the great winston - Winston Churchill

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Quarterly Journal of the International Churchill Society
THE GREAT WINSTON"
SOME "EXTRA" TURNS
AUTUMN 1985 • NUMBER 49
Quarterly Journal of the International Churchill Society
FEATURES
Mr. Churchill: A Portrait From 1901
Did They Really Kill a Boer at Witbank?
by John Hulme in The Temple Magazine, January 1901
By the Way
A Column of Miscellanea
by James Bell
About Books: Trial by Jewry?
The New Randolph Churchill Study
The Power of Eloquence
by H. Ashley Redburn & Richard M. Langworth
Bibliomania and the Literary Churchill
A Look at Collectors and Their Libraries
by Wallace H. Johnson
Stamp News
Checklist Addenda & Philatelic Auction
by Sidney Altneu & W. Glen Browne
Churchill on Stamps: Part 7
South Africa to Parliament
by the Editor
Established 1968
N. 49
Autumn 1985
THE INTERNATIONAL CHURCHILL SOCIETY
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A non-profit association of scholars, historians, philatelists, collectors
and bibliophiles, the Society was founded in 1968 to promote interest
in and knowledge of the life and thought of Sir Winston Churchill, and
to preserve his memory. ICS is certified as a tax-free charity under
Section 501(c) (3) of the US Internal Revenue Code, is Affiliate #49
of the American Philatelic Society, and is a study unit of the American
Topical Association. Finest Hour subscriptions are included in a membership fee of $15 US, $20 Canadian, £13 Sterling, $22 Australian, or
$19 US elsewhere. Member applications and changes of address welcomed at any of the offices listed below. Editorial correspondence: PO
Box 385, Contoocook, NH 03229 USA. Permission to mail at non-profit rates granted by the U. S. Postal Service. Produced free of charge by
Dragonwyck Publishing Inc. Copyright © 1985.
HONORARY MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY
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DEPARTMENTS
Immortal Words/3 Despatch Box/3 International Datelines/4 About
Books/10 Churchill Collectors Handbook/center Stamp News/18
Classified/19 Reviewing Churchill/22 ICS Stores/23 Action This
Day/24
Note: Woods Corner will resume next issue with foreign " A " titles.
COVER
A whimsical cartoon by H.H. Harris, from Everyweek, the 28
February 1918 number. Winston Churchill was then Minister of
Munitions, having been "taken back" by Lloyd George in 1917 after
a hiatus following his departure as First Lord of the Admiralty in May
1915 and military service in France. His fetish for hats was already
well known(see also "By the Way.")
The Duke of Marlborough, DL, JP
The Marquess of Bath
The Rt Hon The Earl of Stockton, OM
The Rt Hon The Lord Soames, GCMG, GCVO, CH, CBE
The Lady Soames, DBE
Sir John Colville, CB, CVO
Governor W. Averell Harriman
The Hon Caspar W. Weinberger
The Hon. Winston S. Churchill, MP
Anthony Montague Browne, CBE, DFC
Martin Gilbert, MA
In Memoriam:
The Earl Mountbatten of Burma, 1900-1979
The Baroness Clementine Spencer-Churchill of Chartwell, 1885-1977
Randolph S.Churchill, 1911-1968
Dalton Newfield, 1918-1982
Oscar Nemon, 1906-1985
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Australia: Peter M. Jenkins
Canada: Arthur Cload, Ronald I. Cohen, Ronald W. Downey,
John Plumpton, George E. Temple
New Zealand: R. Barry Collins
United Kingdom: Peter Coombs, Geoffrey J. Wheeler
United States: W. Glen Browne, Derek Brownleader, Sue M. Hefner,
Richard M. Langworth, George A. Lewis, David Marcus
Ex-Officio Directors: Wallace H. Johnson, Jon S. Richardson
FINEST HOUR
Editor: Richard M. Langworth
Post Office Box 385, Contoocook, New Hampshire 03229 USA
Senior Editor: John G. Plumpton
130 Collingsbrook Blvd, Agincourt, Ontario, Canada M1W 1M7
Bibliographic Editor (Works by Churchill): Ronald I. Cohen
5 Murray Avenue, Westmount, Quebec, Canada H3Y 2X9
Bibliographic Editor (Works about Churchill): H. Ashley Redburn
7 Auriol Drive, Bedhampton, Havant, Hants. PO9 3LR, England
Contributors:
George Richard, 7 Channel Hwy, Taroona, Tasmania, Australia 7006
Stanley E. Smith, 155 Monument St., Concord, Mass. 01742 USA
Sidney Altneu, 2851 NE 183rd St., N. Miami Beach, Fla. 33160 USA
MEMBERSHIP & BOARD OFFICES
Australia: 8 Regnans Avenue,
Endeavour Hills, Victoria 3802
Canada: 20 Burbank Drive.
Willowdale, Ontario M2K 1M8
United Kingdom: 88A Franklin Avenue,
Tadley, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG26 6EU
United States: 1847 Stonewood Drive,
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70816
Chairman of the Board: Richard M. Langworth, Putney House,
Contoocook, New Hampshire 03229 USA
Despatch
Box
I would say to the House,
as I said to all who have joined this Government:
1 have nothing to offer
but blood, toil, tears —and sweat.
We have before us an ordeal of the most grevious kind.
We have before us many, many long months
of struggle and of suffering.
You ask, what is our policy?
I can say:
It is to wage war, by sea, land and air,
with all our might
and with all the strength that Cod can give us;
to wage war against a monstrous tyranny,
never surpassed in the dark, lamentable catalogue
of human crime.
That is our policy.
You ask, what is our aim?
I can answer in one word;
It is victory.
Victory at all costs,
victory in spite of all terror,
victory however long and hard the road may be;
for without victory there is no survival.
Let that be realised;
no survival for the British Empire,
no survival for all that the British Empire had stood for,
no survival for the urge and impulse of the ages,
that mankind will move forward toward its goal.
But I take up my task with buoyancy and hope.
I feel sure that our cause will not be suffered
to fail among men.
At this time I feel entitled to claim the aid of all,
and I say,
"Come then, let us go forward together
with our united strength."
—House of Commons, 13 May 1940
I so enjoy Finest Hour. I'm certain the Great
Man feels as I do about it.
A revised version of my Irrepressible Churchill
is being reprinted in Britain by Robson Books Ltd.,
London, sometime this autumn. It will contain over
100 witticisms that did not make the 1966 edition,
including a few naughty ones (which don't seem so
naughty as they are so clever). Lady Soames, who
was staying with me, "sat up all night" reading the
book, which had never been published in England,
and she was captivated. I am still working on Churchill Clairvoyant. What guidelines it presents that
would help our leaders of today.
With admiration for Finest Hour,
—Kay Murphy Halle, Washington
The "Ladysmith" article (FH #A1) exceeds my
expectations. Thanks for your editing and design.
I'm quite proud. Your cover is excellent.
—David Druckman, Chicago
I am glad you thought well of my speech last
Spring at Fulton. Please do by all means use any extracts that appeal to you in Finest Hour.
My War Diaries, which are mainly about Churchill, are being published by Hodder & Stoughton
on 30 September and a few weeks later by W.W.
Norton in the U.S.A. They are subtitled "The
Fringes of Power/10 Downing Street Diaries/
1939-1955."
—Sir John Colville, Stockbridge, Hants.
CHURCHILL LITERARY FOUNDATION
Your proposals in issue #47 are excellent. I
would suggest adding one feature. When someone
wishes to donate a book collection to a college, etc.,
there are the risks you point out, that only a few
works may be retained and the rest sold. It might be
that the collection could be donated to the Foundation, but specified as to where it would reside. Thus
no work could be disposed of except by the Foundation, and then only per the bequest, with the funds
realized going to the Foundation and not the college. The Foundation acts as an executor/custodian,
as it were.
—Mat Fox, Chicago
A good point. Our object with a bequest department is to see that the right titles get into libraries
which need them. Unfortunately, many donors have
in the past stipulated that their entire collection of
books must remain intact. This has resulted in vast
duplication at popularly chosen institutions such as
Westminster College. It is the opposite extreme from
books being donated to a library or institution that
puts 95 percent of them into the trade. The Foundation would deal with the books individually,
avoiding both calamities. Malakand Field Force is
too scarce to allow one library to hold 20
copies. —Ed.
I am very impressed by the Literary Foundation
proposal in FH #47. As a fledgling librarian I can
confirm some of your conclusions. Libraries are
often reluctant to accept books and they never
guarantee what they will keep or discard. At the
public library where I work we receive many book
donations but keep few. They are often of poor
quality; space considerations are involved; or they
continued on page 5 . . .
i
CHURCHILLS BACK IN WESTERHAM
WESTERHAM, KENT—Winston S. Churchill, MP,
grandson of the village's once most famous resident, has purchased Squerryes Lodge, the
beautiful 17th Century manor house in Lodge
Lane. An historic building which dates back to
Norman times, the Lodge is believed to have
been built as a priory. In the 16th century it
was owned by Edward, First Earl of Hersey
when he was Lord Chamberlain.
The Churchills have been associated with
Westerham since 1922 when Sir Winston purchased Chartwell. The family moved in during
1924 and made Chartwell their home for over
40 years. The arrival in Westerham of Sir
Winston's grandson and his family will delight
the town, said Mr. Anthony Leslie of the estate
agents.
Mr. Churchill is Conservative Member for
Davyhulme, Manchester, and a writer and company director. An Honorary Member of the
Society, he addressed a dinner meeting of 1CS
in Woodstock, Oxon., on 22 September.
POSTPONEMENT
NEW HAMPSHIRE—We regret that the first of our
research papers, "Churchill and the Baltic," has
been postponed until our next issue. 1 have
found a great deal more material that must be
analyzed and collated, and have been pressed
by last-minute arrangements for the UK tour.
My apologies.
1 can confirm that this article will be followed rapidly by the second research paper, by
John Plumpton, which will be entitled, "The
Writing of Lord Randolph Churchill."—RML
ELIZABETH MAC PHAIL
SAN DIEGO, 4 JULY—Elizabeth MacPhail, 72,
prominent San Diego historian and attorney,
died suddenly today. An ICS member for many
years, Mrs. MacPhail and her husband were
looking forward to joining our visit to "Churchill's England" in September.
Elizabeth practiced law in San Diego for 30
years and wrote many books and articles on the
city's history. "She felt the Anglo history of the
city had been neglected, so in the Sixties she sat
down and began to write it," her husband
Alfred said. Her Story of New San Diego made
residents aware of San Diego founder Alonzo
Horton's role in creating what is often called
"America's Finest City." Our deepest sympathies to Alfred and the family.
FINEST HOWLERS?
ROME—Italy is buzzing over recent publication of
Dear Benito, purportedly the secret letters of
Churchill to Mussolini, assembled by one
Arrigo Petacco. The book is an Italian bestseller. The "letters" praise Mussolini even after
his defeat. Petacco has implied that after the
war, Churchill acted to nobble the release of
these damning documents, which would have
given the lie to his characterization of Musso as
"this whipped jackal."
Rubbish, says Sir John Colville: "If Winston
had written any of these letters I'd have known
about it." We agree. The forgeries aren't even
good; typing errors abound and letter dates are
inconsistent with WSC's movements.
AT THE NATIONAL GALLERY
LONDON—Visitors to the National Gallery should
take a look at the vestibule floor, which is made
up of 50 mosaic plaques featuring famous
people. WSC, wearing tin helmet and siren suit,
and is making a V-sign at a swastika-shaped
monster approaching from the sea. The plaque
is appropriately entitled, "Defiance!"
Other celebrities include Greta Garbo
("Tragedy"), T.S. Eliot ("Leisure," on a terrace
gazing at the Loch Ness monster), and Bertrand
Russell ("Lucidity," pulling Truth out of a well
and undressing her). The mosaics are by Boris
Anrep, a former law professor at St. Petersburg
University. A booklet is available.—James Bell
CELIA SANDYS MARRIES
LONDON, 24 JULY—The marriage took place today
between Major General Ken Perkins and the
Hon. Celia Sandys, granddaughter of Sir
Winston and daughter of Diana Churchill
Sandys. Celia has been active in promoting the
hopefully forthcoming WW2-based musical
"Winnie" on the London stage, together with
her sister Edwina. Celia advises that they
hope the play will open next year.
HITLER GETS BETTER OF WSC
LONDON, 4 JUNE—The Third Reich was knocked
down again, this time by an auctioneer, as a
passel of villain-effigies including Goering, Hess
and Himmler led the bidding in the now-closed
Theatre of War at the Whitehall Theatre. While
auctioneer Andrew Hilton managed only L220
for two statues of WSC, Rommel brought L360,
Goering L650 and the Fiihrer L700. One
wonders what the prices would have been had
the other side won . . . Also at the auction, London property dealer Rob Lamplough spent
L.73,000 to buy three WW2 fighters; a Spitlire, a
Mustang and a Messerschmidt. Lamplough
hopes to install these historic aircraft in a
museum in the former RAF Station at North
Weald, Essex.
MRS. T. ON MR. C
LONDON—The Prime Minister has told supporters recently that she did "not intend to put
my feet up" and that she still wanted a third
term. She rejected the view of some colleagues
that she had taken on too much during her tour
of southeast Asia. (Although she had to interrupt one speech to take a drink of water during
a record heatwave, she delivered the entire 35
minute address. She got through every engagement on the tour.)
Mrs. Thatcher was speaking in a worldwide
BBC radio phone-in programme, during which
she demonstrated that her zest for politics is
undiminished after 10 years as Conservative
leader, despite the programme presenter's
reminder that her 60th birthday occurs this
October.
She recalled that Winston Churchill, her
idol, had become PM at 66, and that there were
U.S. Presidents who had attained office when
they were older than that. "I hope to go on,"
she added. "I really think I would like to carry
our policies forward. We have changed so
many attitudes, including the trade unions and
their ballots." The next General Election, at
which the PM hopes to win a third term, is up
to 2Vi years away.—Daily Telegraph
ON FOOLS
RICHMOND, VIRGINIA—A mail order company, A.H.
Robins, carries a WSC quote we can't place:
"The greatest lesson in life is to know that even
fools are right sometimes." The editor would
appreciate attribution.
DIXON ON WINSTON
By far one of Sir Pierson Dixon's best
stories concerned Churchill's call to the home
of Lord Lovat, whom he wished to appoint
Deputy Undersecretary of State at the Foreign
Office in his caretaker government of June
1945. WSC's secretary dialed Lovat, but could
only get a stem female response: "His lordship's asleep and I daren'a wake him."
Finally the secretary played his trump card:
"Please call his lordship at once, I am passing
the telephone to the Prime Minister." It didn't
work. "Is that Lord Lovat?" said Mr. Churchill.
The voice and the reply were the same. "You
must wake him," said WSC. "This is the Prime
Minister speaking and 1 wish to make him a
minister in my new government."
Back came the reply: "His lordship's asleep
and 1 daren'a wake him, but if there is any
question of his doing his duty by the state, I can
tell you he'll say yes in the morning. I'm his old
nurse and I ken."
The confidence of an old nurse was undoubtedly more than enough to satisfy the
former charge of Elizabeth Everest.
A WEEK OF PERSPIRATION
BATH. 1945—As Chancellor of the University of
Bristol, WSC was attending a private luncheon
here when Edgar Clements, mayor of Bath,
passed him a menu card on which Mr.
