July 2016 - Richard M. Langworth

motorist — A roadside picnic next to his 1938 Austin 10. (Wikimedia Commons)

Cars & Churchill: Blood, Sweat & Gears (2) Daimlers…

31 July 2016 Comments 2 Comments

Having written about cars and Winston Churchill for fifty years, I finally produced a piece on them both. From exotica like Daimler, Napier and Rolls-Royce to more prosaic makes like Austin, Humber and Wolseley, the story was three decades in coming. I am satisfied that it is now complete.

Part 2, continued from Part 1: Excerpt only. For footnotes, all illustrations and a roster of Churchill’s cars, see The Automobile, (UK), August 2016. A pdf of the article is available upon request: click here.

Wolseley to Austin

In the early 1930s Churchill switched from Wolseley to Austin cars: small fours and big sixes.…

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Cars & Churchill: Blood, Sweat & Gears (1) Mors the Pity

23 July 2016 Comments 15 Comments

“You fool!” the policeman shouted. Then he “swore most richly for some seconds.” Churchill’s head hung. “He did have the civic sense to say he was sorry,” Thompson continued. “...the matchless voice of the man identified him at once to the constable.” ‘Sorry, Mr. Churchill,’ the policeman apologised. "Then the majesty of the constable’s office and the disgusting guilt of the violator brought forth, in gentle sarcasm, a caution that withered Churchill and kept him silent clear to the Channel. ‘Do try to stay in the road, sir.’”

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Celwyn Ball, British First Army 1940-46

14 July 2016 Comments 0 Comments

Celwyn 1922-2016

In 1992, I told Celwyn of my Latvian forebears and wish to visit the Baltic. He said he knew the area well, volunteered to join me, and made arrangements for a tour. Generously he showed me places I never expected to see. I remember our strolling Bralu Kapi, Latvia’s Arlington, where heroes lie. There I heard Celwyn musing, from his own experience, about what they must have gone through. A veteran had told us of digging ditches in the flat country, against oncoming Russian tanks, in 1945 as the Red Army rolled west. They were Shermans sent through Lend-Lease, their white stars recently repainted red.…

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Churchill @ Vancouver, 26 July 2015

4 July 2016 Comments 0 Comments

Vancouver

The Churchill Society of British Columbia presents “An Evening with Churchill,” Tuesday 26 July 2016.

Location: Bar Three, The Vancouver Club, 915 Hastings Street West, Vancouver, B.C.

Time: Wine & cheese starts at 5:00 pm, Program from 5:50 – 7:00 pm.

Cost: $25 each for a member of the Society. $35 each for a non-member. $40 for a member accompanied by a spouse, partner or family member. (Includes one ticket per attendee for a glass of wine or beer, or two soft drinks. Additional drinks can be purchased from the bar.)

Dress: Business attire.

Please inform Administrator April Accola of your attendance by email or register online at our website.…

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