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Finest Hour the Journal of Winston Churchill and His Times • Third Quarter 2020 • No

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Finest Hour the Journal of Winston Churchill and His Times • Third Quarter 2020 • No FINEST HOUR THE JOURNAL OF WINSTON CHURCHILL AND HIS TIMES • THIRD QUARTER 2020 • NO. 189 Churchill and Scotland Published by the International Churchill Society • www.winstonchurchill.org The International Churchill Society UNITED STATES • UNITED KINGDOM • CANADA • AUSTRALIA • NEW ZEALAND ICELAND • PORTUGAL • HEADQUARTERS: WASHINGTON, D.C. www.winstonchurchill.org The International Churchill Society is dedicated to preserving and promoting the historic legacy of Sir Winston Churchill. For the benefit of scholars, students, and Churchillians, the Society’s activities, publications, and programs are conducted through the joint resources of the National Churchill Library & Center at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and America's National Churchill Museum at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri. International Churchill Society International Churchill Society National Churchill (US) (UK) Library and Center President Honorary President The George Randolph Churchill The Hon. Celia Sandys Washington University 2130 H Street NW Chairman Chairman Washington, DC 20052 Laurence Geller CBE Laurence Geller CBE Director: Justin Reash Vice-Chairman Treasurer America's National Jean-Paul Montupet Scott Johnson Churchill Museum Westminster College Executive Director Executive Director Fulton, MO 65251 Justin Reash Andrew Smith Tel. (573) 592-5369 [email protected] [email protected] Chairman: Philip Boeckman Director: Timothy Riley Operating Committee International Council [email protected] Chairman Chairman International Allen Packwood OBE Jean-Paul Montupet Churchill Society (UK) Members Members Churchill College Katherine Carter Philip Boeckman Cambridge David Freeman Randolph Churchill CB3 0DS Craig Horn Laurence Geller CBE [email protected] John David Olsen Rob Havers Lee Pollock Scott Johnson International Justin Reash Robert Muehlhauser Churchill Society (US) Mitchell Reiss. Allen Packwood OBE Vice-Chairman Mitchell Reiss PO Box 58279 Timothy Riley Andrew Roberts Washington, DC 20037 Andrew Smith Tel. (202)-929-0309 [email protected] International Churchill Society Worldwide Affiliated Chapters and Societies To find full contact information for these chapters please go to winstonchurchill.org/about/united-states/ Australia New Zealand California–Bay Area Michigan [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Canada Portugal Los Angeles Missouri [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Calgary United Kingdom Colorado New England [email protected] [email protected] Essex [email protected] Edmonton [email protected] North Carolina (780) 619-7506 Washington, D.C. Kent [email protected] [email protected] Vancouver [email protected] Oregon [email protected] Florida North Yorkshire churchillsocietyofsouthflorida [email protected] Ottawa [email protected] Pennsylvania churchillsociety@ @gmail.com North Wales [email protected] chartwellcomm.com Georgia [email protected] Tennessee Toronto www.georgiachurchill.com United States churchillsocietytn.org ro’[email protected] Illinois Alaska [email protected] Texas Iceland [email protected] Louisiana [email protected] [email protected] ChurchillSocietyNewOrleans.com Wisconsin [email protected] FINEST HOUR THIRD QUARTER 2020 • NUMBER 189 Churchill and Scotland 4 From the Editor 5 Letters 6 Foreword • Gordon Brown 8 Why Have the Scots Forsaken Churchill? • Alastair Stewart 14 A “Villain for All Seasons”: Churchill and Scottish Mythologies of Grievance • Gordon J. Barclay 19 Scotland’s Real Strength • Winston S. Churchill 20 “He Is a Great Man”: Winston Churchill and Lord Rosebery Piers Brendon 26 Churchill, the Admiralty, and Scotland Robin Brodhurst 32 Churchill in Dundee, 1921 • David Stafford 38 A Scottish Honorary Degree • Ronald I. Cohen 40 “Keep Their Silliest People in Order”: Churchill and the Scottish Pillar Box War • David Freeman Lord Rosebery 42 Action This Day • Michael McMenamin See story on page 20 50 ICS Supporter Spotlight Books, Arts, & Curiosities 44 Delicious Reading • Katherine Carter Aberdeen's Mitchell Hall 45 That Other Hamilton Woman • Andrew Roberts See story on page 38 46 The Boffin and the Dam Busters • Mark Klobas 47 How Churchill Opened a “Window” • Robert A. McLain 49 The Turn of the Tide • Leon J. Waszak On the Cover Portrait of Churchill, oil on canvas, circa 1920 by Scotland's Sir James Guthrie (1859–1930) A study for Guthrie's painting "Statesmen of the Great War" at the National Portrait Gallery, London Photo credit: The National Galleries of Scotland From the Editor Churchill and