- 7 hours ago
Category
📚
LearningTranscript
00:08The
00:09The whole fury and might of the enemy must very soon be turned on us.
00:16Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this island or lose the war.
00:22If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be free,
00:26and the life of the world may move forward into broad funded uplands.
00:35I read him as the greatest war leader in British history.
00:39I think it has to be the inspiration that he brought to the whole country,
00:44and to the whole war effort.
00:46He was a figure larger than life,
00:49and he had the capacity to make other people see things
00:54through his vision.
00:56He knew that he had this fantastic challenge,
01:00and you sense that he felt a sort of elation about this,
01:05and the energy was unbelievable.
01:08We have before us an ordeal of the most weavish kind.
01:12We have before us many, many long months of struggle and of suffering.
01:18He got contact with the common man and expressed the common man's thoughts.
01:25He had a very engaging simplicity and also a sympathy,
01:32which seemed to go out to an audience.
01:34You could see the audience being attracted, enormously attracted to him as a man.
01:40The British nation is stirred and moved and it never has been at any time in its long eventful famous
01:50history.
01:51And it is no hackney trope of speech to say that they mean to conquer or to die.
02:01Churchill, at his best, in other words during the war, was a man of towering greatness,
02:07and an enormously impressive leader.
02:13But if you go back to pre-war years, he was not a great man politically.
02:19The British public really didn't trust him.
02:23He wasn't reliable.
02:25We regarded him then as a has-been.
02:29A great warrior, a great politician, a great fighter, a great imperialist,
02:35not at all modern in his outlook, a great reactionary.
02:40He was a man who needed his moment really to fulfill himself.
02:47In his history, he had a catalogue of quite near disastrous mistakes and political misjudgments and military misjudgments.
02:59But with his strong views, when they coincided with our national needs and interests,
03:12then there was a strength that he could throw in to the country's struggle.
03:17We shall fight on the beaches.
03:19We shall fight on the landing grounds.
03:22We shall fight in the fields and in the streets.
03:26We shall fight in the hills.
03:28We shall never surrender.
03:33This is your victory.
03:41Victory of the cause of freedom.
03:45On the 8th of May, 1945, after five years of war, Winston Churchill celebrated victory in Europe with king and
03:51people.
03:52Before 1940, many had written him off as a failure.
03:56By 1945, he was called the savior of Western civilization.
04:00Following a year by the
04:58The End
05:01When his mother, Lady Randolph Churchill, was seven and a half months pregnant, she was staying here at Blenheim Palace.
05:08One day she joined the shooting party. While out with the shooters, she had a fall and labour pains came
05:14on. She was rushed back to the palace, over the rough ground in a pony trap.
05:19So it was that Winston Churchill spent the first of his 90 Christmases here at Blenheim Palace. Here, too, he
05:28was baptised in the palace chapel shortly after Christmas of 1874. Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill.
05:38Churchill's childhood followed the pattern of an upper-class British family. He was brought up by a nanny, and when
05:45he was seven, his mother sent him to boarding school. At 13, he went to Harrow.
05:58At Harrow, Churchill showed promise in the subjects he loved, history and English among them. He excelled in fencing, winning
06:05the public schools championship. In later life, he would joke about his lack of success at exams.
06:10At life unfolded, I've been astonished to find how many more degrees I have received than I passed examinations.
06:23Churchill was a lonely schoolboy. His parents were often too busy with their social life to bother with their son.
06:30If you have not time to write, you might telegraph. That takes very little time. Please, darling mummy, do write
06:37to your loving son.
06:40Darling mummy, do attend to my letter. I am so wretched. Even now I weep. Please, my darling mummy, be
06:47kind to your loving son.
06:50Please, do, do, do, do, do, do, do come to your loving son.
06:55Winston S. Churchill
07:00Even on speech day, Churchill's parents failed to come see him. He missed their love.
07:06Instead, he poured out his troubles to his beloved nanny, Mrs. Everest. He called her womanie.
07:12When she came to see him in her nanny's clothes, young Winston proudly showed her round the school, braving the
07:19comments of his schoolmates.
07:20I remember once at the end of long summer holidays, I think I was 16 or 17, I was going
07:27back to Eton.
07:29And the last night we sat up late talking in his study at Chartwell, and we talked of many things.
07:37I think one or one third in the morning, and he said, you know, dear boy, I think I've talked
07:43to you more these holidays than my father talked to me in the whole of his life.
07:49And there was no bitterness in it, but there was sadness.
07:53After Harrow, Churchill applied for Sandhurst to train as a soldier.
07:57When, after the third attempt, he finally succeeded, his father, in the last stages of the syphilis that was to
08:03kill him, warned his son.
08:05I am certain that if you cannot prevent yourself from leading the idle, useless, unprofitable life you have had during
08:11your school days, you will become a mere social wastrel, one of the hundreds of public school failures, and you
08:18will degenerate into a shabby and futile existence.
08:24When he got to Sandhurst, he found that his physique was a great disadvantage.
08:30He wrote to his mother and said, I am cursed with so feeble a body.
08:34And indeed, he was only five foot six, and he was only 31 inches around the chest.
08:39He was hairless, and he felt very inferior physically, I think.
08:44Churchill spent the next four years as a regular soldier, fighting in India and the Sudan.
08:50He called this period the university of his life.
08:53He read, wrote newspaper articles, and at 23 published his first book, A Graphic Account of the War on the
09:00Northwest Frontier.
09:04In 1899, Churchill's search for action and adventure took him to South Africa to report on the Boer War.
09:11His articles warned the British public that in their fight for independence, the Boers were a formidable force, masters of
09:19the art of surprise.
09:20He was soon to experience this for himself.
09:31On the 15th of November, 1899, an armoured train with 150 British soldiers on board set off on patrol along
09:39this railway line.
09:40Churchill had been invited to join them.
09:42At first, he'd been reluctant to do so, thinking that it would be a routine patrol with nothing new to
09:47report.
09:48But the commanding officer persuaded him to go.
09:51It was to be one of the most fateful days of Churchill's life.
09:58Break!
