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Datelines - FH 114
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QUOTATION OF THE SEASON "think of the long, wearying months in which we have been tramping fruitlessly on the blood-stained treadmill in Palestine, because ministers could not make up their minds either to act or to go...Solutions that were possible two years ago have been swept away." --WSC, Albert Hall, 21 April 1948 Off to a Flying Start LONDON, JANUARY 6TH -Winston Churchill comfortably beat William Shakespeare (second) and Lord Nelson (third) in a BBC poll of the greatest Briton of all time. While figures such as John Lennon made it into the top ten, Churchill, Shakespeare and Nelson saw off a challenge led by a contingent of world-renowned scientists. Programmes about the top ten will be broadcast by BBC radio this year. The presence of two war heroes in the top three partly reflects the timing, according to the BBC. The September 11th terrorist attacks were uppermost in public consciousness. [Notice how quick the BBC is to imply that, of course, war heroes wouldn't rate so high in a "normal" situation... --Ed.] Well before the survey closed on December 31st Churchill was so far ahead that he could not be beaten. Despite Churchill's undisputed greatness, however, his latest biographer, Lord Jenkins, is uncertain that he deserves the title of greatest-ever Briton: "When I was writing my Gladstone biography, I summarised that he had the edge on Churchill," said Jenkins, a former home secretary and chancellor. But when I did Churchill I put him slightly ahead of Gladstone. I suppose I tend to think whoever I'm writing about at the time is best." Jenkins said he would have plumped for Shakespeare at the top. -Condensed from an article by Richard Brooks Statue-itis LONDON, MARCH 28TH - Not only is there controversy over the brooding Ivor Roberts-Jones statue of Churchill in Parliament Square, particularly since it became a target for celebrants of freedom of expression (FH 107:5). From the beginning, former Minister of Public Buildings Charles Pannell detested the Nemon statue of Churchill at the entrance to the House of Commons. In documents recently made public, Pannell said that Churchill was too large, towering over Lloyd George and making them look like "man and boy." Others said the size was in proportion to their significance. The rule that a politician must be dead for ten years before a statue in Parliament was waived for the Churchill bronze- which today has a highly polished shoe. MPs entering the Commons like to touch it for luck, which maintains the shine. Churchill himself didn't think much of statues. Asked if he wanted one to commemorate his efforts after World War II, he said he would prefer a park in the blitzed East End for children to play in. Hundreds of statues later we're still waiting for the park. Ignoratio Elenchi (2) FINEST HOUR 113, P.7 - The example we cited of "Ignoratio Elenchi" (obfuscating the real issue with a side issue) was directed at David Irving's book, Churchill's War, and not at Andrew Roberts, who reviewed the book in FH 112. We regret any confusion. Easton: Nyet on Companions, Essays NORWALK, CONN., JANUARY 11TH - We did everything but get down on our knees and sing "Mammy"- even offered to help finance - a six-volume version of the three ultra-rare Companion Volumes to Vol. 5 of the Official Biography, which contain all the significant documents compiled by official biographer Sir Martin Gilbert for Churchill's life from 1922 to the outbreak of war in 1939. We also asked Easton to consider reprinting the now-scarce Collected Essays of Sir Winston Churchill, published only in a 1975 limited edition - the only collection of Churchill's periodical articles ever published in volume form. But Easton's executive vice-president and trade books manager, Michael Hendricks, sent a disappointing reply: "As you know, the audience for leather-bound books is a limited one due to the high prices. While the works you suggest are clearly worthy of leather bound treatment, at this point we cannot project sufficient sales to our general audience to warrant going forward with them." We will keep knocking on doors until these two jobs get done. If any benefactor would like to sponsor, with a tax-deductible donation (or as a recoupable investment) either or both these two admirable projects, we are looking at costs in the range of $20,000 for either the Companions or the Essays. Please contact the editor. Freeman to "Journals" FULLERTON, CALIF., JANUARY 11TH - Following the untimely death of