Clements had written: "The citizens of Bath
who remember their great fellow citizens of
years ago—William Pitt, Earl of Chatham,
William Pitt the Second and Wolfe—greet their
great successor." At the bottom the mayor had
added, "Do you, sir, remember your first public
speech in 1897 at Claverton?"
Churchill, having read this message, turned
to Clements and said, "Do I remember that
speech, Mr. Mayor? Indeed I do! I spent a week
of perspiration over it."
On that occasion Mr. Clements was also
able to get Mr. Churchill's promise to accept the
Freedom of the City, which the Corporation of
Bath unanimously offered him. The honor was
duly bestowed in 1950. (On 20 September,
members of the Society visited the site of the
Claverton speech.)—James Bell
WRIGHTS WRONGED
SANTA BARBARA, CALIF—According to Professor
Alfred Gollin of the University of California, the
British government considered an offer by a top
Rolls-Royce executive to give the government
whatever secrets he could leam of the Wright
Brothers' aircraft designs in 1909. Opposing
what he called "industrial theft" was Winston
Churchill, President of the Board of Trade, who
suggested that the government go directly to the
Wrights themselves. Gollin, a scholar of British
aviation history, unearthed the details in
minutes of the Committee of Imperial Defense
for February 1909.
Apparently, Charles S. Rolls had made
friends with the Wrights and boasted to the
British government that he "could draw them
out." He thought he could save Britain the
money needed to buy a fleet of Wright
airplanes by learning all their secrets.
Churchill considered his proposal
amateurish, saying airplanes were too important to be left to such schemes: "We should
place ourselves in communication with Mr.
Wright himself, and avail ourselves of his
knowledge."
WSC was overruled and Rolls received an
airstrip and hangar, but soon killed himself in
an airplane crash. The government did not then
go to the Wrights, but tried and failed to build
an aircraft themselves.
Gollin's findings will be published by
William Heinemann, Ltd., London, in
September, in a book titled No Longer an Island:
Britain and the Wright Brothers.
CHURCHILL CAMPAIGNS AGAIN
TEL Aviv—Israeli member Hillel Shnaps sent us
the newspaper advert which appears here, from
the election campaign of Yigael Hurwitz last
year. Known as a hardliner, Hurwitz resigned
as Finance Minister when the previous government objected to his inflation-cutting policies.
Writes Hillel: "His famous saying was, 'We
must cut into the flesh' in order to bring inflation down. He proposed severe budget cuts
which were not accepted." (Sounds familiar.)
Hurwitz was reelected as a Member ol
Parliament in July 1984, running as an indepedent. He is now a member of the coalition.
"The name of his movement is 'Ometz,' which
means 'courage' or 'bravery,' " Hillel writes.
CHURCHILL DESK REPRODUCTION
TAPPAN. NY—The National Trust has authorized a
fine reproduction of WSC's 18th Century
writing desk in his Chartwell library, in a
limited edition of 250, to be sold in the U.S. for
$5960 delivered. Part of the cost will be a taxdeductible contribution to the Royal Oak Foundation, U.S. branch of the National Trust. The
desk was reproduced by permission of Lady
Soames, and the first of the series was
presented to the Churchill Memorial in Fulton.
We should point out that this is not the famous
"stand-up desk" on which WSC researched his
later works, but the smaller, more conventional
piece on which he kept his telephone and
many framed photographs. (The stand-up desk
at Chartwell was built as a birthday gift from his
children, to replace an earlier, roughly built example created to -WSC's specifications.
Anyone interested in further information
on the reproduction desk may write Heritage
Arts Ltd., 77 Main Street, Tappan, New York
10983 USA. In the Commonwealth, consult
local National Trust branches.
Despatch Box Continued
might not fit the collection development criteria.
[The Foundation acting as an intermediary would
prevent Churchill works being wasted in this manner. Ed.]
In my own library I am trying to build the
Churchill collection slowly, step by step, examining
which titles are most often requested. I found some
surprises. Young Winston's Wars (Woods A143)
has a very good circulation. I think its attractive
jacket plays a role. I think your idea of attractive
reissues of Churchill's works such as the Malakand
is an excellent one. And wouldn't it be grand if
someday the articles that Churchill intended for a
book on American impressions were at last
collected and published?
I think my greatest satisfaction lies in introducing new readers to Churchill. My Early Life is the
book I recommend to young readers who have never
encountered WSC but have to "do a dumb book
report." I've taken pleasure talking with older
patrons about the latest Churchill biographies. One
man told me how enthralled he was with Manchester's Last Lion. Every time he sees me he asks
when the next volume will appear.
I see it as my opportunity to enlighten some of
my fellow librarians of the information and delight
to be found in Sir Winston's life and works. It is a
noble endeavor on your and ICS' part to provide
Churchill books for libraries.
—Paul Kaplan, Chicago
Mr. CfiurcfiiiC:
A Portrait From 1901
= ••
BYJOHNHULME
Z}^ They Realty Kill a Boer at Witbcmk?
EDITOR'S NOTE
We are indebted to member Henry E. Crooks oj Wantage,
Oxfordshire, for the following article which appeared in
The Temple Magazine in 1901. Aside from a fascinating
portrait of young Winston, Mr. Crooks and 1 were surprised to
find that author Hulme laid out the whole story of WSC's
escape from the Boers, even revealing the name of Mr. Dewsnap, who
helped him escape, and the location of the colliery where he was
hidden. (In London to Ladysmith, 1900, WSC avoided these details,
saying that "a man's life" depends on his discretion.) Churchill himself did not break this silence until the publication of My Early Life in 1930.
On the other hand, it is recorded that Dewsnap's wife was given
a public greeting by Churchill in Oldham during WSC's second campaign
there in 1901. But nowhere is there any indication that Churchill's
Witbank collaborators actually killed a Boer who had learned they
were hiding him.' Nor does any other account mention that WSC collapsed
after identifying himself at the colliery.
Since none of the considerable biographies published since have
repeated Hulme's statements, readers should take this article with the
proverbial grain of salt. We nevertheless found it fascinating, and hope
readers do as well.
In July 1899, Winston Churchill unsuccessfully fought a byelection at Oldham and, a few months later, sailed for South Africa in
the capacity of war correspondent. His subsequent career needs no
recapitulation here, since it has loomed largely enough in the public
eye to be easily read by an express-train passenger. It was during Mr.
Churchill's by-election contest at Oldham that I was first afforded an
opportunity of studying him at close quarters. A friend of mine happened to be on a visit to Oldham, and we both joined in putting in a
little work on behalf of Mr. Churchill, whom my friend often saw, and
frequently conversed with; 1 also meeting him, but less frequently.
Months afterwards we compared notes. "What is your opinion of
Churchill?" I enquired.
"Began at the wrong end. Ought to have started with sweeping the
stage instead of playing leading parts," was the gruff though kindlymeant reply of my amateur-theatricals-loving companion.
To this reply 1 made no answer. Frankly, I was puzzled. For I had
read a certain novel which I was informed was written by Winston
Churchill when a mere boy of 22.
"Twenty-two years! Almost a Plato in petticoats," was my mental
remark concerning the writer, after I had finished his last chapter, for
the tale is undoubtedly interspersed with more philosophy on women
and politics than one usually associates with the experience of a
young man of two-and-twenty. It was precisely written, too, and
hence, after glancing at other work to which Mr. Churchill's name appeared, expectancy ran moderately high, whilst making my way for
the first time to hear him speak, anticipating that his discourse would,
at least, have a literary flavor, if not embellished with oratorical grace.
But it had neither; and close quarters had brought its first shock of
disappointment.
His escape from Pretoria, and letters on the British-Boer campaign
invested him with a halo of interest that again raised the expectations
of many who, like myself, were desirous of noting any improvement
that might have taken place either in the manner or matter of his
speeches. And again disappointment has followed in the wake of the
closer view.
Mr. Churchill and oratory are not neighbors, yet; nor do I think it
likely they ever will be.
Under ordinary circumstances, he uses carefully prepared notes
properly arranged according to the effect intended. His temperament is
highly nervous, which may explain his tendency to over gesticulate. A
favorite platform attitude, used whenever he has made a point, is to
place both hands on his hips, what time he beams the smile of
satisfaction. At other times, when excited, he seems to be hammering
home his words with both hands raised aloft.
But if he does not yet exhibit any striking, all round acquaintance
with political questions, it must be borne in mind that he had had no
very great opportunity for acquiring it, for he had finished his school
career and professional training when he was but four months over
the age of twenty, an age when the average professional man is only
beginning his course of study, and most of the five years and nine
months since then has been spent in savage or semi-savage lands.
One suffers another disillusion on seeing Mr. Churchill enter a
small room (say where his committee meet). The idea one forms of
him enveloped with a seven-thousand-miles-away atmosphere, and
from descriptions that from time to time have been given of him, is
that of a broad-chested, well set-up, bright eyed, brown faced young
man with a military carriage, a ringing voice, and infectious smile. But
the junior member for Oldham is rather slightly built, and his stoop
dispels our preconceived notions of his soldier-like bearing. Light untanned complexion, faintly brown hair, rather dreamy eyes that frequently droop, a cleanly cut chin, shapely hands, and a quickly
vanishing smile constitute the picture of his external appearance.
One day, whilst returning from the Terrace of the House of Commons, my friend the late Louis J. Jennings, then M.P. for Stockport,
and myself passed the present Colonial Secretary.
"What a world of care Mr. Chamberlain seems to have on his
shoulders!" said the author of "Field Paths and Green Lanes," and the
remark returns to me as I watch Mr. Churchill's movements. He seems
to be always steeped up to the eyes in business; and to manifest at
times a strange forgetfulness. One evening, he informed me, to my
surprise, that he had forgotten the names of the principal towns where
he has to lecture this winter in America.
It would hardly be correct to allude to either his wit or humor as
prominent, whilst on general subjects he is but a middling conversationist. Yet his eye brightens whenever either painting, politics, or
soldiering is mentioned, and his best expressions come out when
discussing campaigns, kit-cats, and Cabinet Ministers.
"Will you accompany me to Paris?" said the Duke of Marlborough
to him one day, not long ago.
"I will; but in that case I shall, when at the Exhibition, spend most
of my time among the pictures," was Mr. Churchill's reply.
He is certainly fond of painting, although, judging from one or two
of his remarks, I should imagine his taste inclined towards those
works that expressed, rather than suggested, detail. An admirer of
novels dealing with soldier life, he is also very accurately informed as
l.i
I". W i l l ' . \ - M s : ] II I !!••
HOME FROM THE WARS
91
to contemporary military history, and on one occasion surprised a
constituent who had been through the Franco-German war, by not
only putting him right on a disputed point regarding a certain engagement, but also by repeating the number of killed, wounded and
prisoners in every important battle in that campaign—from Worth and
Gravelotte to the downfall of Paris.
The spirit to dare and the determination to do must also be placed
to the credit side of his account, whilst on the other hand an impatience of opposition has laid him open to the charge of being lacking
in deference to the ideas of others.
But in passing the above opinions on Mr. Churchill I wish it to be
understood that I am criticising him by a high standard; a standard
however, no higher than the pedestal on which recent events have
placed him. He is the man of the psychological moment.
His lucky star is in the ascendant. To attract the notice of and
secure the electioneering assistance of Mr. Chamberlain was in itself a
fortunate achievement, but an achievement to be followed by an event
quite as remarkable.
At the close of the meeting, and a wait of an hour being necessary
before Mr. Chamberlain could start on his return journey, he determined to spend the time at the railway station. So into the saloon
compartment of the special train by which he was to travel, he went,
accompanied by Mr. Churchill, Mr. Crisp, and a friend of my own
who is an enthusiast on the question of supporting the indigent aged.
After the company had lit up, and the symbolic rings had begun to
make their appearance, one of the party said:
"Now, Mr. Chamberlain, seeing that your party is once more in
power, I hope you won't forget to deal promptly with the question of
old age pensions."
"Of course they will," remarked Mr. Churchill, looking enquiringly
at Mr. Chamberlain.
"I know of no more interesting or likely field of legislation," continued my friend the first speaker.
"It is certainly a very important one," added Mr. Churchill, "the
visits I paid to the Oldham workhouse and the sights I have witnessed
elsewhere having impressed me deeply on the matter."
The Master of Highbury turned his eyes upon both his questioners, knocked the ashes off his cigar, gazed forth into the night for a
moment, then throwing himself back into his seat, he, with a goodhumored smile, and in a half-interrogative, half-exclamatory tone, said,
"What! From South Africa to the Submerged Tenth!"
"Yes, for the welfare of the latter is of importance quite equal to
the former," rejoined my friend.
Again the same roll of the cigar between the lips of Mr. Churchill,
and again the same smile of amusement. But this time not a word of
reply. He seemed to have gone into a train of thought.
"Of course," said another member of the little party, "of course,
Mr. Chamberlain will bring in a Bill dealing with the matter?"
But the Master of Highbury would promise to do no such thing.
"Why, the British people look upon you as pledged to it!"
"I know they do," said Mr. Chamberlain, rousing himself and
becoming animated, "I know they do. And yet in no speech I have
ever uttered will it be found that I have definitely pledged myself to
any such thing."
"But how has the idea got abroad, then?"
"Well, it was just in this way: During the last time I was out of office, I began turning over in my mind this problem of providing for
the declining days of the poorer class. I had no definite scheme of my
own in view; but clung to the notion that if a number of capable intellects were brought to bear upon the question, something feasible
might be evolved.
"So I began discussing the matter with several of my friends, and,
after a while, succeeded in getting sanctioned the formation of a committee, which any member of the House of Commons who took an
interest in the subject was asked to join. Now, how many of the
Liberal Party do you think responded to the invitation?"
"I don't know."
"A solitary one!" said Mr. Chamberlain, throwing up his hands
with a gesture of amazement. "However, we went on with our work,
and no doubt you know all about our taking evidence from the
representatives of Friendly Societies, and also from others. As a result
of our labors I recommended the granting of five shillings a week by
the Government to such as had attained a certain age, and shown
themselves deserving such aid by their own endeavours. This,
however, did not, for some reason, meet with the approval of the
Friendly Societies, and now, 1 acknowledge, 1 see no way out of the
difficulty. Therefore, to say I definitely pledged myself to do anything
continued overleaf
THE MINE WHERE MR. CHURCHILL WAS HIDDEN.
in the matter is a mistake. I voluntarily grappled with the question to
the best of my ability, but definitely pledged myself to nothing."
Mr. Churchill looked puzzled but remained silent.
And now, in beginning the painting of the remaining portion of
this portrait's background, I must ask the reader to step inside Imagination's car and journey with me to a scene in South Africa. Tis a
wild looking place, exploited by the Transvaal and Delagoa Bay
Collieries Company, about three miles from Witbank, in the
neighborhood of Middleburg.
A number of rough miners are congregated around the fire of one
of the huts dotted about this bleak spot—a spot not too inviting at
best, but less so now, when the times are as tempestuous as the
elements raging without.
"Lord help any poor fellow out of doors tonight!" exclaimed one
of the miners.
Scarcely had the sound of the assent, chorused by the rest, died
away when a knock is heard at the door.
Every man springs to his feet and seeks his arms, for in that
neighborhood friends are few, foes plentiful, spies everywhere.