10:01The armoured train was ambushed and derailed by the Boers.
10:06During the attack that followed, Churchill took command, clearing the line so that the engine, with him on board, got
10:12away, taking 60 men, many of them wounded to safety.
10:18Churchill returned to help the troops still fighting on the line, but was captured before he could reach them.
10:32He was taken prisoner, despite his protest that he was a war correspondent and not a soldier.
10:38When the press wrote about his exploits, he became an immediate hero.
10:44He was held prisoner in this building in Pretoria.
10:49I hated every minute of my captivity more than I have hated any other period in my whole life.
10:55Great events were in progress.
10:57Fine opportunities for action and adventure were slipping away.
11:01After three weeks in captivity, Churchill escaped over the prison wall and jumped a train.
11:06Young man, fair-haired, moustache, with a lisp, the description went out, wanted, dead or alive.
11:13He hid in a mine, surrounded by Boer forces, and finally escaped again by train.
11:19The newspapers speculated on his whereabouts.
11:24Eventually, he appeared in Durban.
11:26Here, he told an enthusiastic crowd of his daring exploits.
11:31An article, How I Escaped from the Boers, promptly followed, then a book.
11:42In the autumn of 1900, with the war over, Churchill presented himself for election as the conservative candidate for Oldham.
11:50The 26-year-old hero, won by a narrow majority, helped by his mother.
11:55She was proud, and she saw his name in the papers, and well-known people praised what he was doing.
12:04And, um...
12:05And so naturally, she took a great maternal pride, and she got on the bandwagon in a big way.
12:11And did a great deal to help him.
12:13As he says, she left no string un-pulled, she left no cutlet uncooked.
12:18That would insist him in his career.
12:20Churchill soon emerged as a rising star of the Tory party.
12:25Somewhat heavy-looking, ambitious, hard-working, with a touch of mysticism that attracts the mob.
12:31A born orator, with power to move people as he wills.
12:35Winston Spencer Churchill must go far.
12:37But to Churchill's agile mind, his fellow Tories were, as he told his mother, sleepy, exhausted, and played out.
12:45He attacked government policy, particularly on trade.
12:47The Tories wanted to tax goods imported from outside the empire.
12:52He wanted free trade.
12:53In 1904, now hated by the Tories, he joined the liberals.
12:57He was regarded as a renegade in a turncoat by a great body of political opinion.
13:03Also, at that time, my father was regarded as being fairly sort of bumptious and insufferable.
13:17He was not really a party man, and, indeed, he had a certain contempt for all political parties.
13:27And I remember him saying, you need a charger to carry you into battle.
13:33And you must take the most convenient hack in the stable, and point it the direction you want it to
13:38go.
13:39The charger Churchill took from the stable was the liberal party of Mr. Asquith.
13:44At the age of 30, he was appointed under-secretary for the colonies, his first ministerial post.
13:50Three years later, aged 33, he became one of the youngest cabinet ministers ever.
13:55As president of the Board of Trade, he introduced many social reforms.
13:59He abolished sweated labour, set up labour exchanges for the unemployed,
14:04legislated for a minimum wage, with compulsory meal breaks at work.
14:09The British owe their tea breaks to Churchill, but he was more successful at politics than love.
14:14The great loves of his life, when he met my mother, were, first of all, Pamela Lytton.
14:21Then there was Muriel Wilson, who later became Mrs. Ward.
14:27She was a tremendous beauty.
14:30And, er, he did propose to her.
14:33And, of course, he was very much in love at one time with Ethel Barrymore.
14:36And he proposed to her.
14:38But she refused him, too.
14:40As an actress, she was not amused by the world of politics.
14:43Soon he was to meet a young woman who was interested in his political world.
14:47The daughter of an impoverished but aristocratic liberal family.
14:51Clementine Hozier.
14:52Her first meeting was not a success.
14:55My mother told me that she felt extremely uncomfortable with this man just standing there gazing at her.
15:03And, um, he didn't say anything.
15:06And she didn't say anything.
15:08So she saw, standing not far away, a bow of hers.
15:12So she sort of made a little sign.
15:14And the, um, man came up and said,
15:18Oh, um, will you dance with me?
15:20So she took her, her, her exit very quickly, thankfully.
15:26And, um, whereas, as the bow swept her off, he said to her,
15:31Whatever were you doing talking to that frightful care at Winston Churchill?
15:35Churchill, cabinet minister, author, and eligible bachelor,
15:39did not see his Clementine again after their first awkward meeting for another four years,
15:44until they met by chance at a dinner party.
15:47A few weeks later, at Churchill's request, she was invited with him to Blenheim Palace
15:51to spend the weekend as a guest of Churchill's cousin, the Duke of Marlborough.
15:56Churchill had decided that he wanted to marry Clementine,
15:59and that Blenheim Palace, his birthplace and the home of his ancestors,
16:03was the right place to propose.
16:06The weekend was almost over, however,
16:08and Churchill had not found the courage to say anything.
16:11At this point, Winston's cousin, the Duke,
16:16who'd been observing all this,
16:18took things into his own hands.
16:21My mother came down to breakfast quite early.
16:24She was an early riser.
16:27And the Duke went upstairs.
16:29My father was in bed reading the newspapers, I imagine.
16:33And he gave him a piece of his mind.
16:36I imagine it was to the effect that if you want to marry this beautiful girl,
16:40you better get out of bed, get dressed,
16:42go down there and propose to her.
16:44It was on the 11th of August 1908 that Churchill finally plucked up courage
16:50to invite Clementine Hosier to walk with him in the grounds of Blenheim Palace.
16:54While they were walking, it came on to rain.
16:57So they took shelter here in the Temple of Diana.
17:01And while inside the temple,
17:03Churchill nervously asked her to marry him.
17:07She accepted.
17:08They decided to keep the news of their engagement secret
17:11until she could go to London and tell her mother.
17:15But as they emerged from the temple,
17:17Churchill suddenly saw his closest friend,
17:19rushed up to him, embraced him,
17:21and in full sight of several palace servants,
17:24blurted out the news.