Chris Hanger, Finest Hour is pleased to announce that David Freeman of California State University, Fullerton, will continue Chris's popular column of article abstracts, "Inside the Journals." The first installment is in this issue, a major abstract of Prof. Larry Witherell's "Lord Salisbury's Watching Committee and the Fall of Neville Chamberlain, May 1940," English Historical Review, November 2001. Chris left us with a small backlog, which will appear in due course under his own byline. Stamps on the Web The "WSC stamps" list has been up for about six months now and is off to a good start. The group has fifteen members from the United States, Canada, Sweden, and Denmark. If you're even slightly interested in Churchill philately, visit their homepage. Most recently added is a database link to the page, which lists all new Churchill stamps issues since 1998 (forty-one entries): http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WSCstamps. Archives on the Web CAMBRIDGE, NOVEMBER - The Churchill Archives Centre has made a pilot version of the electronic catalogue of the Churchill Papers is now available online at: http://www.chu.cam.ac.uk/churchill_papers/ The Churchill Papers, comprising original documents sent, received or composed by Winston S. Churchill during the course of his long and active life, contain everything from his childhood letters and school reports to his final writings. They include his personal correspondence with friends and family, and his official exchanges with kings, presidents, politicians and military leaders. Some of the most memorable phrases of the twentieth century are preserved in his drafts and speaking notes for the famous war speeches. The Churchill Papers, purchased for the nation in 1995 with Heritage Lottery funds and a grant from the John Paul Getty Foundation, include an estimated one million documents. Unable to locate Churchill's 1956 correspondence with Eisenhower (see review of Eisenhower and Churchill this issue), we queried Churchill Archivist Natalie Adams about whether it was possible actually to read documents on the web. "The catalogue is a finding aid to the files which are held," she explained, "so it is not possible to access images of the documents online. The catalogue's main function is to enable researchers to plan their research far better than they were able to previously, and to gauge the amount of relevant material." Thus the website is not a complete resource in itself, but an important and vital tool which will save researchers many hours when they actually set out on their research. Some direct access is possible, Ms. Adams continues: "Visitors to our site, http://www.chu.cam.ac.uk/archives/ can access some images of actual documents by viewing online educational resources, the "Churchill Era" (http://www.chu.-cam.ac.uk/churchill_era) and "Churchill: the Evidence" (http://www.churchill.-nls.ac.uk/), or by visiting the website's image gallery area (http://www.chu.-cam.ac.uk/archives/gallery/). Most of the Churchill papers have been described at file level so the catalogue descriptions cover a whole file of papers (the precise extent of the file is indicated in the 'physical' field at the bottom of the descriptive record). This is the case, for example, for all the references retrieved by a search for Eisenhower between 1955 and 1956. "The catalogue does, however, contain descriptions of about 64,600 individual documents in key classes where research interest is likely to be extremely high. These sections of the catalogue are rich in detail. A search for 'Eisenhower' (without a date range of 1955-1956) retrieves many references to individual documents (mostly contained in Churchill's wartime Prime Ministerial material, references beginning 'CHAR 20'). "One of these entries is a description of Eisenhower's report as Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force to the Combined Chiefs of Staff on the operations in Europe of the Allied Expeditionary Force, 8 June 1944 to 8 May 1945‹a key document for Second Word War historians (reference CHAR 20/244/2). "The cataloguers have taken account of documents which have been published by Martin Gilbert in the Official Biography and its Companion Volume or speeches which were published by Rhodes James in Winston S. Churchill: His Complete Speeches," Ms. Adams continues, "so the catalogue can also be used as 'way-in' to published documents. For example, references in CHAR 9 and CHUR 5 (Churchill's speech notes) include references to the relevant pages of Rhodes James." Rafal Heydel-Mankoo of Ottawa, Ontario is one satisfied