The knocking being repeated, the door is opened, whereupon a
man, haggard and tattered in appearance, staggers in, uttering as he
does so the question: "Are you English?" Upon receiving an affirmative answer the stranger's strength gives way, and he falls to the
ground exhausted. The application of a flask of spirits revives him,
and then in answer to their questions he states that he is a prisoner of
war escaped from Pretoria. Some of the company are, however, inclined to doubt his story; but one of them, having received satisfactory
answers to certain questions he had put, exclaimed: "It's all right,
mates. This man is what he says he is—Winston Churchill, who put
up for Oldham, this last summer. 1 know the very house where he
stayed during the election, for it is opposite my own home. Lads, we
must stand by him."
"Aye! that we will, Dan, now you've proved him to be a right
'un." So it was decided to put him down the mine until they could
make provision for getting him away on a Delagoa Bay bound train.
At Witbank a truck laden with bales of wool was noticed, and selected
as the one in which to secrete their man; the bales being arranged on
either side of a two feet space along the center. Across this space other
bales of wool are placed, a few tiny openings being left for the admission of air.
Churchill, stowed away in the mine, was in ignorance, and in ignorance subsequently remained (until a short time ago) of the tragedy
which was enacted to secure his freedom. About the third day of their
preparations, a mounted detective—a well-known Boer spy—rode up
to them and after announcing his suspicions, demanded the surrender
of the refugee.
WITBANK, TUB STATION AT-WHICH MR, CHURCHILL TOOK
RKFCGE IS A GOODS TRAIN.
"Now look here, Trichardt, we and you, although Britons and
Boer, have lived on friendly terms for some time now; and if you can
just bear that little fact in mind, and close your eyes until we have
finished this business, you needn't hesitate about naming a good sum
as the recompense for your blindness."
"I want none of your money; but I do want the man I'm after, and
I'll have him, even if I flood the whole place with soldiers, for I have a
duty to my country to perform."
"We too, have a duty to our country, and 1 to my townsman in
particular, and I tell you, Ghert, you may flood the place, but we'll not
betray our man."
I think it were better, here, to draw a veil over my narrative. What
is left to the imagination is terrible; but as one of these rugged miners
puts it: "Was one man to stand in our way? No. Many a better man
than he had died in the war." •
WINSTON CHURCHILL; LADY RANDOLPH; MR. AND MRS. WHITTAKER, THEIR HOSTS AT
OLDHAM. AT REAR LEFT IS MR. HUGHES, A FRIEND OF MR. CHURCHILL.
APOLOGY The caption on page 8, FH#48, seemed merely
jocular when written, but looks flippant and insensitive in
type next to a rather sad photo of Sir Winston c. 1964.
Also, the suit was fawn, not white. I apologise for this caption and ask the reader's indulgence.—RML
f
By the Way
BY JAMES BELL
QUOTATIONS
Sir Winston loved quotations. In My Early
Life he writes, ' 'Bartlett 's Familiar Quotations
is an admirable work, and I studied it intently.
The quotations when engraved upon the memory give you good thoughts."
I recall a quotation from the late Lady
Violet Bonham-Carter, daughter of Prime
Minister Asquith and Sir Winston's lifelong
friend. When, in 1963, she was invited to be
the first woman to give the Romane Lecture at
Oxford University, she chose as her subject
"The Impact of Personality on Politics." It
was a memorable occasion. Drawing on her
vast personal experience of political life she
ended with a denunciation of "the fallacy of
Historic Fatalism" with these words:
"In all ages great human beings have
overcome material odds by the inspiration they
have breathed into their fellow men."
Can there be any doubt that Sir Winston
was one of those she had in mind?
MUSIC
Churchill did not inherit his mother's love
of classical music.
As a girl, Jennie Jerome has been taught
piano by Stephen Heller, a friend of Chopin.
Heller told her that if she practiced seriously
enough she might someday be a concert
pianist, and in fact, later in life, she gave many
public performances. In private she and
Arthur Balfour frequently played Beethoven
and Schumann piano duets. She organized parties to visit Bayreuth for the Wagner Festival
and helped bring about the first performance
of "The Ring" in London. Afterwards, at a
party in honor of the composer's son, she
astonished guests by naming Bach and
Beethoven as her two favorites. Siegfried
smiled and said, "My father would also have
chosen them."
But Winston preferred Victorian musichall songs, for which he had a prodigious
memory, and he could recite dozens of them
without apparent effort. Two favorites were a
comic song, "Poulmy" and a heroic ballad
entitled "Who's in charge of the clattering
train?" He also liked the patter songs from the
Savoy operas, which he sang in a soft, light
voice.
During weekends at Chequers during the
Second World War he would pace up and
down to a background of Sousa marches or
Gilbert & Sullivan on the gramaphone, while
he grappled with problems, often thinking
aloud. A scratched and ancient record he frequently asked for was of Eddie Cantor singing,
"Build a Little Home" and "Keep Young and
Beautiful."
Benno Moiseiwitsch, the distinguished
pianist, on one occasion gave a recital of
classical music on the piano in the Grand Hall
at Chequers. He intrigued the PM by calling
for two oranges. Rolling them up and down
the keyboard he played a succession of popular
tunes without his fingers ever touching the
keys. And in his later years, of course, Sir
Winston enjoyed the annual "Songs" at his
old school, Harrow.
What, one wonders, might have been if
the young Winston had developed the devotion
to music which Lady Randolph shared with
her son Jack and her grandson Peregrine?
HATS
It was said of Winston Churchill that he
was possibly the only man who owned more
hats than his wife. His large and varied collection was often the cause of press comments
and, at times, rather bizarre goings-on.
Take for instance the time in November
1929 when he was returning from the United
States on the liner Berengaria. The question of
what hat he would wear at the ship's fancy
dress ball so intrigued his fellow passengers
that a sweepstake was organized. The night arrived and all waited for Mr. Churchill's appearance. In he walked, wearing a little red fez
perched saucily on the top of his head! No one
won the sweep and the money was returned.
At a student's rag-day at Bristol University, on his first visit there as Chancellor, he
was seen wearing a "pudding" hat decorated
with long green ribbons. He was promptly
placed "under arrest" by the students, who
found him ' 'guilty of acquiring a new hat and
neglecting to supply forenoon coffee and
biscuits" for the undergraduates.
On a visit to America in 1942 he wore his
famous yachting cap, which confused and
bewildered people there. It was said that the
cap showed Mr. Churchill to be a member of
Trinity House. Jim Preston, a sculptor who
had recently done a papier mache bust of
President Roosevelt, wanted to do a companion bust of the Prime Minister. But he
suspected that the cap and uniform had nothing
to do with Trinity House.
British naval officers in America weren't
certain of the cap's origin so enquiries were
made in London. It was found that the cap,
worked in gold thread, was that of the Royal
Yacht Squadron. Thus the Churchill bust, in
Hyde Park Museum, is accurate even to the
cap badge.
As former Lord Rector of two universities, Chancellor of a third, and recipient of
numerous honorary degrees, Sir Winston had
worn many academic mortar-boards and
hoods. When in 1948 he received an honorary
Doctorate of Law from Oslo University, its
students presented him with yet another: a cap
similar to that worn by themselves. Of black
material with a peak, it had a wide billowing
crown from which hung a tasselled cord. It
joined the ever growing number of his velvet,
silk and felt hats; deerstalkers; panamas; sombreros; a Stetson given him by American admirer Amon Carter; and, of course, his own
special bowler.
The latter started a new Anglo-American
controversy in January 1952, when Churchill
wore it to meet President Truman at
Washington airport. Some U.S. officials insisted it was a sawn-off stove-pipe hat or
Derby of Mr. Churchill's own design. The
British, on the other hand, maintained that it
was a Westbury—a standard, if unusual, form
of headgear once extensively worn in the U.K.
As though anticipating that Mr.
Churchill's hat would be of an unusual kind.
Mr. Truman had discarded his usual trim
Homburg in favor of a light tan broadbrimmed affair, often described as a fivegallon hat but more correctly a "plainsman's."
Hearing of Mr. Churchill's "extraordinary headgear," the managing director of
James Lock & Co., Hatters, in St. James',
London, put the record straight. He said he
had sold nearly 100 similar hats the year
before, not including a large order for the staff
of a famous London hotel. It was a version of
the bowler or coke known in the trade as the
"square-crown" or the "Cambridge." This
was related to the "Cockburn" and the
"Russell," but had a slightly domed top,
while the Cockburn was flattish and the
Russell in between. Their great period had
been 1865-1900, and they had probably been
named after members of the peerage.
According to Locke's order book Mr.
Churchill had last bought a "Cambridge" in
1919, although they were still available from
stock in 1952 at 13.5/or about $9 at the time.
But the matter didn't end there.
An elderly reader of The Daily Telegraph
recalled that as a boy he had known of this
style as a "Muller Cutdown." One Franz
Muller, a German living in London in the
1880s, had murdered a bank clerk in a train
and thrown the body out of the railway carriage around Bethnal Green. Unfortunately for
Muller, his square-topped hat with his name
inside fell on the line. He was convicted and
hanged.
Years ago hat sellers used to advertise
with the slogan, "If you want to get ahead, get
a hat." In cases like Muller's it should have
read, "If you want to keep your head, don't
lose your hat!"
The last word on this occasion went to
Mr. J. Roy dance of Scotts Ltd., another
famous hatters in St. James', who had in fact
supplied Mr. Churchill with the very hat that
caused the fuss in 1952. He maintained that his
staff never used any special name for it, and
generally referred to its as "Mr. Churchill's
hat." Posterity, he ventured to suggest, would
simply call it the "Churchill."
Colonial Secretary? "Politics is the art of the possible," and
while one can understand the single-mindedness of the author in
1985, he should recognize that Churchill could not ignore in his
time the Moslem world within and without the British Empire—particularly the Arabs, when dealing with Palestine. Long
before the ' 'Winds of Change,'' Britain had lost the will and the
wealth to maintain the Empire, and Churchill's support of Bevin
in withdrawing from Palestine after the war had more merit than
Professor Cohen is willing to concede.
Again, it is naive to contend that because it was possible to
supply aid to beleaguered Warsaw in 1944 (its cost and almost
total failure are ignored), Auschwitz could have and should
have been "relieved" by Allied bombing. War consists of a
number of choices of evil options, but bombing Auschwitz was
surely not one of them.
Professor Cohen quite properly writes with zeal on behalf
of his nation but is apt to ignore the plight of others. The Nazi
regime produced holocausts for many Gentiles, too. In exposing
failed heroes, revisionist historians should never forget the
villains who created the problems.
Still, it cannot be gainsaid that the author presents a formidable indictment of Churchill's failures to accomplish much
for the Jews. It may well be that after the assassination of Lord
Moyne, Churchill lost some of his zest for the Jewish cause. He
was always a fighter who believed battle should be with face to
the foe, and the subject deserves further study.
The author's researches have revealed the reasons for
Churchill's political impotence, but he seems reluctant to accept
or even to state these. He quotes A. J. P. Taylor: " . . . There
is nothing more striking in the story than the total failure of the
supposedly all-powerful Prime Minister to enforce his will on
numerous occasions." Yet he omits Taylor's reasons for that
statement: Churchill was not the dictator of myth. He worked
within the constraints of Parliamentary and Cabinet practice,
even over the Jewish problem. The extremes of executive power
Professor Cohen demands of Churchill were and are incompatible with Parliamentary government. Churchill could not
possibly regard the Jewish problem as paramount. What was
paramount was Victory: "Victory at all costs—Victory in spite
of all terror."
It is tendentious of the author to ask the reader to decide if
the Jews, during the holocaust and in their struggle to obtain
diplomatic recognition, should have or might have expected
more of Winston Churchill. He has, in fact, presented them
with his own answer. Dr. Cohen's verdict on the Churchill syndrome (grand delusion of achievement) warrants a second opinion: the evidence really merits more review. Of the greatest
Jew of them all it was said, ' T find no fault with this man.'' Can
Zionists not say of a great Gentile, ' 'There was some good in Sir
Winston Churchill?"
Martin Gilbert may provide a more balanced appraisal. His
1974 lecture, "Churchill and Zionism" (published London
1974) covered precisely the many points and queries raised by
Professor Cohen. It was based on material collected with a view
to publishing a comprehensive volume on Churchill and the
Jews after the Official Biography is completed. May that work
appear soon.
—H. Ashley Redburn
Trial by Jewry?
{Or, Nothing Succeeds Like Excess)
CHURCHILL AND THE JEWS, by Michael J. Cohen; London, Frank Cass and Co. Ltd., June 1985, U.S. distribution
by Biblio Distribution Centre, Totowa, NJ £22.50. Available
to ICS members from Churchillbooks, PO Box 385, Contoocook, NH 03229 USA for $22 postpaid.
IN THIS avowedly revisionist book Professor Cohen claims he did
not set out to destroy or reverse the popular image of Churchill
as patron of the Jews and Zionism, yet he has succeeded in
doing so. It is all very well to claim that "if anything the stature
of the man is enlarged by an honest confrontation of his errors
and weaknesses," but if in the end we are left with a Churchill
who resembles Shelley's Ozymandias in the desert—a colossal
wreck—we must question at least the honesty implied and how
far the inconoclasm is justified.
This reviewer found the first chapter, "Churchill the
Man," irrelevant, and questions whether this is history or a
polemic, or perhaps a trial without defense or jury. If the pun
may be forgiven, it is certainly not trial by Jewry.
A cloud of witnesses is called to show that here is Churchill
the Imperfect, the Flawed Man. Since J. H. Plumb is cited, why
not Maurice Ashley; if Alanbrooke, why not Ismay? The secondhand psychiatric diagnosis, relying on Anthony Storr, adds
nothing to the. original, except that Storr's caveat, that his conclusions were for good reasons tentative, is omitted. Like
history, psychiatry is hardly an exact science. How intriguing it
would be if every aspiring MP or Congressman had to be examined by a psychiatrist before election. One can only suppose
that legislatures would be smaller.
That the book contains very little which is new about Churchill and his dealings with the Jews and Zionism is not a
criticism; indeed, the author has done a great service in bringing
together all the issues within one book for the first time. Nevertheless, it is disappointing, because not all aspects are covered
adequately or evenly, and there is much conjecture.
In expressing admiration for the ancient Greeks and the
Jews in their similarities, Churchill said that wherever three
Jews are assembled together you find two Prime Ministers and
one Leader of the Opposition. Professor Cohen appears not to
be a political animal and so does not appreciate the ways of
politicians, whose first aim is to get votes, the least to retain
them. This can lead to apparent—or real—inconsistency in their
actions. But did not the Jews, inside and outside Palestine, like
all pressure groups, try to manipulate Churchill as MP and
10
"Poor, Dear Randolph"
COUSIN RANDOLPH/A STUDY OF CHURCHILL'S SON
(London, Hutchinson); RANDOLPH/THE BIOGRAPHY
OF WINSTON CHURCHILL'S SON (New York,
Beaufort), by Anita Leslie. US edition $16.95; available
from Churchillbooks, Burrage Road, Contoocook, New
Hampshire 03229 for $14.50 postpaid to ICS members.
It is a shame that the American publishers used the word
"biography" in their title. "Cousin Randolph" is far more appropriate. As Edwin Yoder wrote of the book, "its striking
quality is a point of view perhaps best described as Mitfordian:
the light-hearted, entre-nous approach of Nancy Mitford's
comic novels, 'Love in a Cold Climate' and 'The Pursuit of
Love.' " (Randolph was kin to the Mitfords and once fancied
himself in love with Diana, later Mrs. Oswald Mosley.)
