Winston S. Churchill Archives - Page 44 of 64

Clement Attlee’s Noble Tribute to Winston Churchill

21 January 2018

My colleague Richard Cohen commends a eulogy to Churchill by the great Labour Party leader Clement Attlee. It occurred in the House of Lords on 25 January 1965, the day after Sir Winston died. It is notable for its fine words. Moreover, it shows how their relationship as colleagues eclipsed that of political opponents. At a time of greatly strained relations between the parties, on both sides of the pond, this is a thoughtful reminder that things could be different.

Attlee was the first prime minister of a socialist government with an outright majority (1945-51).…

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Darkest Hour: Queries and Comments with “Total Film” Magazine

6 January 2018

Jane Crowther, editor-in-chief of Britain’s Total Film magazine, had pertinent questions about the new film Darkest Hour. They were forwarded by Lady Gilbert from the website of official biographer Sir Martin Gilbert. Alas he is gone, but Sir Martin’s inspiration continues to guide everyone, as he said, “who labours in the Churchill vineyard.”

Q: Did Winston Churchill ever use public transport while PM, particularly the tube?

Not to my knowledge. His daughter Lady Soames told me he only used the Underground once, and became so lost that he had to be rescued.…

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“I don’t want [my views] disturbed by any bloody Indian”: Was it Churchill?

5 January 2018

“I am quite satisfied with my views of India. I don’t want them disturbed by any bloody Indian.” Thus Winston Churchill said (or is alleged to have said) to Lord Halifax née Lord Irwin née Edward Wood, in 1929.

“Bludgeon of choice”

A historian friend says the Indian Bengal Famine (1943) “is on its way to surpassing the Dardanelles (1915) as the bludgeon of choice for Churchill’s detractors.” He was commenting on the latest outburst of Bengal Famine nonsense—contested by a thoughtful Indian, as well as myself: scroll to comments.

“Bloody Indian” tracks to Ben Pimlott, editor, The Second World War Diary of Hugh Dalton 1940-45 (Jonathan Cape 1986), 126.…

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“Darkest Hour,” the movie: an interview with The Australian

28 December 2017

For The Australian …

Troy Bramston of The Australian newspaper had pertinent questions about the new movie Darkest Hour, starring Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill. With the thought that Troy’s queries might be of interest, I append the text of the interview.

The Australian : Of all the things Winston Churchill is purported to have said and done, the myths and misconceptions, which are the most prevalent and frustrating for scholars? None of these appear in the film, but there are three things that rankle: 1) The lies—that he was anxious to use poison gas; that he firebombed Dresden in revenge for Coventry; that he exacerbated the Bengal famine, etc.…

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Hyde Park Gate: Churchill’s London Home, 1945-1965

21 December 2017

Question: “Churchill owned both 27 and 28 Hyde Park Gate. Which one did he live in?” Answer: both.

1945-51

The Churchills purchased 28 Hyde Park Gate in September 1945. The fine attached brick house stands in a quiet cul-de-sac, close to Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. They acquired the abutting number 27 in March 1946. According to Stefan Buczacki’s excellent book, Churchill and Chartwell, the garden wall between the two residences was knocked out to provide a single garden. Number 27 was initially acquired for needed office space, though Clementine Churchill thought it an extravagance.…

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Brendan Bracken: “Winston’s Faithful Chela”

12 December 2017

“Stanley Baldwin, showing an unexpected familiarity with Indian phrases, described Brendan Bracken as ‘Winston’s faithful chela,‘ wrote the biographer Charles Lysaght. “This is what gave Bracken his place in history, a minor but still an important one.”

The Hillsdale College Churchill Project has published two articles on Brendan Bracken, Churchill’s loyal ally and friend for four decades. The first begins with a memoir by the late Ron Robbins, a Canadian journalist who early on covered the House of Commons, where he met Bracken. The postscript is by me, followed by reviews of the two Bracken books by George Gale and A.J.P.…

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Intrepid — The Maple Leaf with 1941’s Red Ensign. (Artwork by Charlotte Thibault)

December 7th, 1941: Canada First to Declare War

7 December 2017

At War on the 7th Apropos December 7th, my friend Randy Barber (Ontario) writes: “Recently, I purchased seven copies of a World War II Canadian Army newspaper called Khaki. I have a think to tell you about the 7th, from reading papers and the letters to the editor from 1944: In a question to the editor about which country first declared war on Japan after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the answer was, not the United States or Great Britain (which declared war on December 8th). It was Canada, which declared war on December 7th. Thus endeth your history lesson for today.…

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Mr. Stern, Mr. Trump, Churchill Quotes and Misquotes

28 November 2017

November 27th— Writing in the Daily Beast, Mr. Marlow Stern praises Kristin Scott Thomas (“Clementine Churchill” in the new movie Darkest Hour) and announces: “Donald Trump is No Winston Churchill.” (Past doubt, but who is?)

Mr. Stern himself offers only one Churchill quote and gets it right: “A free press is the unsleeping guardian of every other right that free men prize; it is the most dangerous foe of tyranny.” (Colliers, 28 December 1935.)

Bingo! That’s an obscure one. Forgive him for vastly exaggerating Churchill’s alcohol intake. (WSC’s “six whisky sodas” were described by his private secretary as “scotch-flavored mouthwash.”…

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Hitler essays — Churchill’s perceptive article about Hitler in The Strand Magazine, November 1935. (Ronald I. Cohen collection)

Nashville (5). The Myth that Churchill Admired Hitler

4 November 2017

Part 5 of Winston Churchill, Myth and Reality examines multiplying fables between the two World Wars. Churchill was an alcoholic, we are often assured. He flip-flopped over Bolshevism. All Jews were communists, he said. He despised Gandhi. A closet fascist, he supported Mussolini. But one tall tale perhaps eclipses all the others. It is the idea that Churchill admired Hitler. Remarks to the Churchill Society of Tennessee, Nashville, 14 October 2017. Continued from Part 4…

Judging Hitler

It is important to understand just how right Churchill was about Hitler. In May 1935 the Führer wrote a revealing letter to the British newspaper magnate Esmond Harmsworth, Lord Rothermere, one of his promoters.…

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Nashville (4). Churchill as Warmonger in World War I

28 October 2017

“Winston…has got on all his war-paint” (Asquith)

In 1914, the Great War arrives, and fables about Churchill multiply. A popular one, kept alive by pundits and historians, alike, is that Churchill led the warmonger party into World War I. Remarks to the Churchill Society of Tennessee, Nashville, 14 October 2017. Continued from Part 3...

Patrick J. Buchanan is an affable tory who wrote speeches for Nixon and ran quixotic campaigns for President of the U.S. three times in 1992-2000. (I voted for him once!) He’s an effective contrarian, and his debating skills are renowned.…

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