17:26So the secret was out.
17:28A month later, they were married at St Margaret's Westminster.
17:31She was 23.
17:33He was 10 years older.
17:38In January 1911,
17:40three policemen were killed by armed burglars,
17:42who were then trapped in Sydney Street in the east end of London.
17:46Now Home Secretary,
17:47Churchill arrived to take personal charge
17:49of what seemed like a military operation in a London street.
17:55And I could see a man with a tall top hat
17:58and a long black coat standing there.
18:00I didn't know who he was.
18:01I was nine years old at the time.
18:03I didn't know who he was,
18:05but he was standing there surrounded by people.
18:08But it wasn't until after the siege,
18:10and the babies were full of it,
18:12we realised who he was
18:13that had been standing across the road there.
18:17A company of Scots guards and horse artillery were brought in.
18:21Churchill was to be much criticised by press,
18:24Parliament and the public for risking his own life
18:26and conducting operations there as Home Secretary.
18:33After a ten-hour siege, the House caught fire,
18:35and the burglars died in the burning building.
18:43Churchill had greater problems with the suffragettes.
18:46He supported the view of the Liberal government
18:48that women did not need the vote.
18:49But as Home Secretary,
18:51the issue for him was not so much votes,
18:53but the maintenance of law and order.
18:55The worst incident between police and suffragettes
18:57was a running six-hour battle in Parliament Square.
19:01Churchill was blamed by the suffragettes
19:03for their harsh treatment by the police.
19:05When he was questioned about it,
19:07first he said that the police
19:11had misunderstood his instructions.
19:15Later, a week later,
19:17he told the House of Commons
19:18that no instructions had been given,
19:22either verbal or in writing.
19:25Indeed, there was a complete cover-up.
19:29My mother always felt
19:30that Churchill was an ambitious politician
19:34whose behaviour was less than honest.
19:40Churchill became hated by the suffragettes.
19:43After he had opposed them in the House of Commons,
19:45he was physically attacked.
19:49On one occasion,
19:51one of them tried to throw my father under a train
19:54which was arriving at the station.
19:56was fended off by my mother
19:58who hit her hard with an umbrella.
20:01Churchill warned the Cabinet
20:02that if they gave the vote to women,
20:04they would perish at a woman's hand.
20:06My father was not in favour of votes for women,
20:09not till very much later,
20:11with a good deal of candour.
20:12He remarked that he would have been more in favour
20:16of them having the vote
20:18when he realised how many of them
20:20subsequently voted for him.
20:24In 1911, Churchill was finally given the Cabinet post
20:27that most suited his love of military affairs.
20:30First Lord of the Adventist.
20:32It was my golden age, he later wrote.
20:34He fought his corner hard
20:36to ensure that the Royal Navy
20:38would be strong enough
20:39to deter the growing menace of the German fleet.
20:46In the summer of 1914,
20:48people's thoughts were far from war.
20:50Churchill was prepared.
20:53Everything tends towards catastrophe and collapse.
20:56I am interested, geared up and happy.
20:59Is it not horrible to be built like that?
21:01The preparations have a hideous fascination for me.
21:33The War of the Adventist
21:34which everyone believed would be over by Christmas
21:36became a bloody stalemate on the Western Front.
21:38To break the deadlock,
21:40Churchill proposed a naval attack
21:42through the Dardanelles
21:43against Germany's ally Turkey
21:45to his colleague Lloyd George.
21:48Winston said to Ergy,
21:51If I can force the Dardanelles by the British Navy,
21:58I shall be the greatest man in Europe.
22:01Lloyd George was in favor of it,
22:03provided always that it was a combined operation
22:09with Kitchener at the War Office and the Navy.
22:16Winston was impetuous
22:18and wanted it to be alone.
22:22To Churchill and his admirals,
22:24it seemed almost a simple plan
22:25to send British warships
22:26through this narrow strip of water
22:28to Constantinople
22:30and victory over the Turks.
22:32For the British admirals
22:33and for Churchill,
22:35the firepower of the British battleships
22:37seemed sufficient
22:38first to blast
22:39and then to push past
22:40the Turkish forts.
22:43The British cabinet in London
22:44were excited by the prospect
22:46of a series of magnificent victories
22:49which would follow
22:50this single naval success.
22:53Kitchener was unwilling
22:54to send troops to Turkey immediately.
22:56Churchill persuaded the cabinet
22:57that the Navy should go it alone.
22:59When the British and French
23:01launched their assault
23:02on the Dardanelles,
23:03bombarding the Turkish forts,
23:05six Allied ships were sunk
23:07or disabled
23:07by hidden mines.
23:09The British admiral in command
23:11called off the attack.
23:18Churchill urged
23:19a renewed assault
23:20that the cabinet
23:20had lost faith
23:21in his judgment
23:22that the Navy alone
23:23would succeed.
23:24In May 1915,
23:25he was removed
23:26from the admiralty.
23:28Kitchener poured troops
23:29into the Dardanelles
23:30but after six months
23:32and the death
23:32of more than 100,000 men,
23:35the British withdrew.
23:36Churchill was blamed
23:37for this costly and bloody campaign.
23:39Not only had his naval attack failed,
23:41many believed it had only served
23:43to warn the Turks
23:44of British intentions.
23:47There's no doubt
23:48that Churchill's attempt
23:50in January
23:52was in effect
23:54sending the Turks
23:55a postcard
23:56that we're coming along
23:58in some weeks' time.
24:00He wanted something done yesterday
24:03that should have been waiting.
24:05He should have waited.
24:07Impatience.
24:09Impulsiveness.
24:11It was a very good idea
24:13but a king-sized cocker
24:15and a lot of lives
24:18wasted in a useless endeavor.
24:38My mother thought
24:40the Dardanelles marked
24:43the absolute nadir
24:44of his political fortunes
24:46and that it had
24:52a deep effect upon him
24:55and she said
24:57I thought he would die
24:59of grief.
25:02Cold-shouldered
25:03by his colleagues,
25:04Churchill decided
25:05to fight as a soldier
25:06on the Western Front.
