Chartwell Bulletin ® NUMBER 24 • JUNE 2010 • [email protected]
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The Churchill Centre & Museum at the Cabinet War Rooms Chartwell Bulletin ® NUMBER 24 • JUNE 2010 www.winstonchurchill.org • [email protected] “Randolph is decisively better....All the same the guinea pigs have died and the doctors are much intrigued about what has actually happened to him....He has grown a beard which makes him look to me perfecty revolting. He declares he looks like Christ. Certainly on the contrary he looks very like my poor father in the last phase of his illness. The shape of the head with the beard is almost identical.” —WSC TO HIS WIFE •CHARTWELL BULLETIN NO. 12, CHARTWELL,13APRIL 1935 Above: Quadrant Conference, 18 August 1943, The Citadel, Quebec. L-R: Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King, Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Canadian Governor-General The Earl of Athlone (Wikimedia). In this issue: 8 Last Printed Edition of Chartwell Bulletin • 2 Churchill News Worldwide 5 Chapters and Affiliates • 8 Letters • 11 Regional Organizations • 12 Administration CHURCHILL NEWS WORLDWIDE Old Headlines: How Bad a Student Was He — Really? From the library of Jerry Kambestad others and carried it up to the Head Master’s table. It was from these slender indications of scholarship that Mr. Welldon drew the conclusion that I was worthy to pass into Harrow. It is very much to his credit.” Bartlett produced old school reports, class lists and letters to prove that, on the contrary, Churchill was able to translate both Virgil and Caesar and was a prize student. So what went wrong during the Harrow exam? “All that happened was that he had a very bad attack of exam nerves. It happens to all kinds of boys Mr. Davidson’s Small House, Harrow, 1888-89. Winston Churchill at far left. and has nothing to do with merit,” said Bartlett. --or some time historians except geography in which he Editor’s note: have maintained that came second.” Harrow archivists have not FChurchill overplayed his Sir Winston’s own account found Churchill’s exam paper “dunce” image at Harrow School: in his autobiography My Early bearing only the number (I). For that not even Lord Randolph’s Life—in which he said he was more on WSC’s Harrow scholar- son could have been admitted considered unfit to learn ship see Jim Golland, Not without knowing Latin, and that anything but English—for years William—Just Winston (Harrow: in several subjects he was was the major document which Herga Press, 1988) and our own actually quite good. Judy contributed to the widely held “Leading Churchill Myths”: Kambestad found this clipping in belief that he had been a http://xrl.us/bhj4m2. Stoke one of the books of the late Jerry dunce—or at best an indifferent Brunswick School closed for Kambestad, which shows that student. In connection with his insufficient enrollment in 2009. ✌ educator John Bartlett was on to school entrance exam for the truth thirty-five years ago. Harrow, for instance, Churchill wrote that he was unable to Chartwell Bulletin LONDON, DECEMBER 7, 1975 answer a single question of his (AP)—The head master of a Latin test: NUMBER 24 • JUNE 2010 Sussex preparatory school has “I wrote my name at the Published quarterly for evidence that he says shatters a top of the page. I wrote down members and friends of myth that the late British the number of the question ‘I.’ The Churchill Centre & statesman was at the bottom of After much reflection I put a Churchill Museum at the his class at Harrow School. bracket round it thus ‘(I).’ But Cabinet War Rooms, with ® offices in Chicago and “The contemporary records thereafter I could not think of London. Website: show that he worked hard and anything connected with it that www.winstonchurchill.org that he had very real ability,” waseitherrelevantortrue.I said Head Master John Bartlett of gazed for two whole hours at Richard M. Langworth CBE, Editor [email protected] Stoke Brunswick School in West this sad spectacle and then Sussex. “In his last year he was merciful ushers collected up my Copyright © The Churcill Centre, 2010 top of the class in every subject piece of foolscap with all the CHARTWELL BULLETIN 24, PAGE 2 “After his ‘Fight on the Beaches’ Churchill in the News: speech, we wanted the Germans to come.” Dominic Lawson is wrong WSC, Taxes, 1940 and the Vote however about Churchill’s proposals for the universal Richard M. Langworth franchise, writing that he “had never been completely vote Churchill out in 1945; they persuaded of the benefits of the LONDON, APRIL 13TH— Writing voted the Conservatives out, and universal franchise: in 1930 in The Independent (http: with considerable justification. Churchill had published an essay, //xrl.us/bhg5d4) Dominic Many actually thought they could ‘Parliamentary Government and Lawson, son of Lady Thatcher’s vote Labour and retain Churchill the Economic Problem’ [reprinted Chancellor of the Exchequer, as Prime Minister! in Thoughts and Adventures]— argues that “the public want