member who has used the new website: "Researching Churchill's dealings with the Polish Government-in-Exile, I was able to find eighty documents dealing with, or mentioning, Stanislaw Mikolajczyk in less than thirty seconds. Each document is accompanied by a descriptive paragraph and a citation/reference. "This is a very encouraging start and will undoubtedly be of profound assistance to researchers outside England. The search engine is user friendly and, most importantly, fast. Too often pilot projects utilizing search mechanisms are slow and awkward. This does not appear to be the case for the Churchill Papers catalogue." On a parallel project, the Churchill Papers are being microfilmed and published by the Gale Group, Inc. (For detailed information visit their website http://www.galegroup.com/ and search for "Churchill.") Gale's first unit is shortly to be published on microfilm and should mean that the papers become a great deal more accessible to those who are not able to consult the originals at the Archives Centre. The cataloguing of the Churchill Papers has been going on now for over six years. The catalogue now contains over 70,000 entries and the pilot Internet version allows you to search for catalogue descriptions using "free text," "keyword" and "date range" fields. Searching methods will be improved and refined over the forthcoming months but the Centre is interested in Comments and suggestions. Comments are most welcome to: Churchill Archives Centre, Churchill College, Cambridge CB3 0DS, England, email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , telephone (01223) 336222, fax (01223) 336135. Strategic Hotel Capital's Churchill Ad Grows to a Series CHICAGO, DECEMBER 31ST - Strategic Hotel Capital has expanded its Churchill advertisement (see back cover, FH 112) into a series, the second and third of which, produced by Daly Gray, a Herndon, Virginia-based communications firm, are shown herewith. The first ad ("An optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty"), the first commercial advertisement ever to appear in Finest Hour, was published not for commercial reasons but for its artistry and relevance. Finest Hour contributed the quote and attribution to the third ad. "We created the first ad to provide encouragement to the hotel industry, which was in the midst of the effects of an economic slowdown," said SHC chief executive officer Laurence Geller. "Like much of what Sir Winston voiced, however, the enduring quotation lent itself equally well to the aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attacks." Geller noted that following the recent horrific events, Churchill's words frequently served as the greatest source of inspiration for an array of political figures. The response to the ad from the hotel industry was overwhelmingly positive, which led Strategic Hotel Capital to expand the series. "We intend periodically to invoke the sage words of Sir Winston in advertising to provide additional encouragement and inspiration for the industry," adds Geller, an avid reader of history, student of the life of Churchill, a Mary Soames Associate and a Trustee of The Churchill Center. Headquartered in Chicago, Strategic Hotel Capital currently owns twenty seven luxury and upscale hotels and resorts in North America and Europe. The company acquires and asset-manages properties with 200-plus rooms in markets with unique, hard-to-duplicate locations and high barriers to additional competition. SHC's portfolio includes the Essex House in New York City; the Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel in Dana Point, California; the Four Seasons Mexico City; the Hyatt Regency Embarcadero and Park Hyatt in San Francisco; the Hyatt Regencies in New Orleans and on Capital Hill, Washington; the Marriott Hamburg, Germany; the Hotel Inter-Continental Praha in Prague, Czech Republic; and the Marriott Champs Elysées in Paris. SHC (www.shci.com) is a privately held limited liability company whose major stakeholders include the Whitehall funds and Prudential Insurance Co. of America. New Paintings Catalogue: An Appeal for Help LYME REGIS, DORSET, MARCH 10TH - I am working with David Coombs, compiler of the 1967 catalogue, Churchill: His Paintings, on a new updated edition. The original was mainly in black and white; the intent for the new edition is to achieve all reproductions in colour. This will be the definitive catalogue of Sir Winston's over 500 canvases and we are trying to trace them all and obtain colour transparencies for reproduction. We have now traced over 450 paintings, discovering some that were