It is the third book on Randolph Churchill. Kay Halle's
"The Young Unpretender" comprised tributes by his friends
after his death in 1968; Brian Roberts' recent "Randolph" is
conventional biography. Leslie's work is the one to read if you
want an intimate understanding of a complex being, about
whom we might borrow Winston's lament for Brendan
Bracken: "Poor, dear Randolph."
He was a combination of two vivid qualities: generous
loyalty to those he loved, and an acid tongue and pen for those
he didn't—most of the latter, I tend to think, richly deserved
what they got. "I am an explosion," Randolph said of himself,
"that leaves the house still standing." Naturally his public
reputation was based on the latter quality. (When surgery
revealed that a tumor on his lung was benign, his friend Evelyn
Waugh made the famous quip at White's: "So they've cut out
the only part of Randolph that isn't malignant!")
Overriding those two qualities was a sense of despair over
missed opportunities: the failure to get into Parliament (except
in 1940-45 when he held an uncontested seat), and the long
delay in being assigned his father's biography. When "The
Great Work" finally came in 1960, Randolph devoted himself
single-mindedly to its completion, knowing that he had already
wrecked his body, that the process of disintegration was far advanced. He achieved nearly 5000 pages on his father's early
life—wonderful pages as perhaps only Randolph could write
them. When his doctor told him that any more hard liquor would
kill him in six months he stopped cold—but cirrhosis is not a
reversible disease. At his death in June 1968 the doctor didn't
know how to put down the cause. " . . . with Randolph the
answer is everything . . .He's worn out every organ in his
body at the same time." Poor, dear Randolph.
Leslie digs at his roots: Randolph was spoiled by his father,
who "could not resist holding up his famous cigar for silence
whenever Randolph held forth," and worse, who taught him to
drink, and drink hard, in the company of famous friends like
F. E. Smith. The outspoken, sarcastic and often boorish result
of that upbringing alienated his mother, and relations between
them, Leslie says, were generally frosty. Clementine lived for
Winston, she adds, and caring for Winston was full-time
work. When, much later, Lady Churchill reprimanded Randolph
for taking a fancy to an older woman he shot back, "I don't
care, I need her. She's maternal and you're not." What no one
really appreciated, the author says, "was Randolph's craving
for affection . . . He had to hide his sensitivity, not realizing
either that others could be as sensitive as he."
He never entered the House through a contested election
because, prewar, he insisted on battling official Tory candidates, often splitting a vote and giving a seat to Labour. Party
resentment at Winston's prewar role as gadfly was tempered by
WSC's wartime leadership, though it never really vanished.
With Randolph they had no reason to hide their dislike, and
after the war they never forgot. Randolph betimes was unwilling
to put up with local committee humbug, and that too prevented
him from being assigned the longed-for safe seat. It was a great
loss: his debating skills were even sharper than Winston's.
He had all his father's qualities including absolute
fearlessness. During the war he nagged for a combat assignment, while superiors kept him sidelined for fear of damaging
the PM's son. Finally he talked his way into Fitzroy Maclean's
British mission to Tito's partisans and parachuted into occupied
Yugoslavia, where his exploits earned him a recommendation
for the Military Cross. He had to be satisfied with the MBE:
Authority dared not be generous for fear of being accused of
partiality.
The chatty Leslie style is at its best exploring RSC's many
and varied lady loves, for whom his prewar beauty and his
postwar affection were alluring qualities. None of them could
really handle him; but those who understood him, like Natalie
Bevan in his later years, were indispensible to Randolph, as he
was to them. With his lady friends he was usually absolutely
sincere. When Madame Pol Roger resisted his advances, saying
jokingly that he needed to lose "Un peu pres douze kilos," he
went home, dieted hard and obtained a weighing machine ticket
to prove he'd lost 14 kilos. With this he raced back to France,
accosted her in her garden, "snatched her up and proceeded to
carry her into the house looking for her bedroom . . . Madame
escaped with difficulty and Randolph was very hangdog. The
Pol Roger family dined out on this story for many a year."
My own encounter with Randolph Churchill came almost at
the end of his life when I wrote him at Stour, the Suffolk home
he loved, asking if he could answer any questions members
might have relating to their philatelic biographies. "I regret to
record I know nothing about stamps, but I shall be pleased to
assist in any way," he promptly replied. A very small
gesture—but he didn't even have to answer. Martin Gilbert is
Three generations: WSC, RSC and RSC's son Winston, c. 1951.
fe-
quoted as saying, "his highlight was generosity rather than
honesty." I am sure this is a misquote. He was tremendously
generous, but also honest. Writing the biography, Martin
recalls, he would constantly tell his "Young Gentlemen"
assistants, "I am interested only in the truth."
That same concern brought him into constant disputes with
those less interested in truth, not a few of which ended in court,
most of which he won. No one can say that honesty wasn't one
of Randolph's great qualities.
One sees life at Stour through Anita Leslie's lense as almost
quintessentially English-Country-House: the furnishings traditional, comfortable, a bit frowzy at the edges; Captain Boycott,
the spoiled pug, making water on the sofa for the umpteenth
time; Lady Diana Cooper, magnificently gowned, sitting in the
same sofa a few nights later and sniffing vaguely at the pillows;
Randolph sparing no expense to provide guests with the best
food—"a notable soup"—even though he himself had long
since lost interest in eating; the wonderful gardens, lovingly
tended (sometimes over-lovingly, as when RSC applied so
much fertilizer that the grass turned black); the garden strong
On PuBtic
Speaking
THE POWER OF ELOQUENCE/MAGIC KEYS TO SUCCESS IN PUBLIC SPEAKING, by Thomas Montalbo,
Englewood Cliffs, NJ, Prentice-Hall, 278 pages, $6.95
paperback, $19.95 hardbound.
Longtime ICS member and member of Toastmasters International, Thomas Montalbo has written a book any aspiring
public speaker needs to enchant, excite and entertain an
audience—to commence with an eloquent opening, carry on
successfully, and leave listeners wishing at the end that you
would continue. Drawing on the techniques of eminent
speakers, Montalbo's forte is some 200 samples of actual
speeches and quotations, intermingled with proven techniques
for effective introductions, pauses, transitions and conclusions—a total system approach to preparation and delivery.
There is a long list of index references to Winston Churchill
that make the book equally important to those interested in the
Great Man. The author shows how WSC turned his early
handicap of stuttering and lisping to an advantage, and explores
Sir Winston's six principals of good speaking: diction, rhythm,
argument, analogy, examples and extravagance. As an example
of the latter WSC's invocation of Chatham, glorifying the
freedom of English citizens, is quoted: "The poorest man may
in his cottage bid defiance to all the forces of the Crown. It may
be frail; its roof may shake; the wind may blow through it; the
storms may enter; the rain may enter—but the King of England
cannot enter! All his forces dare not cross the threshold of the
ruined tenement."
Other sections on Churchill include his well-known extensive rehearsals, his mastery of the loaded pause, his facial
expressions and his uncanny ability to sum up brilliantly. "Even
if you don't have his lofty aspirations," writes Montalbo of
WSC, "the lessons from his life and speeches can help you
achieve eloquence in your own public speaking." Strongly
recommended.
—RML
RSC meets his father in Middle East, 1942.
room stacked high with archives for The Great Work, where
Randolph would direct any sincere researcher of a related subject, usually leaving the key in the door and the researcher
alone.
His enemies condemned him for his disregard of their sensitivities, for his blunt speech and writing, and for his egotism.
But every great man who ever lived was at times insensitive and
blunt and egoistic. Their greatness was that they gave far more
than they took for themselves. By this measure Randolph Churchill was truly great. Those who knew him best miss him the
most.
Reading this excellent work I was struck with the subject's
parallels to Sir Winston's longtime friend Brendan Bracken.
And Randolph's own epithet might well be the same words he
himself wrote of Bracken:
"Despite the ups and downs I had with him over 35 years, I
have no hesitation or lack of breath in this valedictory fanfare:
'You were always on the good side: you loved truth and honour:
you hated cruelty and injustice: fare thee well, my gifted, true
and many-sided friend.' "
—Richard M. Langworth
NEXT ISSUE
We take a hard look at a pair of strident revisionistsFrancis Neilson ("The Churchill Legend") and R. W. Thompson ("Churchill and Morton")—as Stanley Smith, George
Richards and Tom Sherman analyze their famous critiques of
Sir Winston Churchill as Prime Minister in the Second World
War. Interestingly, Neilson in 1960 claimed to have known
WSC longer than anyone else alive, back to the days of the
"Khaki Election" and Churchill's first crossing of the floor
when he joined the Liberal Party. More interesting, Thompson
referred to Neilson in his correspondence with Desmond Morton, and perhaps relied overmuch on Neilson's prejudices.
12
CHURCHILL COLLECTORS HANDBOOK, SECTION I, PART 5
Section 1A: German Propaganda Feldpost Cards
BY JACK SYMONDS
The propaganda postcards of Germany
during the Second World War form an interesting branch of philately. Most of them
picture Nazi leaders or military scenes, which
do not concern us here. What interests the
Churchill collector and student are those
postcards depicting Sir Winston—along with
Chamberlain and Stalin, both of whom came
in for the occasional kick.
According to well-known philatelic propaganda specialist Herbert A. Friedman, the
earliest mention of the cards was by the late
Professor Vernon McKenzie, in an article in
the German Postal Specialist for May 1951.
McKenzie noted that the cards were printed
for prepaid use of the German forces; hence
the name "Feldpost Cards" or "Feldpostkarten." He classified them as postally
genuine.
"I have two different types," wrote
McKenzie. One shows an amusing and typical
caricature of Neville Chamberlain in orange
and black, with the figure " 1 " in the upper
right corner, crossed out with the text 'Wert
Keinen Pfennig' (Worth Not a Penny). On the
front of the card, along a line dividing that portion which may be used for the address from
| the part that may be used for the message is
'Entwurf: Heinz Fehling, gesch. G. 4503,
Bild 1.'
"Another item in this same series is
similar to the above, except that it is a
caricature of Churchill in orange and blue.
Winston is shown with his customary massive
cigar, in naval uniform, with a merchant ship
(presumably torpedoed by a U-boat) crashing
on his head. The vertical inscription indicates
that this is 'Bild 2 ' . "
Professor McKenzie illustrated a Churchill card to prove the legitimacy of the item
for postage. Actually the broken ship on Churchill's head appears to be a cruiser or
destroyer rather than a merchant ship; the
uniform is obviously intended to suggest the
dress of a British admiral and apparently stems
from WSC's position as First Lord in 1939-40.
This preliminary study of the cards is
limited to their differences only as far as the
setting of the type and/or the design of the
"stamp" are concerned. Minor variations are
legion, involving for example the ship itself—
guns, cracks in the hull, etc. Tear drops, prominent or faint on the face; long or short hairs;
eyeballs bulging or barely visible are other
varieties. But these minor defects are scarcely
visible in photographic reproductions.
The original feldpostkarten were printed
by Ashelm, who established the type, eight
variations of which exist. One was printed by
Gerst in Bremen; the different Type 8 saw two
different printings by Matthes in Leipzig. The
several variations of the "Ashelm" type
would lend support to the theory that the cards
emanated from different printers, or more
likely from different press runs.
I traced Ashelm's whereabouts in 1970,
but he declined to give any information as to
the origin of the cards or of others who may
have printed them.
While this study deals particularly with
the Churchill cards, the Chamberlain cards
show variations too. I have only seen one type
of Stalin card, printed by Gerst in Bremen,
and include it here as a matter of interest.
—J. C. Symonds
Reading, Berkshire, December 1970
Editor's note: Jack Symonds was an early and
stalwart member of the old Winston S. Churchill Study Unit until his death in the
mid-1970s. His excellent compilation which
forms this handbook supplement is the most
detailed study of the Churchill propaganda
cards on record. Addenda and corrigenda are
encouraged and may be sent to the editor.
Type 1.
(Actual size)
CCH 1.17
1. Black, no date on example
Printed by Ashelm, size 148 x 105mm,
grey white smooth paper of prewar quality.
Presumed to be the first issue.
Vertical overprint: Small type, length
45mm, flat top to ' 3 ' .
Control Number: 3503 25 lower center.
Stamp: Taken as basis for future comparisons. Water drops prominent. W.C.
black.
1A. Black, example date 9.5.1940
white smooth paper of prewar quality.
45mm, flat top to ' 3 ' .
Stamp: Copy of #1 but cigar and right
epaulette altered. Right wing of 'W in ' W . C
too high. W.C. black. Facial water drops prominent.
Above: Type 1A. Below: Type 2.
2. Black, example date 16.8.1940
Printer probably Ashelm, size 148.5 x
103.5mm, light straw smooth paper.
Vertical overprint: Large type, length
47mm, insignia redrawn,round top to ' 3 ' .
Control Number: 3503 25 (larger).
Stamp: Light blue, W.C. black, water
drops prominent.
Printer probably Ashelm, size 148 x
103mm, grey-white smooth paper.
45mm flat top to ' 3 ' .
Control Number: 3503 25 lower center
and 1/1023 lower lefthand corner.
Stamp: Looks like a copy of Type 1.
W.C. black, water drops prominent.
Below: Type 3.
ir
$etb$>oft
fel&poft
felbpoft
?" ; ,
Below: Type 5.
Above: Type 4.
Printer probably Ashelm, size 147.5 x
103.5mm, buff smooth paper.
Vertical overprint: Large type, length
47mm. Round top to ' 3 ' , insignia redrawn,
control number large.
Stamp: Possibly a copy of 2. Colors
misplaced, muddy blue color, much heavier
outline to chin, various imperfections in
epaulettes, etc. W.C. black, water drops prominent.
fitopoft
•
5. Blue, example date 26.8.1940
104.5mm, buff rough paper.
Vertical overprint: Smaller type, length
46mm, round top to ' 3 ' , insignia redrawn.
Stamp: Redrawn. No hatching to cigar,
which is wrong shape. WKP too thin. 'W'
closed at right ear. Red outline to chin. W.C.
black. Water drops very weak.
—
CCH 1.18
•*
6. Blue, example dates 15.3.1942,18.3.1942
and a third, from Paris, 28.5.1942
105.5mm, buff smooth paper.
44.5mm, flat top to ' 3 ' , insignia redrawn.
Control Number: 3503 25.
Stamp: Redrawn. No red outline to chin,
WKP too thin, W.C. blue, cigar as in Type 5,
water drops weak.
6A. Blue, example date 13.7.1940
105mm, buff, rough paper.
44.5mm, flat top to ' 3 ' .
Stamp: Similar to Type 6 but W.C. black.
7. Blue, example date 4.4.1942
Printed by Ed. Gerst, Bremen, size 149.5
x 106mm, straw smooth paper.
Vertical overprint: Long, 90mm.
Control Number: None.
Stamp: Redrawn. Cigar wrong shape,
altered nose, epaulettes, etc. Very heavy coloring of the face. WKP rewritten. Water drops
large and prominent, W.C. blue.
8. Black, example date 26.10.1943
Printer unknown, dark buff rough paper.
Vertical overprint: None. Replaced by
horizontal overprint with 'Feldpostkarte' instead of 'Feldpost' in Gothic script.