Mr. Lawson may also be which advocated its abandon- honesty, but not when it comes right about public attitudes when ment and a return to a property to their taxes.” Voters, Lawson Churchill became Prime Minister franchise (combined with propor- argues forcefully, will never undo in May 1940. At our 1988 tional representation). I imagine the government entitlements Bretton Woods, N.H. Churchill that if he were dropped into our that are bankrupting modern Conference, Alistair Cooke spoke present predicament, as some democracies. It is ludicrous, he ofgrowingupinpost-WorldWar political time-traveller, Churchill adds, for British Conservatives I Britain, where every village had would argue that it is next to to deplore the national debt, its monument to a lost genera- impossible to persuade a and then “to propose measures tion. Then, fixing his audience of majority of the need for sharp which would do nothing to 350 Churchillians with a steely public expenditure cuts, when reduce it, but actually increase eye, he added: millions of households would feel it….as if Winston Churchill had “The British people would that such a policy would cost declared, ‘I have nothing to offer do anything to stop Hitler, except them more in benefits than they but blood, toil, tears, sweat and fight him. And if you had been wouldevergetbackbywayofa tax cuts.’” alive and sentient and British at reduction in taxes.” Indeed, Mr. Lawson that time, not one in ten of you Coincidentally, Finest Hour continued, “it is an enduring wouldhavebeenwithhim.” 146 (Spring 2010) contains a myth that even as Prime Minister Remember too that the similar Churchill article from during the war itself, Churchill’s applause in the House of 1934, “Restoring the Lost Glory offer of ‘nothing but blood, toil, Commons was at first louder for of Democracy.” Rare among tears and sweat’ was invariably Chamberlain than for Churchill. politicians, WSC frequently welcome to the British people. As Butthatwason13May,and floated “trial balloons,” thinking Angus Calder pointed out in his Churchill’s speeches quickly out loud about the nature of >> iconoclastic book The People’s turned War, strikes were common, the attitudes government not especially around. By popular, and Churchill himself an June, after object of much public disparage- the French ment—even if that didn’t find debacle and expression in the columns of the Dunkirk, there newspapers. This pent-up was a discontent was one reason why different the great war leader received an mood. overwhelming raspberry from the Churchill’s public as soon as they had a postwar chance to express their opinion bodyguard, attheballotbox,inJuly1945.” Ronald The last is oversimplified, Golding, then but not all wrong. Churchill had an RAF his ups and downs in wartime Squadron polls, but remained well thought Leader, of individually. The people didn’t recalled: One of our favorites: the Arthur Pan portrait, 1941. CHARTWELL BULLETIN 24, PAGE 3 CHURCHILL NEWS WORLDWIDE democracy. In both articles, he vehicle of public opinion; the effective buffer against every did ponder the benefits of a arena—perhaps fortunately the form of revolutionary or “bonus vote” for what he vaguely padded arena—of the inevitable reactionary violence. It should be defined as the “more respon- class and social conflict; the the duty of faithful subjects to sible” level of citizens; yet he College from which the Ministers preserve these institutions in never led a movement or tabled of State are chosen, and hitherto their healthy vigour, to guard abillforsuchareform. the solid and unfailing foundation them against the encroachment Moreover, in neither article did of the executive power. I regard of external forces, and to revivify Churchill advocate “abandon- these parliamentary institutions them from one generation to ment” of the universal vote or a as precious to us almost beyond another from the springs of “return to a property franchise.” compare. They seem to give by national talent, interest, and Churchill did suggest (in far the closest association yet esteem.”** the midst of the Depression) achieved between the life of the * Winston S. Churchill, “...an Economic sub-Parliament people and the action of the Thoughts and Adventures,James debating day after day with State. They possess apparently W. Muller, ed. (Wilmington, Del.: fearless detachment from public an unlimited capacity of ISIBooks,2009),255. opinion all the most disputed adaptiveness, and they stand an ** Ibid., 246-47. ✌ questions of Finance and Trade, andreachingconclusionsby voting, would be an innovation, Honorary Members 1968-2010 butaninnovationeasilytobe embraced by our flexible con- We recently compiled a list of all honorary members past and present, in order of appointment, for our website. We take the liberty of pro- stitutional system. I see no viding the hard copy. Honorary Members of the old Churchill Study reason why the political Unit and International Churchill Society were dropped in 1995, and Parliament should not choose, in new honoraries elected.