25:07On the day of his departure,
25:09Clementine wrote,
25:10There was a thick fog
25:12and the figure
25:13was misty and dim.
25:15I feel you receding
25:16into the fog
25:17and mud of Flanders
25:18and not coming back
25:20for so long.
25:22The ex-Cabinet Minister
25:24was now Lieutenant Colonel
25:25commanding the 6th Battalion
25:27Royal Scots Fusiliers.
25:29The disaster of the Dardanelles
25:30made him less than welcome
25:32at the front.
25:33Everybody was seeing
25:35why this Winston Churchill
25:37or Cabinet Minister
25:38not go to some other battalion.
25:40We don't want him here.
25:41We've got a good
25:42commanding officer here.
25:44Well, the mere fact
25:45that he came back
25:46with a shadow
25:46of the Dardanelles
25:47over him,
25:49they had a very poor
25:50opinion of him.
25:53Churchill established
25:54his headquarters
25:55in this farm in Belgium
25:56at a little village
25:57called Ploegstierd,
25:59Plug Street to the soldiers,
26:00only a few hundred yards
26:01behind the front line.
26:03He was not afraid
26:04of sharing danger
26:05with his men
26:06and would often
26:07go on patrol
26:07close to the German lines.
26:10That took
26:11Winston Churchill
26:12up over the top
26:14of the parapet
26:15into no man's land
26:17and whenever we got
26:19to a certain hole
26:20in front of the German barbed wire
26:22we would crawl into it
26:23and we'd lie there
26:25up to hearing water
26:26listening to the German
26:28stalking
26:28and I heard them
26:29stamping their feet
26:31on the dockboards
26:32they warm their feet.
26:34Churchill's men
26:35quickly grew to like him.
26:37He shared their hardships
26:38and their moments
26:39of relaxation.
26:40Winston Churchill
26:41was the world's
26:42most horrible singer
26:44and they started
26:45to sing
26:46My Old Turpolan Jacket
26:48and it was terrible
26:50and the boys
26:51they would clap him
26:52and they were
26:52as pleased as could be.
26:55He was a
26:56He was a real
26:58man's of man.
27:00Wrap me up
27:03in me tarpaulin jacket
27:06And say a poor buffer
27:10lies low
27:12Get six stalwart lancers
27:16to carry me
27:18With steps mournful
27:21solemn and slow
27:24Churchill became depressed
27:25and angry
27:26at the slaughter.
27:27Clementine was
27:28his one comfort.
27:30My dearest one
27:31I have your little photograph
27:32up to my lips now
27:34and I kiss it each night
27:35before I go to bed.
27:37What should I do
27:38if I had not you
27:39to write to
27:40when I am despondent?
27:55After six months
27:56in France
27:57Churchill had returned
27:58to Britain.
27:58He spent a further year
28:00in the political wilderness
28:01until his friend
28:02Lloyd George
28:03now Prime Minister
28:04brought him back
28:05to the cabinet
28:05despite conservative
28:07opposition.
28:08In 1919
28:09as Secretary of State
28:11for War
28:11he was plunged
28:12into the problems
28:13of Ireland.
28:15In their fight
28:16for an independent Ireland
28:18the newly formed IRA
28:19were attacking
28:20the British army.
28:21Outraged by IRA atrocities
28:23Churchill sent in
28:25a volunteer regiment
28:26the Black and Tans
28:27to crush the rebellion.
28:28The Black and Tans
28:29were notorious
28:30for their cruelty.
28:32They used to resort
28:34to methods
28:34like indiscriminate firing
28:36from lurries
28:36shooting children
28:37trailing men
28:38captured men
28:39behind them
28:40so the bits of them
28:41were found all over
28:41the roadway
28:42after the lurries had passed.
28:44They burnt villages
28:45they burnt homes
28:46they burnt towns.
28:48They committed
28:48atrocities
28:49against the Irish people.
28:51They were inclined
28:52to take out
28:52all their frustrations
28:54on the ordinary people
28:55and the Irish people
28:57held Churchill
28:58responsible for that.
29:01In Britain too
29:02Churchill was criticised
29:04for the government's
29:04harsh measures.
29:07Even Clementine
29:08reproached him.
29:09It always makes me
29:11unhappy and disappointed
29:12when I see you
29:13inclined to take
29:14the granted
29:15that the rough
29:15iron-fisted
29:16honey-sh way
29:18will prevail.
29:22Churchill soon realised
29:24that force
29:24was not working.
29:25A political agreement
29:27would have to be negotiated.
29:29Michael Collins
29:29military leader
29:30of the IRA
29:31came to London
29:32to discuss
29:32an Anglo-Irish treaty.
29:34Churchill took a firm line.
29:36In the final days
29:38of the negotiating
29:39of the treaty
29:41that there was
29:41absolutely no doubt
29:43in Collins' mind
29:44and in other members
29:45of the negotiating team
29:47that Churchill
29:48threatened
29:49an all-out war.
29:50And Churchill
29:51was using phrases
29:51like real war
29:52not mere bush ranging
29:54will drive
29:55and that implied
29:56concentration camps
29:57it implied
29:58aerial bombardment
30:00and the full rigour
30:02of the British army.
30:04So the Irish treaty
30:05was signed
30:06and Collins posed
30:07with King and Cabinet.
30:09The treaty made
30:10Southern Ireland
30:10the Irish free state.
30:12It excluded Ulster
30:13the predominantly
30:14Protestant counties
30:15of the north
30:16which remained part
30:17of the United Kingdom.
30:19Collins wrote
30:20gratefully to Churchill
30:21we couldn't have done
30:22it without you
30:23and British troops
30:25left Ireland.
30:26But the treaty
30:27was rejected
30:27by many Irish Republicans.
30:29Within six months
30:30Collins was assassinated
30:31Ireland sank
30:33into civil war.
30:35In 1924
30:36the Conservatives
30:37won the election.
30:38Baldwin
30:39the new Prime Minister
30:40invited Churchill
30:41to rejoin the government.
30:42He was now
30:43to change parties
30:44a second time
30:45from Liberal
30:45back to Conservative.