Stamp: Redrawn. Dot over 'e' in
'Keinen.' . ' W closed at right ear. Orange
background to cigar and chin. Traces only of
water drops.
Note: Originally reported as a forgery but
now accepted as genuine, this example appears to have been genuinely used. See
reverse.
9. Black, example not dated
Printed by Ashelm, size 142 x 102mm
folded, straw, smooth paper.
Vertical overprint: On left of paper
downwards normal, length 45mm; upwards in
heavier type in two lines for address and
Feldpost number as illustrated.
Stamp: Similar to Type 1, water drops
prominent, W.C. black.
Printed by R. Matthes, Leipzig, size
149.5 x 105mm, straw, smooth paper without
stamp.
Vertical overprint: On the large side,
length 45mm.
Stamp: Adhesive label completely different in design from any previous issue, bearing the inscription 'Wertlose Marke' (Worthless Mark) and an airplane descending on the
head of Winston Churchill from upper lefthand corner. No water drops, cigar cropped.
artc
g
E
!
•
••^•rerl
Kt '3
' V W I RT
P F E W W 1 T,
•
iiorry.
•
*
"
•
i
i
(
\
-••• c . u
3A-.-:t urmfSihre
KPAKAU
i.ch -n
Above, from top to bottom: Types 6, 6A, 7. Middle: Type 8, posted Cracow.
Below: Types 9 and 10.
2
5elbpoftbtief
I
Jel&poftharte
CCH 1.19
>•
Printed by R. Matthes, Leipzig, size
147.5 x 104mm, light straw smooth paper
without stamp.
Vertical overprint: Reset to read
downward.
Control Number: M/0889.
Stamp: Adhesive label as in Type 10.
reldposikarle
CHAMBERLAIN TYPES
A. Black, example dated 19.7.1940
buff rough paper.
44.5mm, flat top to ' 3 ' .
Stamp: Taken as the basis for future comparison.
Above: Type 11. Below: The Chamberlain versions, Types A and B.
B. Black, example not dated
Printer not known, size 149 x 105mm,
light buff, smooth paper.
Vertical overprint: Type reset, round top
to ' 3 ' , length 46mm.
Control Number: 5 503 25 lower center.
Possible misprint. See Churchill Type 5.
Stamp: Redrawn, W.K.F. much heavier,
various changes in hair, mouth, moustache,
etc.
Below: The Stalin type is very scarce in postally-used condition.
STALIN TYPE (ONLY ONE OBSERVED)
C. Black, date not discernible but certainly
post-22 June 1941
Printed by Ed. Gerst, Bremen, size and
paper type not registered.
Vertical overprint: Gothic type, length 91
mm.
Stamp: Taken as the basis for future comparison. Reports of other examples would be
welcome.
Note: This is the most difficult Feldpost
card to find in genuine postally-used condition.
Below: Hand sketch of a third Churchill design, said to be very rare.
OTHER CHURCHILL TYPE
A hand sketch is illustrated of yet another
type of Churchill propaganda Feldpostkarten,
from which, presumably, a printing block was
made. There was no inscription on the stamp
at this stage, but this was added later with a
soft lead pencil and reads "Churchill'n wird's
warm." ("It's hotting up for you, Churchill,
old man" would be the colloquial translation.)
The cover appears to have been genuinely
used, posted in Schweidenitz, Silesia to an addressee in Posen, as it was then (now Pozan).
The coloring of the stamp is lead grey with a
red coloring to the end of the nose. This item is
classified in the trade as very rare.
CCH 1.20
To my delight, I have met many others with similar, if not
almost identical, interests. Most are members of the International Churchill Society, and most share the pleasure of collecting and exchanging information and research about the literary
Churchill. Most recognize, as I do, that "sensibilities are useful
things when it comes to buying a house, a car, choosing a career
or picking shoes. Book collecting, however, when properly
done, requires discarding your sense of proportion. If you say to
yourself, 'it's only a book,' you haven't caught the spirit of the
thing at all.
"Assembling the extraordinary collection is something that
cannot be done with extensive agonizing at each and every step.
Instinct and decisiveness, coupled with the judgment that experience and knowledge accumulate, are the essential attributes
of the great collector. A little money doesn't hurt either." (The
Building of a Sherlock Holmes Collection, Peter L. Stern, AB, 6
May 1985.)
Some of us work closely with the numerous dealers in New
York (Glenn Horowitz or Chartwell), London (Sawyers and
Rota), Contoocook (Churchillbooks) and Sacramento (Churchilliana Co.) that specialize in Churchill. Others prefer to
shop in out-of-the-way places for undiscovered bargains. I do
both.
In the beginning, I lacked both instinct and decisiveness as
well as money, a commodity still in short supply. My hesitancy
to take the plunge resulted in the loss of several good "finds" a
day or two after their discovery. These experiences convinced
me that book collecting is an art, not an analytical science. Nor
can books be pursued strictly as investments. Instead, the collector must follow his acquisitive instinct and pursue quality
while also looking out for the unique and hitherto unknown
volume. The hunt and the find both satisfy the true collector and
his acquisitive urge.
True, books are an investment, and certainly can cost a
great deal of money. But I now obtain as much pleasure from
posssessing the first impression of the first edition of Malakand
in pristine condition (obtained at a price known only to the seller
and me, and hopefully not to my wife) as finding the seven
volume Source Records of the Great War for $7 at a garage sale
right here in Omaha. (And just an hour before penning these
paragraphs.)
As a collector, I am a devoted reader of Finest Hour which
under Richard Langworth's able editorship regularly yields
valuable information about Churchill books. Appearing regularly
in Finest Hour is the "Woods Corner," authored by Ron
Cohen. We all know Ron as being devoted to revising Woods'
Churchill bibliography. One may suspect, given the obvious
time and effort involved in this task, that Ron spends full time
on the study of Churchill literature. Not at all.
Bibliomania
andihe
Literary Churchiii
BY WALLACE H. JOHNSON
OMAHA, NEBRASKA—Hard as it may be to believe, there is a Churchillophile whose respectable library and collection is housed
here. Omaha is famous for many things—cattle, corn and Indians. People also associate Nebraska with the Strategic Air
Command, Nebraska's "Big Red" football program, grain
sales to the Soviet Union, the Union Pacific Railroad and the
"Golden Spike," the College World Series and The Wall Street
Journal's Omaha Livestock Market quotes.
Few match Omaha with Winston Churchill or book collecting. Yet it is a part of a network of persons interested in the
history of the literary Churchill and his "magic" as an author
and businessman.
I propose to share some of my thoughts, and those of
several other bibliophiles, on recent developments affecting
Churchill book collecting, as well as the pleasure of being part
of this affiliation of individuals from various backgrounds and
homelands, all linked by a common interest in book collecting,
and in Sir Winston.
I have been a Churchill book collector since my college
days when I first perused the four volume History of the English
Speaking Peoples. I read and reread those volumes, coming to
enjoy not just the history reported, but the craftsmanlike style
and literary grace of the author. Now, 25 years later, as a
lawyer/businessman traveling to many parts of the world, I have
taken advantage of the chance to indulge my interests by
building a serious book collection. It is very much "our" collection—a project pursued vigorously by almost all members of
the Johnson family. My wife, Donna, watches for Churchill appearances at garage sales while my son, Todd, regularly surveys
certain New York book dealers while attending college in the
city. This collective attention occasionally produces the unexpected treasure where least expected and at a modest cost.
Wallace H. Johnson is president and chief executive officer
of Summit Limited, an agri-business specializing in trade with
the U.S.S.R.; and a senior partner in the Omaha office of the
Kutak Rock & Campbell law firm. Mr. Johnson was formerly
an assistant Attorney General of the United States in charge of
the Land and Natural Resources Division of the Department of
Justice and a Special Assistant to the President of the United
States.
13
sion, the American and Canadian editions and the recent South
African version of London to Lady smith. I have the first, second
and a special lending library edition of Ian Hamilton and its
Canadian and American editions, as well as the very special exlibrary Canadian edition which was never once circulated.
Woods Corner editor, bibliomaniac,
constant milker of bookshops worldwide, computer whiz, country store
proprietor, film producer and allaround good guy, Ronald I. Cohen.
' 'I have the original Strand parts, the Strand bound volumes
and the first British, Canadian and American editions of My
African Journey, as well as the plain bound (but inscribed) prepublication(?) U.K. edition and a variant pictorial-cloth bound
British first. I also have most of the editions and impressions of the
various World Crisis volumes and the individual volumes of
War Speeches (including, for example, eight of the 12 editions
of Into Battle). I could cite many additional examples of this sort
of scope.
"The library also extends to foreign language editions. I am
quite strong in the area of Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, French
and Russian translations, although I also have some pieces in
Dutch, Italian, Japanese and Serbo-Croatian.
"The most unique item is undoubtedly the card-wraps copy
of My African Journey with the original rhinoceros woodcut
cover. It is unknown to Woods, to Harry Cahn and to Sawyer
and Rota as well. I have a very unusual copy of the first
Malakand. It is the only one which I have ever seen without the
catalogue in the back.
' 'In terms of Woods Section A there is no volume which is
not represented in my collection and usually, as I have indicated, they exist in multiple copies. I guess that the only 'first'
which I am missing is Savrola, although I have a fine American
second impression inscribed by Churchill and a nice British
second impression (as well as the Colonial edition, a lovely
Hodder and Stoughton Sevenpenny Library edition and a
beautiful 1956 Random House)."
It is obvious why Ron has taken the lead in cleaning up
"Woods." I have visited his home and examined his library
which is, of course, filled with books and other Churchill
memorabilia. But Ron has another interest as well. He has
created and assembled an early Canadian "country store"
which spills from the lowest level of the Cohens' home.
Ron recently observed to me that, while his collection was
dramatic in its breadth with respect to books by Churchill—known to collectors as Section " A " books—many holes
remained among his " C " list items, the "Press and
Periodicals." He believes that these are virtually impossible to
complete. This facet of Sir Winston's writing is often overlooked.
Building my own " C " list collection has offered me many opportunities to obtain previously unknown Churchill appearances, and to contribute to the development of the new
bibliography.
The "Woods" bibliography was a major aid to collectors
and scholars when first published. But inherent in any complex
Part of Mr. Johnson's growing " C " section—periodicals containing articles by WSC, many done for Colliers.
Bibliphile's shrine in darkest Omaha (very dark: WHJ keeps blinds
drawn to prevent spine-fade.)
A Canadian residing in Montreal, Ron Cohen is a Harvard
graduate who later earned his law degree from McGill. He has
served as senior counsel to the Quebec Police Commission Inquiry into organized crime (a subject of mutual interest since
this writer acted at one time as chief of the Organized Crime
Strike Force for the U.S. Justice Department in Miami,
Florida), as a director and vice-president of the Consumers
Association of Canada, and as a member of the McGill Law
Faculty.
Ron's latest venture (or adventure to those of us with more
routine and less exciting occupations or professions) is as a film
producer, policy advisor and film industry representative in
government. His successes include Power Play starring Peter
O'Toole, Ticket to Heaven starring Nick Mancuso, Running
starring Michael Douglas, Middle Age Crazy with Bruce Dern
and Ann Margret and Draw! starring Kirk Douglas and James
Coburn.
Ron began collecting Churchill in 1968 and believes the
unique feature in his collection is its breadth. "By 'breadth', I
refer to several things," Ron told me. "First, I collect all editions and most impressions. I also collect variants. Thus, I have
a first of the Malakand, the Colonial edition and a Silver
Library edition. I also have the first British, the new impres14
effort of this nature is the potential for technical errors and
omissions. Many of these appear in "Woods," making its value
questionable and its use difficult. But that will be remedied
through the ICS/Cohen bibliographic project. For example, one
major omission by Woods was very many of Churchill's
American magazine appearances. As we know, he was widely
published in Cosmopolitan and Colliers. We are just learning
that he was published in many other U.S. periodicals as well. A
little effort, and the ability to visit different parts of our country,
has netted me many such American magazines which are not
referred to at all by Woods. Trips to New York City, Santa
Barbara, California, Washington, D.C., and even Bismarck,
North Dakota, have yielded treasured additions to my " C " list
collection.
There is a certain dignity to most antiquarian bookshops.
Some are downright elegant. Nothing could be further from the
case, however, in places where one finds "old" magazines.
These are found in dusty, forgotten, back corners of antique
shops or book stores. I have found several at flea markets.
Perseverence on my part has yielded The U-Boat Menace, Tank
Tactics, and Our Friendship with America, all appearing in sequence during May, 1941 in Liberty; as well as / Ride My
Hobby and Over The Top At Omdurman, 1961 appearances in
Cosmopolitan and Argosy. None of these is listed in Woods! All
will appear in the new bibliography.
Ron Cohen is no exception in his dedication or interest.
L.L. "Tom" Thomas, who lives at Warlingham, Surrey
England, one of the "proofers" for Companion Volume V of
the official biography, has a copy of every book that Churchill
published. He possesses at least a copy of every Woods " C "
item. He has read every word on every page of each. He particularly treasures his copy of The Report on Middle East Conference, held in Cairo and Jerusalem, March 12-30, 1921,
which in some 211 pages contains letters, speeches and
telegrams from Churchill.
Mat Fox, a Chicago native and fellow collector, called my
attention to a rare and bizarre item in his library, the possession'
of which will make all of us envious.
We all know that there are many foreign language editions
of Churchill's works. To a certain degree, most of us have
some. The easy expansion of a collection is to pick up some
"Colonials" or Canadian editions of the war speeches published
by McClelland and Stewart. This is how I began expanding
beyond English and American editions. The foreign language
editions followed quite naturally.
Mat, however, has one of Churchill's war speech books
printed in Dutch—interesting, but not particularly so, until you
learn that it was printed by the French Underground during the
Second World War for the Dutch Underground. Printed in Paris
on coarse wrapping paper stock with bizarre ink, it is unfortunately deteriorating rapidly and Mat has had conservators
working overtime to figure out how to save it.
Mat's collection, almost complete when measured against
Woods' " A " list in first British and American editions, also includes several Churchill letters and some items from Churchill's
own library, inscribed to him by the authors.
As a companion to his Churchill collection, Mat also collects Arthur Conan Doyle, not just Sherlock Holmes (as I do),
but all Doyle. "There were several places where the two men
overlapped," according to Mat "Doyle set up a hospital in
South Africa during the Boer War; men from Churchill's unit
were treated. WSC's brother Jack was wounded in that war. His
mother served on a hospital ship in it, patterned after Doyle's
portable hospital—her first patient was Jack. Doyle wrote about
Churchill in his account of the war. He also wrote a fascinating
piece on 'England in the Next War,' focusing clearly on the impact submarines would have. WSC as First Lord had to deal
with what Doyle predicted—now come true.
"Both were ardent colonialists. In this regard, a fascinating
bit of reading is WSC's India and a book printed in the early
1700s on behalf of the East India Co. on India's potential.
Reading the two, from viewpoints 300 years apart, is eerie.
WSC could easily have written both."
Mat Fox's affinity for Sir Winston relates to the fact that as
an officer in the U.S. Navy he was detached and served for a
period with the Royal Navy aboard HMS Newcastle, at Suez in
L.L. "Tom" Thomas working on the proofs for a Companion
Volume to the official biography at his home in Surrey. Many " B "
titles are ranged behind him.
