I published in 2010 an account of Churchill’s youthful (circa 1910-12) fling with Eugenics, a pseudo-science popular at the turn of the century. Eugenics favored sterilizing or confining the “feeble-minded” to “maintain the race.”
This drew an irate letter from a reader who said he will never think the same of Churchill, knowing that he could have supported such horrendous ideas:
No truly educated intelligent person, even in those early years, can have bought into Eugenics. Churchill’s was not just a fling of youth or immaturity but the decided opinion of a nearly middle-aged man. His support of Eugenics could only lead to the extremities practiced to by the Nazis.…
John Ivison in Canada’s National Post makes the point: “Donald Trump is no Winston Churchill, and the comparison is ludicrous.” He refers to a June 3rd statement by the President’s press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany. (She compared Trump’s appearance at St. John’s Episcopal Church across from the White House to Churchill visiting the blitzed East End in 1940.)
I think from a purely historical point of view we can all agree with him. In 1940, Churchill wrote, “There was a white glow, over-powering, sublime, which ran through our Island from end to end.”…
Tonypandy, Wales is in the news again with fuzzy purveyors of history. On 13 February the Guardian headlined, “Winston Churchill was a villain, says John McDonnell.” (Mr. Donnell is Labour’s shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer in the House of Commons.)
“Villain — Tonypandy”Mr. McDonnell’s swipe at Churchill was brief. Asked if he saw Churchill as a hero or villain, he replied: “Villain—Tonypandy.” The Guardian completed the drive-by assassination, not only by headlining the remark, but with an inaccurate rehash of the Tonypandy riots in 1910.
Sir Winston’s grandson, Sir Nicholas Soames, focused on McDonnell, calling him a “Poundland Lenin.”…
The distinguished historian Paul Addison sends along a minor but amusing tale of a Churchill motor car (probably his new Napier). Churchill didn’t get his way, because he himself wasn’t behind the wheel. Had he been driving, he would likely have proceeded to get round the obstruction by driving on the pavement (sidewalk). This perilous endeavor was witnessed firsthand later on by WSC’s bodyguard, Detective-Inspector Walter Thompson.
Turned Back: The Home Secretary and his MotorDaily Herald, 10 April 1911— Mr. Winston Churchill had a curious experience on Saturday while motoring to Banstead.…
Llanelli and the Railway Strike: concluded from Part 1…
Throughout the August 1911 railway strike, troops stood by. Their orders were to interfere only against threats to public security. But there was another reason why anxiety ran high at that time. A few weeks earlier, the Germans had sent a gunboat to Agadir, French Morocco. Rumors of war with Germany were rampant. David Lloyd George said the Agadir Crisis was a threat to peace. The Germans, he warned, “would not hesitate to use the [strike] paralysis,,,to attack Britain.” Paul Addison, in Churchill on the Home Front, described the public mood.…
I have read that Churchill told his private secretary, Jock Colville, in November 1951 that his new government’s priorities were ‘houses, red meat and not getting scuppered.’ But I can’t find this in Colville’s Fringes of Power. Any thoughts?
Wonderful quote, quite appropriate in an election season, wish it were in my book. The date was March 1952 not November 1951.
It is quoted as you state it by Paul Addison in his outstanding book Churchill on the Home Front (London: Cape, 1992) 412, footnoted to Fringes of Power “diary for 22-23 March 1952.” But Prof.…
Please send me some book recommendations on Churchill’s life for young readers. By young, I mean a boy of seven years old. My nephew asked me about the book I was reading (Churchill: The Unexpected Hero by Paul Addison), and after I told him a little bit about it, he wanted to know more. I’d appreciate any recommendations. —R.M., Mass.
Paul Addison’s Unexpected Hero is probably the best “brief life” in print. If your nephew is into that at seven, he has great promise, and you should buy him a membership in The Churchill Centre. The student rate is $25, which represents a 50% discount.…