30:47He had
30:48many many enemies
30:50in the ranks
30:50of Conservative people.
30:51Conservative Party
30:51who refused to accept
30:54that Churchill
30:55could be trusted
30:55in any way
30:56and he was utterly amazed
30:58and as he put it
31:00the Conservative Party
31:01dumbfounded
31:02when Mr. Baldwin
31:04invited him
31:05to become
31:06Chancellor of the Exchequer.
31:08He used to say
31:09of course anyone
31:10can rat
31:11but it takes talent
31:12to re-rat.
31:32a crisis had arisen
31:34in the coal industry.
31:35The mine owners
31:36were demanding
31:37an immediate cut
31:38in wages.
31:39The miners refused
31:40and were locked out
31:41by the owners.
31:43The 26th strike
31:44was about
31:45half an hour
31:46on the day
31:47and 10%
31:48off the pay
31:50and the miners' leader
31:51of the day
31:51A.J. Cook
31:53famous saying
31:54was not a minute
31:54on the day
31:55not a penny
31:56off the pay.
31:58To support the miners
32:00the trade unions
32:01called a general strike.
32:02The government
32:03called in volunteers
32:04to run the transport system
32:05and to help
32:06break the strike.
32:08To Churchill
32:08and the government
32:09a halt to all work
32:10posed the threat
32:11of anarchy.
32:14Churchill was
32:15Chancellor of the Exchequer.
32:1625 years earlier
32:18he had been a journalist.
32:20Now the cabinet
32:20asked him
32:21to take charge
32:22of a government
32:22news sheet
32:23but he decided
32:24to go one better
32:25and to produce
32:26a newspaper.
32:27He did so.
32:29It was called
32:30the British Gazette
32:31and within a week
32:32had reached
32:33the incredible circulation
32:34of 3 million copies.
32:37Churchill and his newspaper
32:38were outspoken.
32:39If the general strike
32:41were to succeed
32:42he said
32:42the trade union leaders
32:44would become
32:44masters of the nation.
32:47Either the country
32:48will succeed
32:49in breaking
32:49the general strike
32:50or the general strike
32:52will break
32:53the country.
32:54Well of course
32:54Churchill
32:55blamed the miners
32:56for the strike.
32:57He thought
32:57it was
32:58the hotheads
32:59that had got
33:00to work
33:00and
33:03ignoring all
33:04the other
33:04the demands
33:05that had been
33:05made on them
33:06by the coal owners
33:07and
33:09well as far
33:10as Churchill
33:11was concerned
33:12he didn't care
33:13for any
33:14of the work
33:15in class.
33:16He'd never
33:16experienced
33:17the conditions
33:18that they lived under
33:19and he'd no idea
33:20what they was like.
33:22Without pay
33:23many mining families
33:25were on the verge
33:26of starvation.
33:29My personal opinion
33:30about Churchill
33:32was
33:32there was a lot
33:33more people
33:35I'm not a vindictive
33:37person
33:37but at that time
33:39I thought
33:39that him
33:40and Baldwin
33:41for that matter
33:41would have been
33:42better dead
33:43because the country
33:44would have been
33:44a better place.
33:47Churchill believed
33:48the general strike
33:48would have to be broken
33:49before a settlement
33:51could be reached.
33:52He advised
33:52the Prime Minister
33:53tonight surrender
33:54tomorrow magnanimity.
33:56Churchill's
33:57old attitude
33:58to life
33:59you know
33:59was to beat
34:00you down
34:00and then
34:02after he had
34:03conceded
34:03tired
34:04weak
34:05nothing to offer
34:06he'd want to talk
34:07to you.
34:09This is London
34:10calling the British Isles.
34:11We have just
34:12received the news
34:13that the general strike
34:15has been called off
34:16by the leaders
34:17of the Trade Union Council.
34:23Churchill as editor
34:24of the British Gazette
34:25was thought
34:26by the miners
34:26to be the villain
34:27of the piece.
34:28I wrote a letter
34:29to Churchill
34:31as Chancellor
34:32of the Exeter
34:32and I said
34:35I was very sorry
34:36but I couldn't see
34:38the miners
34:41being left
34:42to struggle on
34:43and ultimately
34:44conquered
34:45by starvation.
34:47and cold
34:49and Churchill
34:50wrote me a long
34:50letter back
34:52and said
34:53come and see me
34:54and
34:57I'd like to talk
34:58to you about this.
34:59So I did
35:00and it's the first time
35:01I'd ever met Churchill
35:02and I went into
35:04his room
35:04with the Treasury
35:05and he said
35:07I understand
35:08your pangs
35:09and anxieties
35:11and he said
35:12as a matter of fact
35:13I'm on your side
35:14I can't say so
35:15as a member
35:16of the cabinet
35:17but I
35:18wanted to give them
35:20a very generous settlement
35:21and I got
35:22within sight of it
35:25but I wasn't
35:27allowed to
35:27by the cabinet.
35:29Churchill remained
35:30Chancellor
35:30for five years.
35:31He introduced
35:32pensions
35:33for widows
35:33and orphans
35:34and reduced taxes
35:35for the poor.
35:37Lloyd George
35:37called him
35:38the merriest
35:39tax collector
35:39since Robin Hood
35:40but he failed
35:42to revive the economy
35:43or to reduce
35:44unemployment
35:44as he had hoped.
35:46He was a complete
35:47fish out of water
35:49Churchill at the Treasury
35:50and he'd come out
35:51of a conference
35:53of high experts
35:55and economists
35:56and bankers
35:56which he loathed
35:58and I said
36:00what happened
36:02and he looked
36:04at me rather sadly
36:05and he said
36:05you know
36:07after a day
36:07I wish these fellows
36:09were admirals
36:09or generals.
36:11I talk their language
36:12and I can make them
36:13understand
36:14what I say
36:15and often make them
36:16do what I want
36:17but after a time
36:19these bankers
36:19and economists
36:20start talking
36:21Persian
36:21and then I'm sunk.
36:24Ramsay MacDonald
36:25led Labour to victory
36:26in the 1929
36:27general election.