not in the original catalogue, which is very exciting. We are presently trying to trace those paintings that have disappeared. If you own one of Sir Winston's paintings, or know of the whereabouts of any - even though you might feel that we know about it‹please contact us. We will treat all information, ownership and location in the strictest of confidence. For publication purposes, paintings can be, if requested, credited as, for example, "in a Canadian collection" or similar wording. --Minnie S. Churchill, Churchill Heritage Ltd., Ware House, Lyme Regis, Dorset DT7 3RH, England, ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ). David Coombs writes: "You might be interested in hearing about some of the things I have found. At Chartwell, I discovered a large and uncatalogued cache of black and white photographs relating to Churchill's painting. These include a number of him working at his easel (both before and after WW2) as well a larger number of photographs which he used for making paintings down the years. The latter were especially interesting. I have made a selection from both categories which I hope we will be able to include in the new catalogue. "A number of lost paintings have turned up: one for example is that auctioned at Balmoral Castle in 1927 for King George V and Queen Mary. The son of the original purchaser now owns it. Only recent extensive correspondence with an American owner has revealed another painting by Churchill: one that nothing was known of before. This was a gift in 1928 to the artist who painted the picture that hangs over Churchill's bed at Chartwell: a view of his mother's dining room." Peregrine Spencer Churchill VERNHAM DEAN, HAMPSHIRE, MARCH 19 - Henry Winston Peregrine Spencer Churchill, who died today after a short illness aged 88, was a nephew of Sir Winston Churchill and a trustee of the Churchill Archives, containing the personal papers of Sir Winston, his brother Jack, and members of their family. Peregrine, as he was always known (along with the nickname "Prebbin"), was born 25 May 1913, the second son of John Strange Spencer-Churchill (1880 1947) and the former Lady Gwendeline Bertie ("Goonie"), fourth daughter of the Seventh Earl of Abingdon. Although six years Winston's junior, Jack was devoted to his brother and their wives, Clemmie and Goonie, became close confidantes. In the First World War the two families shared Jack and Goonie's house in Kensington. Peregrine, with his elder brother Johnny and sister Clarissa, grew up in close proximity to Sir Winston's offspring and were frequent visitors to both Lullenden and Chartwell. Johnny was born in 1909, and Clarissa, who married Anthony Eden, followed in 1920. Peregrine was educated at Harrow and Cambridge and, in 1954, married Patricia Ethel Louise of Chesham, Buckinghamshire. She died in 1956, and his second marriage, in 1957, was to Yvonne Henriette Marie of Rennes, France. There were no children from either marriage. In 1993, Peregrine Churchill was instrumental in arranging the agreement between the Churchill heirs and the Government over the acquisition of the Churchill Papers by the nation. Whilst attending the funeral of his elder brother in 1992, Peregrine, a civil engineer, was shocked at the condition of the family graves in Bladon, Oxfordshire, not only those of Sir Winston and Lady Churchill but of his parents, and his grandparents, Lord and Lady Randolph Churchill. He proposed to use some of the profits from the sale of the archives for the £250,000 restoration work at the famous country churchyard. He made good his promise, and lived to see a service of rededication after completion of the work. Peregrine took a powerful interest in the work of The Churchill Center and Societies, and was instrumental to researchers, notably assisting Dr. John Mather's medical research, which proved among other things that Lord Randolph Churchill did not die of syphilis (FH 93). Finest Hour editor Richard Langworth has fond memories of his visits to Peregrine and Yvonne Churchill, who were devoted to each other and to their forebears: "I well remember Peregrine showing me the rows of Lady Randolph's diaries, teaching me to look beyond the rumors and misstatements for the real truth - that Winston's parents took far more interest in him than anyone believed, and that Winston did much better in school than he preferred to let on. I still routinely quote Peregrine's words: 'Winston was a very naughty boy and his parents were deeply concerned about him.' "Peregrine had a burning loyalty to the truth, which he often saw as overwhelmed by innuendo