Churchill quotations Archives | Richard M. Langworth

Churchill on War (1)

6 February 2015 Comments 0 Comments

Part 1: What He Said, 1900-1932

From the time he was a young Member of Parliament, already possessed of experience in war on three continents, Churchill spoke of the frightfulness of modern war and strove, according to his lights, sometimes with questionable tactics and unconventional proposals, to avoid it. His reputation as a warrior tends to obscure his efforts for peace, of which he sometimes despaired, especially toward the end of his life. Herewith (Parts 1&2) Churchill’s own words on war and peace from Churchill by Himself; and (Part 3) why I believe he regretted, in his final years, that despite all, peace still did not prevail in the world.…

Churchillian (or Yogi Berra) Drift: How Quotations are Invented

31 January 2013 Comments 4 Comments

Above: Drifting into Trinidad, March 1961. Churchill, 87, at the Governor’s residence, Port of Spain, during a cruise aboard the Onassis yacht Christina. Lower right: Dr. Eric Williams, who in August 1962 became the first prime minister of independent Trinidad and Tobago.

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Churchillian Drift is just the ticket. I have been looking for a term to describe the numerous potted, inaccurate Churchill quotes. “A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth puts its trousers on.” That is big right now on Twitter. “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”…

Quotations Winston Churchill Never Said: A Few Additions

19 June 2009 Comments 17 Comments

A website named “IL Conservative” posted in June 2009 eight Churchill “quotations,” six of which he never said. These quotations are all over the Internet, none of them attributed to WSC. They just seem to multiply and get passed on, like the common cold. They are all examples of “Churchillian Drift” (or “Yogi Berra Drift,” if you are a baseball fan): neat little sayings attached to somebody famous to make them sound more interesting.

The purpose of my “Red Herrings” appendix of eighty incorrect quotations in Churchill by Himself is to counteract the raft of misinformation conveyed, largely through the web, but it’s like the Dutch boy sticking his finger in the dyke.…