Scotland Founded in 1968 by Richard M. Langworth CBE This is the first in what will be a series of four issues to be Third Quarter 2020 • Number 189 published over four years examining Churchill’s connections ISSN 0882-3715 with the four constituent parts of the United Kingdom. The rich www.winstonchurchill.org but scarcely explored field of Scotland comes first, and we are ____________________________ honored to have a foreword from former Prime Minister Gordon Publisher Brown. The International Churchill Society Churchill’s affiliations with Scotland began with his birth [email protected] on 30 November 1874—the feast day of St. Andrew, Scotland’s Editor patron saint. Despite the many connections that followed, Scots David Freeman today have all but forgotten Churchill. Alastair Stewart looks at [email protected] the reasons for this and explains why it would profit the country Department of History to embrace the Churchill legacy. California State University More egregious than collective amnesia has been a campaign Fullerton, CA 92834-6846 of deliberate misrepresentation of Churchill’s record in Scotland. __________________________ Gordon J. Barclay untangles the malicious myths that have been Deputy Editor fabricated and explains the reasons for the militant assertion of Justin Reash fake history. Senior Editors In previous issues of Finest Hour, we have looked at aspects Paul H. Courtenay, James W. Muller of Churchill’s military connections with Scotland, including his command of the 6th Battalion of the Royal Scots Fusiliers during Contributing Editors the First World War in FH 171. In the same issue, we reported on Ronald I. Cohen Michael McMenamin the construction of the Churchill Barriers at Scapa Flow. In this Timothy Riley issue, Robin Brodhurst details Churchill’s many other nautical connections with Scotland. Contributors David Stafford Canada On the political side, we looked in our previous issue at Chur- Gordon J. Barclay, Piers Brendon, chill’s relationship with Prime Minister Sir Henry Campbell-Ban- Robin Brodhurst, Katherine Carter, nerman. In this issue, Piers Brendon looks at Churchill’s friend- Andrew Roberts, Alastair Stewart United Kingdom ship with another Scotsman who made it into 10 Downing Street, Mark Klobas, Robert L. McLain, the Earl of Rosebery. David Stafford helps us to understand why Leon J. Waszak United States Churchill lost his “seat for life” in Dundee, even though his time as the city’s MP saw him functioning at the highest levels of gov- Address changes: Please update us when you move ernment. by contacting [email protected] There is far too much about Churchill and Scotland to in- ________________________________ clude in just one issue, but we have room for Ronald I. Cohen to Finest Hour is made possible through the show how Churchill’s legacy was once greatly valued by the Scots. generous support of members of the Finally, we glimpse how the stirrings of nationalism affected the International Churchill Society. twilight of Churchill’s career with the Scottish Pillar Box War. ________________________________ Published quarterly by the International Churchill Society; David Freeman, July 2020 , subscriptions from offices on pages 2 and 51. Permission to mail at nonprofit rates in USA granted by the United States Postal Service. Copyright 2020. All rights reserved. 4 | FINEST HOUR Email: [email protected] Letters | Finest Hour 188 British parliamentary history. It is & Queen [i.e., Princess] Elizabeth a masterful brief survey, for which aged 2. This last is a character. She NANTUCKET—I’ve had a chance I congratulate you. It must have has an air of authority & reflective- to devour the new edition on been quite a task to tie it all so ness astonishing in an infant. Churchill’s Prime Ministers. Loved well together by having the story the whole issue especially David of each of the ten prime ministers The King [George V] is well—but Cameron’s introductory article. told in a logical sequence. For us ageing. He no longer stalks but Big Congrats! Loved being a minor amateurs in the field, it is a fascin- goes out on the hill where the deer contributor.—Chris Matthews ating read, so thank you.—Fraser are moved about for him, & it may M. McKee, CDR, RCNR (Ret.) be that some loyal stag will do his TORONTO—Not being either a duty. He and the Q [i.e., Queen political or academic historian (my BALMORAL—[25 September 1928, Mary] asked much after you. With degree was sixty-nine years ago to Clementine] My darling One, tender love, your devoted in forestry!), I had but a general Here I am not at all tired by a rack- —W[inston] , concept of British history. This eting journey….I caught the Scot- issue has made fascinating reading tish Express at 12.45 a.m. at Rugby for me. You managed to
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