and bad research. He was instrumental in moving the Southampton project and lived to see its first fruits. He was a great man, self-made and self-reliant. Devoted to history, he saw Sir Winston in a balanced way, virtues and faults together. And he banked his treasure, as his uncle wrote of F. E. Smith, in the hearts of his friends." Peregrine Spencer Churchill was privately cremated, and a Memorial Service is planned for a later date. He is survived by his sister Clarissa, Countess of Avon, and by an extended family of nephews and nieces. --Michael Rhodes LOCAL AND NATIONAL NEWS Dallas OCTOBER 21ST‹Members of The Churchill Center and their guests gathered at the home of Richard and Anne Hazlett for a stimulating program by Chris Hanger. The program was especially poignant in the wake of Chris's untimely death a few months later (FH 113:8). The program opened with a videotaped message of welcome from our Patron, Lady Soames, and a videotape of the launching in Maine of the USS Winston S. Churchill, and her subsequent commissioning in Norfolk, Virginia. The videos were augmented with verbal commentary by Chris, who also read an e-mail just received that afternoon from the ship's Commander, Captain Franken. Winston S. Churchill was at the time south of Ireland, her goodwill visits to ports in the UK having been canceled following the September 11th attacks (see "We Stand By You," FH 112:10). The program was followed by a reception with wine and hors d'oeuvres. NOVEMBER 30TH, The 127th anniversary of Churchill's birth was celebrated tonight with a formal dinner in the McKinney Room at the Cooper Aerobics Center. A social hour preceded the dinner and various pieces of Churchill memorabilia were on display. The British Consul, the Hon. Paul Martinez and his wife graced the occasion. The speaker was Lt. Col. Jim Brown, who shared some of the wit and wisdom of Sir Winston Churchill. This was followed by a toast given by Nathan Hughes, who fascinated us by discussing the precise location of Sir Winston on each decade of his birthday. About thirty members and guests attended. Both functions were arranged by our faithful North Texas directors, Paula and John Restrepo. New Chartwell, N.C. HIGH POINT, NORTH CAROLINA, NOVEMBER 15TH - One of our loyal members is doing his part to spread the word. Steve Arnold's Arcon, Inc. has recently completed a small residential project known as "New Chartwell." Steve has named its three streets Blenheim Court, Chartwell Drive and Number Ten Way: "I have yet to find someone who immediately recognizes the significance of all three names. I am quite certain I won't have to tell you." Toronto FEBRUARY 28TH - Toronto's venerable Albany Club again served well for "An Evening with Winston Churchill," the popular lecture series staged by The Other Club of Ontario. The speaker was John Plumpton, President of the Churchill Center and past-President of ICS Canada, who remarked eloquently on the continuing relevance of Churchill in today's world, especially in the context of September 11th. He also made a moving plea for educational institutions to return to the study of traditional history and not let future generations grow up ignorant of our own story. Mr. Plumpton concluded with a brief explanation of the mission of the Churchill Center and Societies, and informed us of various initiatives in planning for the future. During the second half of the evening Garth Webb, a Juno Beach veteran, and Don Cooper introduced members of the Other Club and their guests to the fascinating Juno Beach Centre project. The Juno Beach Centre will open on the site of the Canadian D-Day landing in Normandy, and will serve as a permanent memorial to this great Canadian contribution to world freedom. The project will cost several million dollars, part of which is to be financed by the sale of "donor and memorial" bricks which will form part of the museum. Following the address, ICS Canada President Randy Barber announced that a titanium donor brick had been purchased by ICS-Canada, which will be on display in perpetuity. A very pleasant evening ended with light refreshment and a chance to examine several more artifacts from Randy's bottomless chest of Churchilliana. Thanks go to Norman MacLeod, President of the Other Club of Ontario, and his team for putting the successful event together. Congratulations are also due to Norm's wife Jean, who is to be invested as a member of the Order of Canada for her services to volunteerism: an award of great distinction presented to a most deserving lady. Our next "Evening with Winston Churchill" will occur