36:29Two years later
36:30MacDonald formed
36:31a national government
36:32with conservatives
36:33and liberals
36:33but there was no place
36:35for Churchill.
36:36He was disliked
36:37by the Tories
36:37particularly because
36:39he opposed their plans
36:40to give self-government
36:41to India
36:41in his view
36:43still the foundation
36:44of British imperial power.
36:46Outspoken
36:47controversial
36:48always the outsider
36:50he seemed now
36:51to have no political future.
36:53A humble backbencher
36:54he was to be
36:55out of office
36:56for ten years.
37:02Churchill had lost
37:03a small fortune
37:04in the Wall Street crash.
37:06Now he came
37:07to the States
37:07in the grip
37:08of the Depression
37:09to earn money
37:10by lecturing.
37:12I'm going to talk
37:13about this economic problem
37:17which ought
37:18to cause us all
37:19continuous thought.
37:23It is surely
37:26a great mystery
37:27that we should all
37:29be
37:30so much
37:31poorer
37:32now
37:33than we were
37:34two or three years ago.
37:37Why should
37:38the whole world
37:39suddenly
37:40have got
37:41so much
37:42poorer?
37:43These attempts
37:44to offer a solution
37:45to the economic problems
37:47were unexpectedly
37:48interrupted.
37:49Churchill had been
37:50invited to a house
37:51on Fifth Avenue
37:51to meet some friends.
37:52His taxi
37:54searched for an hour
37:55in vain
37:55to find the house.
37:57Agitated
37:57Churchill got out
37:58of the taxi
37:58and began to walk.
38:01Being English
38:01he looked the wrong way.
38:03Suddenly
38:04he was struck
38:04by a car
38:05falling to the ground
38:06and lying here
38:08in the street.
38:09He was badly hurt
38:10bleeding both
38:11from the head
38:12and from the legs.
38:14Churchill spent
38:15a week in hospital.
38:16I certainly
38:17suffered every
38:18pang
38:18mental and physical
38:19he wrote
38:20but there is neither
38:21the time
38:22nor the strength
38:22for self-pity.
38:23Live dangerously.
38:25Dread not.
38:26All will be well.
38:27After a few days
38:29he sat up in bed
38:30and he dictated
38:32a really
38:33quite wonderful article
38:34on how it feels
38:36to be knocked down
38:37by a car.
38:38He sold it
38:39for a much needed
38:41five thousand dollars.
38:44I had a hard bump.
38:46A bump I think
38:48that most people
38:49would like to take.
38:51however
38:52here I am
38:53and I hope
38:54I'm going to have
38:55better luck
38:55this time.
38:57I feel
38:59very much better.
39:01Bound for a
39:02well-earned rest
39:02in the Bahamas
39:03Winston Churchill
39:05cheerfully faces
39:06the demon
39:07cameraman
39:07on leaving
39:08his hotel.
39:12Mr. Churchill
39:13great British
39:14statesman
39:14has almost
39:15fully recovered
39:15from his encounter
39:16with a New York
39:17taxi cab.
39:19Churchill continued
39:20his lecture tour.
39:21His new secretary
39:23came to know him
39:23better.
39:24Well he was really
39:25the most unselfconscious
39:26person I've ever met.
39:28He never seemed to care
39:29what anyone else
39:31thought of him.
39:32I can remember
39:33one instance of that.
39:35He was
39:37undressing for dinner
39:39meanwhile of course
39:40dictating
39:41to me.
39:43I watched
39:44with some
39:45apprehension
39:46as he
39:46shared first
39:48his coat
39:48and his tie
39:50his collar
39:51and then
39:52he began
39:53to loosen
39:54his braces
39:54which held
39:55his trousers up.
39:57Well I
39:58realized that
40:00he was
40:00absolutely
40:01wrapped up
40:02in what he was
40:03dictating
40:04and really
40:05didn't even know
40:06I was there.
40:07but when
40:08it came
40:09to really
40:10letting
40:10his trousers
40:11down
40:11I rose
40:12to my feet
40:13and I said
40:14very firmly
40:15Mr. Churchill
40:16and I saw
40:19a startled
40:20look
40:20over his face
40:22and he pulled
40:23his trousers
40:24up and he said
40:24oh dear
40:25I do apologize
40:26but you know
40:28don't you
40:28that when I've
40:29got an idea
40:30in my mind
40:31I simply
40:32am not aware
40:33of anything
40:33that's going
40:34on around me.
40:37I very soon
40:38realized that
40:39as a secretary
40:41I was no more
40:42to him
40:42than a fountain
40:43pen
40:43that required
40:45no time
40:46to eat
40:47or time
40:48to rest.
40:50I was on the
40:51go
40:52perpetually
40:52often
40:53I wouldn't
40:54have time
40:55to eat
40:56and I
40:56suddenly
40:57late in the
40:58afternoon
40:58realized
40:59that I needed
41:01some food
41:02so I'd
41:03snatch
41:04a cup
41:04of coffee
41:05and a sandwich
41:06and then
41:07go on
41:07sometimes
41:09till two
41:09or three
41:10in the morning.
41:11He was
41:12a terribly
41:13inconsiderate
41:14man.
41:17In fact
41:17I've never
41:18known anyone
41:19who was so
41:19inconsiderate
41:21and it
41:22wasn't
41:23that he
41:24was cruel
41:25but
41:26he
41:27he was
41:28so involved
41:29in his
41:29own
41:30wishes
41:31his own
41:32desires
41:33to get
41:33the work
41:33done
41:34that he
41:35never
41:35thought
41:35about
41:35the
41:36person
41:36who
41:36had
41:36to
41:36do
41:37it.
41:44Chartwell
41:44in Kent
41:45was the
41:45family home
41:46for Clementine
41:47and their
41:47four children.
41:48Churchill
41:49had bought
41:49it on
41:49impulse
41:50against the
41:51wishes of
41:51his wife.