Mat Fox's library in Chicago requires step-ladder, includes a vast
collection of Conan Doyle as well as Churchill; they often wrote on
the same subjects.
15
Wallace Johnson has commissioned extra shelves to handle the increasing overflow. Magnificent jacketed editions of Savrola and
Amid These Storms are facing out.
1956. A ship in Mat's U.S. Navy squadron was the
Oakhill—built for the British as HMS Tomahawk but turned
down by Churchill as unsuitable for use in the English Channel.
Another former military man, now turned collector with an
extraordinary background is William R.Schulz from Phoenix,
Arizona. Bill describes himself as "an unemployed, baldheaded businessman who's seeking an elective job." He may be
only temporarily unemployed. A West Pointer who became an
apartment building tycoon, Bill plans to run for Governor of
Arizona as a Democrat in 1986.
In 1980, Bill challenged Barry Goldwater for the U.S.
Senate seat occupied by Goldwater since 1952. (Those interested in political trivia will be fascinated to learn that
Goldwater has occupied this seat for every term but the one in
which he ran for President.)
Apparently Bill spent many months during the campaign
building an 18-foot long, 18-foot wide, 45-foot high library to
house his 11,000 books, as an addition to his Scottsdale home.
He considers the most unique feature of his collection "a
respectable accompanying collection of Churchill biography,
contemporary biography and history—in addition to what I now
think is a complete collection of Churchill's works."
Bill regards Richard Langworth as his most influential mentor (not I hope "political" mentor). No discussion of collectors
and libraries would be complete without mentioning Dick and
his library, fqr he not only edits Finest Hour but is presently
chairman of ICS, as well as proprietor of Churchillbooks.
I think Contoocook, the location of the Lang worths' home,
Putney House, is as remote as many may regard Omaha. Dick's
home and office, however, are located in a beautiful New
England valley, an historic dwelling whose grounds once accommodated a guest house constructed from the crate in which
the "Spirit of St. Louis" was shipped back to the States after
Lindbergh's historic flight to Paris. The library at Putney House
contains one of the most complete Churchill collections I have
been privileged to observe.
Richard began collecting seriously after he and Dal
Newfield revived the ICS in 1981. A writer and publisher by
profession, Dick deals in Churchill largely to improve his own
collection. He began collecting in 1968, soon after founding the
old Winston S. Churchill Study Unit (predecessor to ICS).
Dick's collection doesn't stop with first editions. "It travels
on into foreign languages, very late editions and even paperbacks, because it will some day constitute an ICS working
library, and I would hope there will be plenty of editions with
low replacement costs for people to handle and use, not just to
admire.
Standard accoutrements of any well-rounded library: the American editions of
Marlborough, the British Great Contemporaries. Putnams U.S. firsts, Book-ofthe-Month-Club Blood, Sweat and Tears.
"The most thoroughly documented title is My Early Life. I
consider this to be Sir Winston's best single title from a literary
standpoint, and I am endeavoring to obtain not only every edition, but every impression from 1930 to date. I have just
counted and there are presently 30 British, 18 American, 2 Portuguese, a Swedish and a Danish edition. Silly! Still, I figure
that what with all the foreign language editions/impressions, I
am only about halfway to my goal.
"The Early Life collection has been of great help to us
bibliographically. For example, it is fascinating to view the
changes that occur to the American editions {A Roving Commission) as they add and then drop the Dorothy Thompson (Mrs.
Sinclair Lewis) introduction, and then gradually change their
title to My Early Life."
As I examine my own acquisitions and learn more about my
fellow collectors, I regularly wonder what motivates us. Most
collections seem to have a beginning but no end. Dick
Langworth's is a good example: "I strive for every major
English-language edition of every volume, plus every impression of My Early Life," he says. "By that I mean every distinct
form of every Section A hardbound book. On foreign languages,
I would like to have every edition but will probably never accomplish that. I do try to pick up anything I don't have. This requires a fair amount of shelf space. There are, besides the 52
Early Life, 11 Great Contemporaries, 16 Second World War,
nine Marlborough, eight Savrola and 20 various forms or spinoffs or abridgements of History of the E.S. Peoples. Altogether, Section A now takes up 50 feet of shelf space."
And this just describes his " A " list. Altogether, Dick has
100 percent of the Section " A " books, 20 percent of the Section
" A " pamphlets, 70 percent of the books with contributions by
Churchill, 200 " C " Section periodicals, and half of the works
about Churchill listed in the Ashley Redburn bibliography
published by ICS.
Even with this impressive library, I doubt that Dick will
slow his acquisitive pace. (In fact, he is currently trying to
barter several copies of Early Life from me.) I know I won't.
My first goal was to amass all Churchill first editions. Then I
thought, "Well, you should get the American firsts, too." Pretty
soon, I acquired some Canadian and Colonial editions, followed
by several very attractively bound Swedish and Danish editions.
(Interesting is that I have found several English treasures in
Stockholm and Copenhagen, including the hard-to-find four
16
volume set of The Great War). I can hardly wait to visit shops as
far away as the steppes of Russia, knowing I will possibly find a
treasure there.
Do we collectors pursue this quest because Churchill
books are a good investment? Almost certainly not. The purchase price is generally not the object. Many of us would not
part with our collections at any price. Perhaps Richard
Langworth sums it up best: "All this background means that my
personal fascination with WSC stems from his marvelous career
as a writer. His greatest accomplishments will forever stand. As
he said, 'nothing surpasses 1940.' But in that immortality we
often lose sight of Winston the man, Winston the writer.
"As a journalist he was superb—simply unmatched. I don't
mean he could write well; of course he could, but a lot of others
could too. He had an uncanny ability to get the most out of a subject. He was able to take one story for a newspaper, parlay that
up to several other publications perhaps in other countries, and
wind up using the same piece in a couple of books. Amazing!
"Take Painting as a Pastime for example. Could we ever
figure out how many appearances that essay has had? He was
equally adept at dealing with publishers. A 33 percent royalty is
unheard of—Winston got it. A dollar a word is still a very high
article rate today—Winston got it in 1925.
"It would be easy to misunderstand this point, which I do
not make in any commercial sense — rather to point out just
how far above the pack Winston Churchill ranked, not as a
statesman in this case but as a journalist.
"Granted, to some extent, he was a unique artist: a politician who could write beautifully. But still, in the long run, his
works commanded such heavenly rewards because they were so
good. His research methods; his division of each 24 hours so as
to get twice as much out of them as anyone else gets; the way
he dictated all his books from The World Crisis; his work in the
midst of all his toys and distractions at Chartwell—these are the
aspects which fascinate me.
"None of his books in my library are for decoration. I've
read almost all of them at least once. The World Crisis, with its
six fat volumes, looks formidable—but take up any one at any
place and start to read. You can't put it down. Sure it's biased
and self-serving. But it's also, most of the time, right on the
beam. I think you could build a case for Winston Churchill
being the most effective writer in this Century, maybe of all
time. It is this facet, Winston the journalist, that is mainly
responsible for my book collection."
There is a mystique to collecting Churchill not attached to
most book collecting. Perhaps it's the personality of the man,
the impressiveness of his political credentials, the many decades
he occupied center stage in the performance of world events.
Perhaps it's nostalgia. It could be, as Richard suggests, Churchill's "uncanny ability to get the most out of a subject."
It matters not what the reason. I know that tomorrow I will
begin to look for volumes like Ron Cohen's card-wraps copy of
My African Journey, Mat Fox's Dutch War Speeches and Tom
Thomas' Report on the Middle East Conference. I may even
find a 45th appearance of Early Life for Dick. This is the
pleasure of collecting. And, if fate takes any of you to Omaha,
Contoocook, Chicago, Montreal, Scottsdale, or Warlingham,
Surrey, I am sure you will be welcome to visit and discuss a subject which holds a fascination that my fellow collectors will
share for many years to come. •
The Langworth library uses the "ell" or their colonial home, chosen "because
it had plain walls on three sides. It is large enough to house the collection in correct bibliographic order," says Dick, "but the Churchill material is inexorably
eating into its capacity. Right now it takes just over half the room's limit of 5000
volumes. I keep squirreling the other books here and there as the collection
expands."
17
CHURCHILL STAMP CHECKLIST
AUCTION 2-85 & FINAL
HANDBOOK SECTION 1. CORRECTIONS
Please note the following corrections and additions to the checklist of Churchill stamps, pages 1.1 through 1.16. arc supplied by Sidney Altneu,. Miami,
Florida. (For additional corrections please refer to FH #t3 page 13, FH #45
page 12, and FH #48 page 15.)
ICS AUCTION 2/85
Closing date for bids is 31 December 1985. Bidding increments 25C to $2, 50c to
$10, $1 to $20, $2.50 above $20. This will be the final ICS auction. Send your
bids to W. Glen Browne, PO Box 5171, Canyon Lake, California 92380. Please
bid in U.S. dollars. Members in Australia, Canada and UK may pay in personal
home currency cheques. You will be notified of winning bids and billed for
items you have won in January. Winning bidders are also responsible for
postage. Key to abbreviations: # =Scott, SG = Stanley Gibbons, R = Rosen
catalogue numbers.
Ajman
Page 1.2, 15 Dec 71 Famous Men Airmail
Cams numbers for the 1R (perf/imperf) are 1198; for full set (per/imperf),
Cams 1197-1201,
LOT ITEM (Min. Bid)
1. Cvr USA #1264/1281 SG 1246/1262 Truman death date, rare ($4)
2. Same as above except only #1264 ($4)
3. Cvr USA #1264/1393, SG 1246/1383, pm June 30, 1971, last day USPO
Dept., blue cachet (Browne), scarce ($3)
Fujiera
Page 1.6, 1967 Commemoratives Revalued
Set was also produced imperforate. Overprints were in both silver and
black.
Page 1.6, 1969 Famous Men Airmails on Gold Foil
Minkus 371 shows WSC (value 25d). Minkus 371A is souvenir sheet of
one value. Available perf and imperf. Full set is Minkus 369-72,
souvenir sheets 369A-372A. (Other values portray DeGaulle, Eisenhower,
JFK)
Page 1.7, 1969 Famous Men Gold Foil Airmail Reissue
Cams 458 portrays WSC (value 25d); Cams 462 is souvenir sheet. Full set
is Cams 456-63. Same subjects as before.
Page 1.7, 1972 Definitives
Cams numbers are 1096-1116; WSC value is Cams 1106
4. Cvr USA #1264/1499 SG 1246/1500 lOOtn ann Truman birth pm Lamar,
MO, black cachet (Browne), mailer's permit pm ($1.25)
5. Cvr USA #899 (2) SG 896 pm Cleveland, Oh Apr 26, 1943. Mult color
cachet RAF Spitfire & "Never before" etc. quote, addressed ($3)
6. Cvr Canada #254 SG 380 pm May 1, 1944 w/city blacked out by censor.
Red & blue cachet WSC & Brit flag, "We shall never surrender." Addressed ($3)
7. Cvr Canada #254 SG 380 pm May 11, 1943, London, Canada. Cachet 3
blue Spits "Never in the history etc" quotation. Open @ top, addressed
($3)
8. Cvr Canada #249(2), 250 SG 375(2)/376 pm May 4, 1943 Winnipeg, Man.
Mult color cachet RAF Spit & "Never before etc" quote, addressed ($3)
9. Items 6, 7, 8 as a set ($10)
10. Cvr Canada #440/719/918 SG565/877/? pm Nov 30, 1984, Toronto.
Cachet Westchester NY (WESPENX) show, brn picture of WSC. At ICS
meeting Martin Gilbert & Paul Robinson, US Amb to Canada, signed cover
(2 exist). ($25)
11. Cvr USA #1264/1849, SG 1246/? pm Mar 5, 1985 Silver Springs, MD.
Attractive ICS new cachet of WSC red & green. 1st day of use signed by
Dave Marcus, addressed ($1.50)
12. Same as above except pm Mar 7, 1985 ($1.50)
13. USA pi #blk of 4, #1264 SG 1246, PI #28107(UR), VFNH (30c)
14. Same as above (30c)
15. Same as above except (LL) (30c)
16. Anguilla #193-8 SG 181-6, cent VFNH ($1.50)
17. Burundi #B31-33 SG 304-06 ovpt Lions Int, used (40c)
18. Cameroon #C211 SG 721, cent VFNH (25C)
19. Cook Is. #417-21 SG 506-10 cent VFNH ($3)
20. Dahomey #C203 SG 541 cent VFNH (30c)
21. As above (30c)
22. Germany #982 SG ? SS VFNH ($1.50)
23. Jersey #103-06 SG 111-14, annivers. VFNH (30c)
24. Mauretania #C147 SG 458, cent VFNH (50c)
25. Crown agents Centenary omnibus (17 nations, 38 stamps, 12SS) cat val $75
($20)
26. Upper Volta #346-50 cent VFNH ($2.25)
27. Albania (Free), 1945 FDR/WSC Airmail comm, 4 vals VFNH ($2)
28. As above, but 1952 and new colors VFNH ($2)
29. Davaar RD77-80, WSC & scenes, perf, 1967 VFNH ($1)
30. Davaar RD87, SS, WSC/JFK, 1967 VFNH ($1)
31. Davaar WSC cent, in gold foil, 3 vals VFNH ($3)
32. Davaar WSC cent, in large gold foil, 2 val, VFNH ($3)
33. Herm Is. RH86-91, 20th ann Liberation, 1965 VFNH ($2)
34. Calf of Man RCA84-88 TT Races Diamond Jub, red VFNH ($1)
35. Calf of Man RCA108-12, Mex Olym, brown, 1968 VFNH ($1)
36. Calf of Man RCA 114-18, Mex Olym, orange, 1968 VFNH ($1)
37. Lundy RLU 154-56, 3 commems, WSC 1965, VFNH ($2)
38. Lundy RLU 154-56, 3 comms in min. sheets of 12 stamps w/marginal
marks, attractive VFNH ($16)
39. Nagaland, 2 commem ovpt on JFK, 7th ann of death WSC, VFNH ($1)
40. Nagaland 1 SS ovpt on JFK, 7th ann of WSC death, VFNH ($1)
41. Pabay RPA 197-200, "Emer. Strike Post," VFNH ($1)
42. As above imp, VFNH ($2)
Manama
Page 1.10, Nov. 1968 Heroes of Humanity
Silver foil coin set is Minkus 105A-C or Michell 239-240 (?-Ed.) WSC
value is Michell 239. Perf, imperf, etc.
Page 1.10, 1970 DeGaulle Overprint/1 (black ovpt)
Minkus numbers are 363-68, WSC is 367, S/S is 369.
Page 1.10, 1970 De Gaulle Overprint/2 (gold ovpt)
Date should be 1971. See Minkus catalogue page 55.
Page 1.10, 1970 25th Ann. Casablanca Conference
All items listed are also found imperforate.
Ras Al Khaima
Page 1.12, 1969 WSC & EFIMEX Commemoratives
Churchill issues in regular postage set Minkus 195-202, Cams 243-50
plus S/S Minkus 206, Cams 256. Perf and imperf. No WSC issues in
airmails, Cams 251-55.
Sharjah
Page 1.13, 26 Apr 65 Churchill Overprints
The souvenir sheet, SG 129a, also issued imperforate.
Page 1.14, 1973 (est.) Prominent Persons (New Entry)
A set in gold and silver foil, perf and imperf, with perf and imperf
souvenir sheets, pictures WSC on 4R value. S/S used V-sign with stamp.
