August 14, 2013

Finest Hour 125, Winter 2004-05

Page 46

NOTABLE CHURCHILLIANS: ALFRED JAMES

CHURCHILL CENTRE AUSTRALIA

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Winston Churchill has been a strong presence in the James household for over seventy years, says Alfred James, a member of The Churchill Centre Australia.

“As a school-boy in the 1930s my father, Francis James (1918-1992), avidly read Churchill’s warnings against Germany as syndicated in The Sydney Morning Herald. He had a great interest in the shifting balance of power in Europe in the 19th century and had no doubt that war was inevitable. In 1937 he joined the Royal Australian Air Force and as soon as war was declared he travelled by cargo boat to England, where he joined the Royal Air Force.”

During the Battle of Britain (8 August to 5 October 1940) Francis James was in the air 150 hours. He spent the next eighteen months mostly on patrols along the Dutch coast and over Northern France, until his Spitfire (AB819) was shot down over St. Omer on 25 April 1942. He baled out with his parachute in flames, was captured by the Germans, and was interned at Stalag Luft III at Sagan in Lower Silesia. After eighteen months he was repatriated to England, where he was seconded to the Air Transport Auxiliary for the rest of the war.

Francis James’s admiration for Churchill never wavered. He had often seen him speaking in the Commons and elsewhere but they never met. He knew Anthony Eden and several times stayed with him and his wife Clarissa, later Lady Avon (Churchill’s niece), in Wiltshire in the 1970s. By contrast, he had a contempt for Robert Menzies, the Australian Prime Minister, whom he regarded as an appeaser and a poseur.

Francis married in London in 1945 and Alfred was born there the following year. In 1947 the Jameses spent six months at Beynacet-Cazenac in France in a house owned by Charles Lindemann, arranged through his brother, Lord Cherwell, whom Francis knew. “My father then went up to Oxford University on an ex-serviceman’s scholarship to read Politics, Philosophy & Economics,” Alfred continues. “In 1949 the family returned to Australia where my father established a church newspaper, The Anglican, which afforded him the opportunity to give his views on world affairs in leading articles.” His obituary of Churchill was reproduced in the 100th issue of Finest Hour.

Francis James was well known in Australia because of his strong opinions. In 1969 he visited China and wrote a series of articles for The Sunday Times in London. The Chinese did not like them and on a return visit in November 1969 he was arrested and imprisoned for thirty-eight months.

He built a collection of over 25,000 books, mostly on the history and politics of Europe. He had many Churchill titles. “As a youth,” says Alfred, I read The Second World War and A History of the English-Speaking Peoples from cover to cover. He bought the official biography as it came out but was slow to acquire the companion volumes. Like many he could not find the Companions to volume V. On a visit to Britain in 1991, he had the fortune “to find them at 5pm one day at the book-town, Hay-on-Wye. They had been received that very day from Edgbaston Girls’ High School. They cost me £25 each!” Today each of the volume V companions sells for upwards of £700.

On his father’s death Alfred inherited his Churchill collection and has now added considerably to it so that he has over 1000 titles. He has also published several compilations, including Churchill’s letters to The Times newspaper, and volumes containing references from the official annual indexes to Churchill in Hansard, The Times and The New York Times.

Alfred was educated at Geelong Grammar School in Victoria and at Sydney University. He taught Classics in high schools for a number of years before becoming an administrator at Sydney University. For some years he has been manager of the research office at the University. He has been a councillor of the Royal Australian Historical Society since 1992 and has been involved in the administration of the game of cricket (on which he has written fifteen books) for forty years. In 1998 he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (O.A.M.).

A regular correspondent, Alfred is always the source of good advice on matters both Churchillian and Australian. He is hopeful that our growth in Australia will eventually lead to an active affiliate there, and has introduced the Centre to Prime Minister Howard.

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