41:53She thought
41:53she talked
41:54him out
41:54of it
41:55but while
41:56my mother
41:56was in bed
41:58recovering
41:58from my
41:59birth
42:00he swept
42:01the other
42:01three children
42:02up and
42:03brought them
42:03all down
42:04here for a
42:04day expedition
42:05and of course
42:06they fell in
42:07love with it
42:07too.
42:08And then he
42:08said to
42:09them well
42:09isn't it
42:09wonderful
42:10because I
42:10just bought
42:13it.
42:14She was
42:16afraid of
42:17what it
42:17was all
42:18going to
42:18cost.
42:19This
42:20large house
42:21with 82
42:22acres
42:22which would
42:23all need
42:23upkeep.
42:24The house
42:25would need
42:2514 servants
42:26at least
42:27which would
42:28need upkeep.
42:28It was a
42:29constant worry
42:30to her.
42:31He would
42:31say oh
42:31don't worry
42:32about trifles
42:33it's all
42:34right and
42:34dismiss it
42:35easily.
42:39He always
42:40used to
42:41say a
42:41day spent
42:42away from
42:43chartles
42:43a day
42:43wasted.
42:45He wrote
42:46here he
42:46worked here
42:47he played
42:48here I
42:49mean he
42:49made those
42:50lakes.
42:51He made
42:52the dam
42:52there in
42:53the distance
42:53and made
42:54first one
42:55lake and
42:55then two
42:56lakes and
42:56then he
42:57built a
42:57swimming
42:57pool and
42:59then he
42:59started
43:00building
43:00walls and
43:02that red
43:03brick wall
43:03was built
43:04very largely
43:05by him.
43:08Clementine
43:09was the
43:09perfect wife
43:10to deal
43:10with
43:11Churchill's
43:11restless
43:12energy.
43:13I was
43:14always
43:15astonished
43:15what a
43:16good marriage
43:16it was
43:17despite
43:17of the
43:18fact that
43:19he was
43:19a terribly
43:20demanding
43:20man.
43:21It seemed
43:22to me
43:23that
43:25Clemmie
43:27had worked
43:27out a way
43:28of managing
43:29him.
43:30He always
43:31rushed off
43:32to her
43:33with any
43:33new idea
43:34he had
43:34and to
43:35ask her
43:35opinion
43:36and she
43:37never
43:37hesitated
43:38to say
43:39if she
43:40liked it
43:40or if
43:41she didn't
43:42and very
43:44often they'd
43:44have a rather
43:45heated argument
43:46about it
43:46and he
43:48afterwards
43:49would say
43:50you know
43:51she's my
43:51pussycat
43:52she spits
43:53at me.
43:54Well they
43:55always wrote
43:56to each other
43:56you know
43:56it was
43:57though under
43:59the same
43:59roof
44:01write notes
44:02or letters
44:03once or
44:03twice a
44:04day
44:04and she
44:05would
44:05if she
44:06thought
44:06he'd
44:07been
44:10something
44:11at a
44:12dinner table
44:13she did not
44:13approve of
44:14she would
44:14write him
44:15a little
44:15note
44:15and make
44:17him aware
44:17of it.
44:18They
44:18never shared
44:20a bedroom
44:22they had
44:23quite separate
44:24rooms
44:25and it was
44:26explained to me
44:27that Mrs
44:27Churchill
44:28liked to
44:29go to bed
44:30fairly early
44:30whereas he
44:32would stay
44:32up to
44:33three o'clock
44:33in the morning.
44:35Churchill only
44:36shared a room
44:37when he got
44:38a written
44:39invitation.
44:41From Chartwell
44:42working with a
44:43team of
44:43researchers
44:44Churchill wrote
44:45at this desk
44:46his four volume
44:47biography of his
44:48ancestor
44:48John Churchill
44:49Duke of
44:50Marlborough.
44:51The book was
44:52to earn him
44:52over half a
44:52million pounds.
44:53He also
44:54began his
44:55epic history
44:56of the
44:56English-speaking
44:57peoples.
44:58I've written
44:59a very great
44:59many books.
45:00I think by
45:01the time I
45:02was 25
45:03years old
45:04I'd written
45:05as many
45:05books as
45:05Moses.
45:09Churchill needed
45:10to earn
45:10large sums
45:11of money
45:11to support
45:12the lifestyle
45:13he and
45:14his family
45:14expected.
45:15His daughter
45:16Diana
45:17came in
45:18one morning
45:19with a
45:19handful of
45:20bills
45:21and she
45:22said look
45:22at these
45:23wretched
45:23things.
45:24They've
45:24been following
45:25me about
45:26for a
45:26year and
45:26you know
45:27I can't
45:27possibly
45:28pay them.
45:29I said
45:30looking at
45:31them and
45:31noticing how
45:32many famous
45:33stores the
45:34names were
45:35on these
45:36bills I
45:37said well
45:38how on earth
45:39did you run
45:40these bills
45:41up?
45:41Oh she
45:42said you
45:42know if
45:43you're a
45:43Churchill you
45:44can always
45:45get credit.
45:47Why Randolph
45:47bought a
45:48Rolls Royce
45:49on credit.
45:50He drove it
45:50home and
45:51Papa saw it
45:52he said you
45:53take that
45:53right back
45:54and he
45:54made him
45:55do it.
46:06Churchill
46:07loved the
46:07sun he
46:08loved the
46:09water.
46:10Here in
46:10the south
46:11of France
46:11where so
46:12many of
46:12his close
46:13personal
46:13friends had
46:14villas he
46:15came two
46:16or three
46:16times a
46:17year not
46:18only to
46:18write and
46:20paint but
46:21also to
46:21ponder the
46:22international
46:22situation and
46:24the whole
46:24troubled future
46:25of Europe.
46:33In 1933
46:34Hitler became
46:35Chancellor of
46:36Germany while
46:37the rest of
46:37Europe was
46:38disarming the
46:39Nazis were
46:40rearming
46:40fast.
46:43In 1936
46:45Hitler
46:45re-militarized
46:46the Rhineland
46:47where no
46:48German troops
46:48were allowed.
46:49Britain took
46:50no action.
46:52At Chartwell
46:52Churchill received
46:53secret information
46:54about Germany's
46:55future intentions.