Togo
Page 1.14, 7 Aug 65 Churchill Commemoratives
Souvenir sheet, Scott C47a, also issued imperforate.
Page 1.14, 20 Feb 71 DeGaulle Commemoratives
Both the regular set, Scott 767-70, and airmails, Scott C144^t5, were
also issued imperforate.
Yemen (Kingdom)
The following overprints were in red: 5 Apr 65 Churchill Overprints,
26 June 67 Poison Gas Victims, 1967 Jordan Refugee Relief Fund. (Design shows Prince Ali.)
continued
18
MEMBERS CLASSIFIED
Classified ads of any reasonable size are free to
members. Please type your ad on a plain sheet of
paper or print clearly. Deadline for advertisement
copy: Winter issue (#50) 1 December, Spring issue
(#51) 1 March.
WANTED
Winston S. Churchill/His Memoirs & Speeches
1918-1945, London Records 1964, Decca Record
Co., London. Would like to purchase entire record
collection. Paul S. King, Three Wells, Georgetown,
Mass. 01833 USA. Telephone (617) 352-7473 after
8 PM.
Churchilliana Co. Book Bulletins from 1974
through 1977, originals or photocopies.
Marlborough US first Vol 5 (swap for Vol 6 or
British Vol 2 fine); Lloyd George's War Memoirs
US first Vol 6; Second World War 1954 Chartwell
Edition; Macmillan's Pointing the Way US first/dj.
R. Langworth, Putney House, Contoocook, NH
03229 USA, (603) 746-5606 days.
FOR SAL*,
Memorabilia: small toby jug (mint); Huntley &
Palmers biscuit tin, 8x10, full portrait (excellent);
Churchill issue 8/65 of National Geographic, fine
with record. Best offer. Van Roubaud, PO Box 702,
Laconia NH 03247, (603) 524-8524.
The Finest Hours, Jack LaVien's documentary
on the life of WSC, features newsreel footage along
with some feature film clips and original location
shooting, color and B&W. British, 1964. Was
$59.95, now $19.95. Specify VHS (#87301X) or
Beta (#873001), add $2.50 postage and handling.
Publishers Central Bureau, 1 Champion Avenue,
Avenel, New Jersey 07001.
' 'My Early Life'' on Cassette. More than 1500
other titles, call for free brochure, toll free (800)
626-3333 or write Books on Tape, Box 7900,
Newport Beach Calif. 92660.
Books by and about Sir Winston Churchill.
Malakand Field Force, bound sets, ephemera,
photographs, letters, books about, et al. Send for
list to David B. Mayou, 30 Denmark Road. London
W13 8RG, England.
ANNOUNCING COVER #26: 40TH ANNIVERSARY, END OF WW2
Despite many celebrations of the D-Day
and V-E Day Anniversaries, hardly anyone
besides ourselves marked 2 September
1945—the day Japan signed the final surrender
which ended the Second World War. We had
planned to issue one cover, postmarked first in
London, then flown to Washington via Concorde to be postmarked again with a new set of
US stamps. The lack of a Concorde flight on
the day prevented this, so we teamed with Arlington Supplies in London to produce about
240 each of a separate British and American
cover. (Had we known we'd have to do that,
we would have run off a few in Ottawa and
Canberra!)
Dave Marcus produced a striking cachet
in raised thermo-engraved dark blue ink, using
the design of the 1942 USA "Win the War"
stamp, which is one of the stamps affixed to
the US covers. (The other two are the Chur-
43.
44
45'
46
47'
48
49
50
51
52'
chill commemorative and a 14C definitive.)
The British cover uses the appropriate 1984
Europa commemorative with colors that strikingly match the cachet art. The explanatory
stuffer inside each cover is also in dark blue.
How to obtain: Covers are free to
members. If you write for this pair, we will
put you on the automatic mailing list for future
covers so that you will not have to write again
as they appear. Where to write: In UK, 88A
Franklin Ave., Tadley, Basingstoke RG26
6EU. In Australia, 8 Regnans Ave.,
Endeavour Hills, Victoria 3802. Everywhere
else: Dave Marcus, 221 Pewter Lane, Silver
Springs, MD 20904 USA.
Many earlier covers are also available
from ICS Stores. See listing under
"philatelic" heading on page 23. Please write
to ICS Stores for all back-issue covers and not
to Dave Marcus.
Pabay RPA 57-60 WSC, JFK gold foil, 1967 VFNH ($2)
Pabav RPA 61, SS as above, VFNH ($2)
Pabay RPA 33-36, 4 vals ovpt for WSC VFNH ($1)
Pabay RPA 80-83 WSC London views, VFNH ($1)
Pabay PA 84, SS WSC, London views, VFNH ($1)
Sanda RS34-37, WSC, London scenes, VFNH ($1)
Sanda as above, SS VFNH ($1)
Sanda RS93-96, WSC & scenes, 1967 VFNH ($1)
Sanda RS97, as above SS VFNH ($1)
Soay RSY17-22 comm, Europa ovtp WSC, 1965 VFNH ($1)
53.
54.
55.
56.
57.
58.
59.
60.
61.
62.
19
NEW MEMBERS
AUSTRALIA
NSW/Strathfield, E.J. Britton
CANADA
BC/Vancouver, Frank P. Bernard, Thos. E. Ladner;
Albta/Calgary, Capt. Chris Krisinger, Lt. J.R.
Grodzinski (both new addresses); Ont/Gloucester,
Mrs. Joanne Johnston; Ont/Toronto, E.R.
Moorhouse II (moved), Silas S. Salter.
ISRAEL
Rishon Le-Zion, Shmuel Rotem
UNITED KINGDOM
Kent/Tonbridge, The Viscount De L'Isle, VC, KG
UNITED STATES
CA/Canoga Park, Steve Peters; CA/Hawthorne,
E.P. O'Brien; CA/Sepulveda, Francis L. Harding;
CT/Woodstock, Richard F. Potter; DE/Wilmington, Chas. Brandt, Jr.; GA/Valdosta, J.E.
Jarvis, Jr.; IL/Savannah, Walter I. Shrake;
KS/Lawrence, Hal Elliott Wert; MA/Eastham,
Ian Aitchison (moved); MA/Orange, Robt. W.
Leach; NJ/Bridgewater, Richard C. Evans;
NJ/Mendham, Shirley J. Stake; NJ/Rutherford,
Anthony Lancia; NY/NY Edwin F. Russell;
NY/Staten Island, Roger Femenella; OH/Cincinnati, Thomas Brinkman, Jr. & Patrick McElhaney;
TN/Memphis, Don Acree; TN/Nashville, Donald
Bathrick, Jr. & Joseph C. Bullock; WI/Milwaukee,
William P. Straub; Wl/Silver Lake, Paul Konicek.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Toronto, 30 November 1985: The Churchill Society for the Advancement of
Parliamentary Democracy holds its Second
Annual Dinner at the Royal York Hotel,
Toronto, with guest speaker Dr. J. Austin
Ranney of the American Enterprise Institute
for Public Policy Research, Washington.
CASPD will present its second "Award for
Excellence in Parliamentary Service" to the
Rt. Hon. Roland Michener, former Canadian
Governor General. For ticket information
please contact F.B. Watt, 174 Sheldrake
Blvd., Toronto, Ontario M4P 2B5.
Vancouver, 3-5 October 1986: The International Churchill Society is pleased to announce
that its 1986 Annual General Meeting will take
place on October 3-5th, hosted by the Sir
Winston S. Churchill Society of Vancouver,
all of whose members are members of ICS.
The convention, which will hopefully coincide
with Expo '86, will be highlighted by the Vancouver Society's traditional black tie dinner
with military band. Watch Finest Hour for further details and guest speaker announcements.
Soay, as above SS VFNH ($1)
Staffa 4 commen, 1969 issue ovpt in silver for WSC, 1972 VFNH ($1)
Staffa SS, Apollo XV module & WSC VFNH ($1)
Stroma RST44-SS, imp ovpt WSC VFNH ($1)
Stroma RST47-50, WSC London scenes, 1968 VFNH ($1)
Stroma RST47-50, WSC London scenes, imp VFNH ($1)
Stroma ST 128-33, dog iss., ovtp WSC 5th ann death, 1970 VFNH ($1)
Stroma RST134-39, fish iss, ovtp 5th ann death WSC VFNH ($4)
Stroma RST160-63, Emer Strike Post, imp VFNH ($1)
Thomond 3 SS diamond shape stamps, ovpt WSC VFNH ($1)
Churchill in Stamps
BY RICHARD M. LANGWORTH
PACKS 37-42: SOUTH AFRICA TO PARLIAMENT
The first three pages (omplete Section I of the biography: the last
three begin Section 2, entitled "Ascendancy, " which will run all the
wa) to 1940. Concerning Churchill's Boer War adventure's there is
plenty of material available among standard WSC commemorative1,; to
document Ins lecture tour to America and entry into Parliament, there n
none—but some excellent Churchill-related stamps suffice. Catalogue
numbers are Scott (#) and Stanley Gibbons (sg).
37. South Africa #79-80 and #112 fsg 80-81 and 111) appropriate!) illustrate the Great Trek, the Boers' traditional claim to their territory,
source of pride to a nation in rebellion against the British bmpire. The
Isle of Man Churchill Centenary stamp, #48 (sg 54). covers the staggering defeat at Colcn.su where Manx bugler Dunne became a hero. The
Bhutan Churchill overprints of 1965 (#42•44/45. sg 45/46/48) have no
relation to the subject but serve to till space.
37
:..v - . 1 . .
1
[
•
38. Agreement now seems general that the famous '"Wanted" poster
was a latterday souvenir, but I wish someone would explain why this
is. I realize copies were printed with a later caption at the bottom, but
did not WSC have a copy of the original at Chartwell? The famous
photo of WSC at the lime has him with moustache (Fujiera Minkus 69.
sg 69) and without (Great Britain #731. sg 965).
39. The famous escape route is neatly provided via Antigua #352 (sg
411) and its Barbuda overprint. Minkus 208 (sg 201). South Alrica
#235 (sg 184) conveniently depicts Botha and Smuts at left; both would
be mixed up wiih Churchill tor many years and Botha's troops (but not
Botha himself, despite erroneous claims) were those who arrested
Churchill after the armoured train incident. South Africa #1 (sg 1) commemorates the first Union Parliament in 1910 while Cape of Good
Hope #59/61 (sg 67'9). Natal #79 (sg 111) and Transvaal #170 were
Union republic stamps current at the time. (I still need one from the
Orange River Colony.)
40. Section 2 begins with WSC's entry into Parliament via the Oldham
by-eleclion, adequately illustrated by Sharjah Minkus 214 (sg 202). The
photo is of Winston arriving at the Durban quayside from Lourcnco
Marques after escape.
41. Aside from Brunei #193 (sg 203) -which shows an older Churchill
striking a WW2 pose, but seemed close enough in demeanor to young
Winston—all slumps illustrating his American lecture lour are C-related
types. Those he met in USA included Teddy Roosevelt, who didn't
much like him (Cuba #610. -.« '.'): Mark Twain, who failed him "the
perfect man" (USA #863, .sg 860); and then-current President William
McKinley whom he '"considerably impressed" (USA #559, sg 567).
Canada's colorful Christmas 1898' issue, showing the '"world painted
red," illustrates the extent of ihe Hnipirc at this time: it is #86 (.sg 167):
Canada #85 also works.
42. The lack of Churchill commenioratives portraying a younger WSC
continues to plague philatelic biographers of the early period. Anguilla
#197 (sg 185) is obviously out of place chronologically, but the skyline
of Parliament and St. Stephens Tower are appropriate. C-ieljteit stamps
ideal for the entry into Parliament are all British: #753 (sg 988) is an
overhead view; #705 (sg 939) is a schematic plan drawing of appealing
design; #422-23 (sg 663-64) commemorate the 700th Anniversary of
Parliament in 1965.
A continuing scries
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ASCENDANCY
WINSTON ACROSS THE VELDT!
AMERICA 1900: "PROFIT, NOT PLEASURE"
At large in Pretoria, Churchill hopped the first freight train
out of town. His destination: the Portuguese colony of Lourenco
Marques, and the coast. Hidden in a mineshaft by the only proBritish resident in his path (the typical Churchill luck), he
arrived safely across the border buried in a boxcar. He returned
home a hero, and in his next election, he couldn't lose.
To provide himself with a financial base (for Members of Parliament were not then salaried), Winston arranged a strenuous
lecture tour for his second visit to America. The Empire was
at its height, and he came as an Imperialist; but his sense of
fairness and admiration of the Boers won over his audiences.
He met Teddy
Roosevelt,
who took, an
Instant dislike. TR said
WSC was "a
rather cheap
character."
But TR liked
WSC's books!
Churchill1s
route from
Durban to
the ambush,
from Pretoria
to the coast
and back to
Durban.
Boer General
Louis Botha•s
troops had
captured WSC.
By 1906 they
had become
firm friends,
and Botha
insured Boer
loyalty when
the Republic
of South
Africa was
formed in
1910.
41
Left: Louis Botha. Second
from left: Jan Smuts,
another longtime colleague.
Mark Twain
introduced WSC
in New York,
alluding to
his mixed
parentage: "I
present to
you the perfect man."
The Contemporary
British Empire
In Washington
Churchill met
his first US
President. He
was "considerably impressed"
with McKinley.
ASCENDANCY
AT HOME
THE ESCAPE INTO FAME
40
The bands were still playing "See! The Conquering Hero Comes!"
when, six months after his escape, Churchill ran again for
Parliament. He won handily. He was, H.A. Grunwald wrote, "The
hero of the hour. A press hungry for good news blazoned the
tale of the one plucky Englishman whou could outwit the Boers.
Dignitaries pumped his hand; crowds lined the streets to cheer
him.1' From that day forward, he was never far from the spotlight.
He knew the House of Commons as few newcomers knew it, and
within himself he realized he was home. He took easily to the
time honored language of the House: "Rt Hon Friend" for members
of his own party, "Rt Hon Gentleman" for members of the Opposition, "Rt Hon and Gallant Gentleman" for members who held the
Queen's Commission, "Rt Hon and Learned Gentleman" for those
who possessed special academic qualifications.
Postal portraits
of WSC in this
period are rare,
but he is often
pictured in
company with
Parliament. A
child of the
House of Commons,1'
John F. Kennedy
would say 63 years
later, "he became
its father."
Long study
of Hansard,
the Parliamentary
Debates, had
given young
Winston a
grasp and
love for
Parliament
which would
express itself all his
life. From
the beginnlng, he was
a "House of
Commons Man."
Tumultous crowds
lined the quayside at Durban
to welcome
Churchill after
his long trek
to freedom.
42
Reviewing Churchill
The River War
Various River War editions. Left to right: Volume I of the first edition, published 1900; the second
cheap edition of 1933; a 1951 reprint of same (with remainder jacket—WSC was not knighted in
1951); and New English Library paperback (just reprinted in 1985.)
