. Who in your organisation has the potential to exceed expectations if given an opportunity?

9. BEAVERS ARE BACK AFTER 500 YEARS. For the first time in 500 years, beavers are back in the waters around Loch Ness. On 4 November, a family of six was released at Dundreggan in the Scottish Highlands, having been relocated from elsewhere in Scotland. Hunted to extinction centuries ago, these remarkable natural engineers create wetlands, improve biodiversity and help reduce flooding. The Ness Beaver Project aims to reintroduce at least 15 families over the next three years. A wonderful example of what determined conservation efforts can achieve. And unlike Nessie, we have photographic evidence these creatures actually exist! Why leaders should care: Restoration is possible, even after centuries of absence, when vision meets persistence. Your action: Identify something worth restoring rather than replacing. Sometimes progress means bringing back what worked.

10. THE BOTTOM LINE. Cocaine has overtaken heroin and morphine as the individual drug most frequently implicated in drug-related deaths in England and Wales, according to new ONS figures. There were 1,233 deaths involving cocaine registered in 2025, compared with 1,210 involving heroin or morphine. Cocaine-related deaths have increased more than eightfold since 2010.