in the autumn. --Rafal Heydel-Mankoo Errata, FINEST HOUR 112 More than the usual number of clangers got by us last issue, for which we are mortified, and offer apologies. -Ed. € Page 12: Churchill visited the United States fifteen times, not fourteen as we stated. We omitted a key visit: June 1942 when, visiting Roosevelt, he first heard of the loss of Tobruk. Thanks for this to Dr. R. I. MacFarlane. Nobody else saw this? € Page 14, righthand column: Eric Bingham reminds us that Sedbergh School, famed for its association with Brendan Bracken, is in "Cumbria," not Lancashire. We maintain, and believe Bracken would agree, that Sedbergh is in the traditional county of Westmoreland, not some political contrivance like "Cumbria." € Page 17, righthand column: Penelope Dudley Ward was, of course, mistress to the Prince of Wales, later Edward VIII; not the Prince of Wales, later Edward VII. Thanks for this to Paul Courtenay. € Page 31: Curt Zoller informs us that Orange County Churchillians, which sponsored an ad for the San Diego Conference, was omitted from the list of sponsors and supporters. € Page 36: Stupidly, the editor omitted HMS Cossack in describing Churchill's speech to the crews of HMS Exeter and Ajax on 23 February 1940 (top of middle column). Of course it was Cossack, not the other ships, which, off Norway, liberated British seamen aboard the German prison ship Altmark. Thanks for this to Robert J. Brown. PAGE 5: ARRRGH! So help us, it was there! The third column of "Despatch Box" was exactly where we put it, on the lefthand side of page 5, when we last saw the proofs. The final magazine showed up with the first column of letters (from page 4) reprinted in its place! We know what happened, and it will never happen again because we are changing file transfer methods. Here are the missing letters which were omitted from page 5: Vanishing National Anthems (FH 111) Enjoyed your National Anthems article and so will my Canadian cousins, who know only two verses of "O Canada." Surely no one living ever heard of "Rodger Young" and no one (possibly not even yourself because you are too young) knows all the words - except for yours truly! GERALD LECHTER, FORT LEE, N.J. For the record, Gerald... O they've got no time for glory in the infantry, And they've got no use for praises loudly sung, But in every soldier's heart in all the infantry, Shines the name, shines the name of Rodger Young. chorus: Shines the name...Rodger Young, Fought and died for the men he marched among. Yes in every soldier's heart in all the infantry, Lives the story of Private Rodger Young. Caught in ambush lay a company of riflemen, Hand grenades against machine guns in the gloom, Fought in ambush till this one of twenty riflemen, Volunteered, voluneered to me his doom. It was he who drew the fire of the enemy, That a company of men might live to fight, And before the deadly fire of the infantry, Stood the man, stood the man we hail tonight. chorus: Stood the man....etc. On the island of New Georgia in the Solomons Stands a simple wooden cross alone to tell That beneath the silent coral of the Solmons, Sleeps a man, sleeps a man remembered well. chorus: Sleeps a man....etc. --Not bad from the eighth grade! Ed. Holland's "Wilhemus" Preceded "God Save the King" Though I count myself a loyal subject of the Queen and carry British and Canadian passports, Linda Colley (FH 111:31) is wrong: "God Save the King/Queen" was preceded by more than a century by the Dutch "Wilhemus" song. The "Wilhemus" was adopted in the 1580s as the Dutch fought their way out of the Spanish Hapsburg empire. Probably written by Philip Marnix (1540-98), it became a little more familiar in England after the Dutch Statholder, William III, arrived in England in 1688 and was crowned King the next year. William reigned until 1702 and fought with Churchill's ancestor, John Duke of Marlborough, since the War of Spanish Succession, in which the Duke won his glory, was just beginning. JOHN F. BOSHER, OTTAWA, ONT. Unadulterated Praise I bumped into Hugh Segal ("Churchill as a Moderate," Churchill Proceedings 1996-1997) today and he pulled me aside to tell me how much he enjoys FH. From the articles to the recipes, he thinks it's a bang-up job. He was reading it on a plane and a seatmate asked about it and he told him it was a secret and he wouldn't tell him how to get one! Of course, I shot him on the spot! I told Hugh I would share his plaudits, so consider it done. RANDY BARBER, PRESIDENT, ICS CANADA The immoderates still claim, in the wake of Hugh's speech, that WSC was always immoderate, like them. --Ed. |