The River War, An Historical Account Of
The Reconquest Of The Soudan. Edited by
Col. F. Rhodes, D.S.O. Published in 2
volumes by Longmans, Green and Co. in
London on 6 November 1899 and in New
York on 9 December 1899. (Woods A2)
The Athenaeum, London, 2 December 1899
This lengthy work is of most unequal
merit. The first volume which supplies "a
general survey of the geography, aspect and
history of the country" and relates the first
two years of the reconquest of the Soudan, is
decidedly good; the style also is of remarkable
excellence. The second volume, which gives
the author's own experience of the Omdurman
portion of the war, is markedly inferior. His
aggressive criticisms are of little value and he
poses conspicuously as a military critic, but his
experience has been short and for the most
part that of an amateur. Had three-fourths of
the contents of the second volume, occasionally
quite irrelevant, been eliminated, the work
would have gained largely in value.
Although several instances justify his unsympathetic portrayal of General Charles Gordon, many will think he has been distinctly unjust to their hero. While some will endorse his
remarks on the character of the Dervish Empire, they are in strange contrast with his
observations on the Mahdi and his more brutal
successor, the Khalifa. The explanation, perhaps, is to be found in his anxiety to prove that
he rises above the prejudices of older men.
Readers should be cautious as to accepting
without examination all Mr. Winston Churchill's views about Lord Kitchener. The writer
and the performer have little in common, and
it is possible that the former may be misled
sometimes by ignorance or biased by personal
dislike or perhaps a casual snub.
The author rode with the 21st Lancers in
their headlong charge at Omdurman. As
regards his personal experience, Churchill
writes:
' 'The whole scene flickered exactly like
a cinematograph picture; and, besides, I
remember no sound. The event seemed
to pass in absolute silence. The yells of
the enemy, the shouts of the soldiers, the
firing of many shots, the clashing of
sword and spear, were unnoticed by the
senses, unregistered by the brain. Several
others say the same. Perhaps it is possible
for the whole of a man's faculties to be
concentrated in the eye, bridle-hand and
trigger-finger, and withdrawn from all
other parts of the body."
The public are apt to think that after Omdurman nothing of importance took place. In addition to the Fashoda incident there was sharp
fighting which was decidedly creditable to the
officers who led the troops who followed.
The Nation, New York, 15 February 1900
The reconquest of the Egyptian Sudan was
a military achievement remarkable first of all
for the fact that unvarying and complete suc22
Edited by John G. Plumpton
130 Collingsbrook Blvd, Agincourt, Ont. M1W 1M7
cess attended every movement during the advance from 1896 to 1899. The success was
mainly due to one man endowed with extraordinary organizing genius, seconded by able
and zealous subordinates. The obstacles
presented by the Nile, the desert, climate,
cholera and, above all, a foe well-armed and
ably led and always in superior numbers, were
formidable indeed.
The salient features of the "river war"
are clearly brought out in Mr. Winston Churchill's interesting volumes. His qualifications
for his task as an historian are a military
education, active service in the Indian frontier
war, of which he wrote an account, good
powers of observation, and the gift (a clear inheritance from his father, Lord Randolph
Churchill) of a facile descriptive style,
somewhat boyishly exuberant and discursive,
but highly graphic. We are also reminded of
his father in the entire frankness of his
criticisms of the strategy of the generals—not
excepting Lord Kitchener himself—an act of
rare courage in a subaltern.
A brief sketch of the rebellion of the
Mahdi, Gordon's part in it, the history of the
Dervish Empire and the preparations for its
overthrow, is followed by an account, in
greater or lesser detail, of every important step
in the advance of the Anglo-Egyptian army.
The attention is mainly directed, of course, to
the actions.
Our author is not at his best when describing the campaign in which he took part. Not
unnaturally he dwells at too great length on the
incidents, sometimes trivial, of which he was
an eye-witness. His account of the battle of
Omdurman, especially, suffers for this reason,
though there are some striking pictures to be
found in it.
The impression of the Sirdar [Kitchener]
left by the narrative is forcible and not marred
by too indiscriminate praise. He appears
throughout a stern, unsympathetic man, unmoved in threatened disaster or in brilliant
success, fertile in resources, with eye keen to
observe the smallest details in every department; a martinet but not a slave to red tape. In
this particular his methods are in marked contrast to those of some other English commanders.
The history appropriately ends with a
tribute to one whose name seldom appears in
its pages, but to whom possibly even more
than to the Sirdar, belongs the chief credit of a
great achievement. In developing and civilizing the Sudan, Churchill says, "To persevere
and trust Lord Cromer is the watchword of the
Englishman in Egypt."
ICS STORES
Special Prices to Members on Churchilliana, Sundries & Ephemera. Proceeds help support the work of the Society.
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NEW CHURCHILL NEEDLEPOINT
'ACTION THIS DAY" LABELS
NEW ICS CHRISTMAS CARDS
AND NOTE CARDS
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USA $3, UK £3, Canada C$4, Australia A$5.
MIRRORPIC CIGARETTE CARDS
Beautiful original needlepoint kit created by
Donna Johnson of ICS. Makes a lovely wall
hanging —or a perfect throw-pillow to warn
poachers off your favorite easy-chair. WSC
appears in traditional profile with bowtie,
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black on white. Size: livi x 15 inches.
• #103 Canvas alone, postpaid: USA $25,
UK £21, Canada C$36, Australia AS40.
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instructions). Postpaid: USA $39, UK £33,
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full set of 50 depicts WSC life scenes, Ppd:
USA $20, UK £17, Canada C$27, Aus. A$32.
WSC LIBRARY CREDO
W O W 111 all llmr uarttljl urr uftn
tl|r mrnllB till mlmh riiitluattiiu mail
br tarriri"! trtilmtiliaiilUi fiirumrtl.
Silhouette artist Elizabeth Baverstock (see FH#48
p. 6) has kindly donated her elegant Churchill
silhouette art to our UK chapter for use on these
handsome Christmas and note cards. Each measures
4x6" with the cover silhouette framed by an embossed border.
#115 Christmas Cards. Inside is a Christmas
greeting at right, facing Sir Winston's Christmas
1941 greetings as broadcast from the White House.
Packets of 10 cards and envelopes, postpaid: USA
$5, Canada $6. (In UK & Australia, order direct
from your local ICS office—see page 2 for address.
These cards omit the White House greeting.)
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USA $5, Canada $6.
EFFANBEE CHURCHILL DOLL
• #101 In stock for immediate shipment, a
handsome, hand-crafted collector doll by the
famous New York producer, Effanbee. Sir Winston wears his spotted bowtie, Homburg,
correct formal attire and gold watchchain,
carries a cigar in one hand and flashes a V-sign
with the other. Low production limited edition
assures that its value will appreciate. Our supply
limited—order soon. Size: 16% inches. List
price $100+. ICS postpaid price: USA $68,
UK £56, Canada C$92, Australia A$103.
(Overseas sent surface-parcel.)
• #113 Printed on buff parchment. Postpaid:
USA $2, UK £2, Canada C$2.75, Aus. A$3.
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• #114 Full set numbers 1-40 (some early ones
photocopied) postpaid: USA $98, UK £80,
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• New all-purpose ICS cachet 3V2X6, thermoengraved, pack of 25.
Each pack, postpaid: USA $7, UK £5.80,
PHILATELIC
#20 40th Anniv. El Alamein, Battleground, Virginia 4 Nov 82
#20a As above but limited edition Churchill, Maryland cancel.
#21 75th Wedding Anniv., Winston/Clementine, London 12 Sep 83.
#22 40th Anniv. D-Day, Normandy Beach, New Jersey 6 June 84
#23 40th Anniv. Battle of the Bulge, Patton, California 26 Dec 84
#24 85th Anniv. Escape from Boers, 6 S. Africa stamps/cancels, 1984
#25a 40th Anniv. V-E Day, Churchill, Ont. 8 May 1985
#25b As above, Dominica stamps & cancel, 8 May 1985
ICS COMMEMORATIVE COVERS. Limited edition covers issued by ICS
in the past, all of which have long been collectors items. Supplies of some
very limited. Each cover bears a special cachet, plus Churchill or C-related stamps of the country of issue, and contains a descriptive insert
with information on the anniversary celebrated. Postpaid including overseas airmail: USA $3, UK £2.75, Canada C$4, Aus. A$5.
#5 30th Anniv. 1st UN Conference, Washington 28 Dec 71
#8 10th Anniv. Honorary US Citizenship, Washington 3 Apr 73
-- Unveiling WSC Statue, hand-drawn cachet, London 19~73 (25 exist)
#9 Opening Centenary Exhibit, Somerset House London 10 May 74
#10 10th Anniv. WSC's Last Visit to Commons, London 27 Jul 74
#1 la Hoover-Churchill Centenary, London 10 Aug 74
#12 100th Year of WSC's Birth, hand cancel, London 9 Oct 74.
#12a As above, but Somerset House postmark in blue ink.
#12b As above, but Somerset House postmark in black ink.
#13 Last Day of Centenary Exhibit, hand cancel, London 14 Oct 74
#15 100th Anniv. WSC's Birth, Washington 30 Nov 74
#17 100th Anniv. WSC's Birth, Jersey, Channel Isles 30 Nov 74
PHILATELIC ODDS AND ENDS: Each of the following packages costs
US $3, UK £3, Canada C$4, Australia A$5, postpaid, airmail overseas:
• El Alamain blank covers, ICS cover #20, green cachet, lot of 17.
• Art Craft Churchill Maxi-Cards, thcrmo-engraved WSC portrait, with
either US or UK stamps, canceled at Fulton or London.
• Isle of Man Churchill Centenary 1974 first day covers
• Essex Stamp Show Churchill Centenary valid postcard June 1984
• Australia Churchill Stamp on Nov 1973 cacheted covers, 2 different
• Cover marking 20th Anniv. WSC's funeral, 30 Jan 1985
• Cafe Royal cancel Centenary cover, octoganal machin S/Sheet
• Turks & Caicos & Gibraltar Centenary cacheted envelopes, in pairs.
23
Action This Day
BY JOHN PLUMPTON
130 Collingsbrook Blvd.
Agincourt, Ontario M1W 1M7
AUTUMN 1885: AGE 11
As Secretary of State for India, Lord Randolph Churchill became increasingly irritated as Queen Victoria lobbied to have her son, the Duke
of Connaught, appointed to the Bombay Command. Winston later
reported that Lord Randolph "resisted the appointment with an
obstinate determination." What the son could not reveal, for obvious
reasons, was that his father had developed an active distrust of the
Royal Family. In Randolph's view, "in actual hostilities Royal Dukes are
a source of great embarrassment, discontent and danger." This dispute
occasioned Lord Randolph's first resignation from Lord Salisbury's
Cabinet, but it was quickly withdrawn.
A more important issue was the question of Home Rule for Ireland.
Churchill thought it impossible but agreed to meet the Irish half wav.
When they declined to reciprocate, he kept his own counsel and said
little publicly on the issue.
In the November General Election, Lord Randolph was defeated by
John Bright in Birmingham despite the active involvement of Lady
Randolph and the Duchess of Marlborough. One voter told Lady Randolph, "I like your husband and I like what he says. But I can't throw
off John Bright like an old coat." Churchill was elected in South Paddington the next day.
Back in school in Brighton, Winston asked his mother for "half a
quid or 10 bob if you know what that is." He also enquired about a
visit from his lather, but after Lord Randolph made a political trip to
Brighton without visiting his son, Winston wrote him, "1 cannot think
why you did not come to see me . . . I was very disappointed, but 1
suppose you were too busy."
AUTUMN 1935: AGE 61
On 1 September Churchill left for a holiday at Maxine Elliot's villa
in the south of France. For relaxation he painted.
World news was dominated by Mussolini's threat to invade
Abyssinia. Churchill advocated British support of League of Nations,
action. But the real threat was still Nazi Germany which he saw as "an
armed camp . . . with a population being trained from childhood for
war." The Germans, anticipating his inclusion in a Baldwin Cabinet,
gave prominence to his speeches. In response to a Churchill article in
Strand, "The Truth About Hitler" (Woods C282), the Nazi leader is
purported to have said, "What is to be the fate of the Anglo-German
Naval Agreement if the writer of this article is to be made a Minister of
the British Navy?"
After the Tory victory in the November general election, however,
WSC was not made a Minister. He had wanted to be First Lord, but
Baldwin said to others, "If there is going to be war . . . we must keep
him fresh to be our Prime Minister."
Before leaving for a Mediterranean holiday to work on Volume III of
Marlborough (A40) and draft chapters of A History of the EnglishSpeaking Peoples (A138), he reviewed Duff Cooper's Haig, Volume I
(C278): "Haig's mind . . . was thoroughly orthodox and conventional.
He does not appear to have had any original ideas." He charged that
Haig did not make effective use of tanks, nor was he aware of other
theatres of war.
In an article in Collier's on Charlie Chaplin, Churchill wrote, "He is
no mere clown. . . . He is a great actor who can tug at our heartstrings
as surely as he compels our laughter."
AUTUMN 1910: AGE 36
Social unrest dominated British political life at this time and, as
Home Secretary, WSC carried primary responsibility for government
response to the ferment. Worker riots centered on the Welsh mining
town of Tonypandy. Churchill's actions earned him severe criticism of
both the Left and the Right. The Left attacked him for excessive use of
force; the Right charged that he should have used troops, not police, to
quell the disturbances.
The calling of an election killed the Conciliation Bill or the
Parliamentary Franchise (Women) Bill. On what the suffragettes called
Black Friday (18 November) many women were beaten in a
demonstration on Parliament Square. Despite Churchill's desire to prevent this, he was held responsible. On 22 November he supervised
police action in another demonstration at Downing Street. A lew days
later, he was physically attacked by a male supporter of the suffragettes.
For many years he was perceived as a special villain by many Labour
supporters and suffragettes.
He made prison reform a personal concern. He noted that sons of
the working class faced jail terms for offenses which were perceived to
be manifestations of exuberant spirits in sons of other classes. He proposed time to pay debts instead of jail sentences. Capital punishment
cases caused him much anguish.
Bonar Law challenged Churchill to run against him in Manchester,
the loser to stay out of the succeeding Parliament. Winston declined,
ran and won in Dundee. Clementine helped, even to the extent of
making a short speech on the danger of an increased cost of living if
Tariff Reform was introduced.
AUTUMN 1960: AGE 86
In late summer Sir Winston and Lady Churchill flew to Venice to
join Aristotle Onassis' yacht Christina, for their second cruise, this time
around the Greek islands. Before embarking on Christina, they toured
Venice's Grand Canal, to the delight of large crowds.
A favorite fellow-guest on the tour was Dame Margot Fonteyn, the
celebrated ballerina. A main occasion was a meeting with President Tito
of Yugoslavia. Special events were an automobile tour of Crete, a dinner
party given by the Crete Liberal leader, and visits to the ruins of King
Minos' palace at Knossos and the ruins at Corinth. The cruise ended at
Athens, where the Churchills flew home to London.
After celebrating their 52nd Wedding Anniversary at Chartwell
they went to France to spend a month at the Hotel de Paris in Monte
Carlo. Visitors to the Churchill suite included Charles de Gaulle, Prince
Rainier and Princess Grace of Monaco and Somerset Maugham.
Sometimes Sir Winston went out to visit Lord Beaverbrook's villa, or
the gaming tables at the Casino.
Following their return to London, Sir Winston suffered a fall at
Hyde Park Gate that resulted in his admission to St. Mary's Hospital,
Paddington. Despite the fact that he had broken a small bone high up in
his neck he was up and walking again in three weeks, but he was
unable to attend the wedding of Edwina Sandys, his granddaughter.

the great winston - Winston Churchill

Transcription

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