46:57One informant was
46:57a friend in the
46:58foreign office.
47:00There was a
47:01very highly paid
47:01official who
47:02fed him accurate
47:04information and
47:05which of course
47:06was contrary to
47:08what was strictly
47:09proper but it
47:11was in fact the
47:12case that Winston
47:13was in the
47:14possession of very
47:15much more accurate
47:16information than
47:17was available to
47:18the public.
47:21Churchill made
47:22use of this
47:22secret information
47:23to urge Britain
47:24to re-arm but
47:25the government
47:26was for appeasement
47:27and few took him
47:28or his warning
47:29seriously.
47:34Well I'm afraid I
47:35was one of those
47:36foolish people who
47:37agreed with the
47:38writing of and I
47:40used to see him
47:41in the old Carlton
47:42Club.
47:43In that club we
47:45went in through a
47:45great big hall where
47:47people sat having
47:49drinks and so on
47:50for lunch or
47:51dinner and he
47:52would be sitting
47:52there before lunch
47:53having a drink with
47:54his friends and
47:55happy and cheerful
47:56but I thought well
47:58what a pity he has
47:59this man with his
48:01tremendous quality
48:02and his great past
48:03nothing whatever to do
48:05except sit having
48:05drinks in the Carlton
48:06Club before lunch.
48:07You know it's all
48:08very sad.
48:09Of those elder
48:11statesmen who's
48:15ranked quite a
48:16number of persons
48:17are anxious to
48:18promote me.
48:21Churchill himself
48:22began to believe
48:23that his political
48:24career was finished.
48:26Ultimately if I'm
48:27good.
48:29He'd come up to
48:30Oxford to speak in
48:31support of my
48:32professor his
48:32friend Professor
48:34Linderman who was
48:35at that time trying
48:36to get into
48:36parliament and the
48:38prof brought him
48:38into the lab on
48:39the Saturday morning
48:41and wanted to show
48:42him what I was
48:42doing in the way of
48:43trying to detect
48:44aeroplanes and well
48:46he seemed at that
48:48stage so tired
48:49looked rather florid
48:50and so forth that
48:51when he went out
48:52we said poor old
48:53Winston he can't
48:54last much longer.
48:56I said to my
48:57companions I said
48:58is that Churchill
49:00Winston Churchill
49:01and they said yes
49:02yes yes it is
49:02that's him.
49:04I said oh I wonder
49:05if I dare go over
49:05and introduce myself
49:06I have some letters
49:09that I've been asked
49:09to deliver by hand
49:11to him and I
49:12don't really know
49:13him like I did
49:15the younger
49:15generation but I
49:17wonder if I dare
49:17and he said oh
49:18yes yes of course
49:18he's a nice easy
49:20going old boy.
49:21You know he's had
49:22every job in the
49:23cabinet he's done
49:24everything a wonderful
49:25old history but he's
49:27now washed up there's
49:28no future so he's
49:29now a party of one
49:30in the House
49:31Commons and he's
49:33interesting with
49:33memories but you'll
49:35find him a nice
49:36old bird to talk
49:36to and that was
49:37just two years
49:38before the war
49:39broke out and his
49:39greatest future was
49:40ahead of him.
49:43In March 1938
49:44Hitler annexed
49:45Austria.
49:46At Munich seven
49:47months later the
49:48British and French
49:48gave in to his
49:49demands for part of
49:51Czechoslovakia.
49:53Here is the paper
49:54which bears his name
49:58upon it as well as
49:59mine.
50:01Neville Chamberlain
50:02Britain's Prime
50:03Minister promised
50:04peace for our time.
50:07Chamberlain always
50:08thought that Winston
50:12was prejudicing the
50:13possibility of a
50:14peace.
50:15He found him a real
50:17obstacle to his
50:19policy and that view
50:22was shared not only
50:23by Chairman and
50:24Baldwin but by most
50:26of the Cavaliers at
50:27that time.
50:33Once again the
50:34rattle of a German
50:35army on the march
50:35echoes in Europe.
50:37In March 1939
50:38Hitler broke the
50:39Munich agreement and
50:41occupied the Czech
50:41capital Prague.
50:43Churchill denounced by
50:45many of the appeasers
50:45as a warmonger was
50:47proved right.
51:12one who's had the
51:13sense that he was
51:14waiting in the wings.
51:15was invited me to
51:17lunch at the Savoy
51:21and simply asked me
51:23whether I thought the
51:24youth of England were
51:25ready for war against
51:26him and even knew it
51:27was coming.
51:28One man who shared and
51:30promoted Churchill's
51:31views was Stephen
51:32Laurent, editor of
51:33Picture Post.
51:34He interviewed
51:35Churchill on a
51:36memorable visit to
51:36Chartwell.
51:37So we had lunch and
51:40I remember it was
51:41steak and kidney
51:42pie and I didn't
51:45like steak and
51:46kidney pie but I
51:47took a little bit
51:48but Mr. Churchill
51:49had a steak and
51:51kidney pie in a
51:52bowl and instead of
51:55taking the spoon
51:57and as I did he took
52:01the bowl to his
52:02mouth and he took
52:04the spoon and
52:06shoveled the steak and
52:08kidney pie in and I
52:10was just looking you
52:11know at him what he
52:12was doing.
52:13Then he had the
52:14cigar there at the
52:16table at the
52:17ashtray so he took
52:19the cigar he puffed a
52:21couple of things put
52:22it back shoveled again
52:24then he had a little
52:27glass quite a big glass
52:30of brandy so he
52:33drank a little
52:34brandy and then I
52:37looked at him I
52:38didn't believe it
52:39there was a piece of
52:40chocolate and while
52:42he shoveled the
52:44steak and kidney
52:45pie he stopped for a
52:46second and put a
52:47chocolate in his
52:48mouth and I said I
52:50don't believe it
52:51there's no such a
52:52thing.
52:54Picture Post was to
52:55carry several articles
52:56on Churchill.
52:57One of them stated his
52:59greatest moment is still
53:00to come.
53:01A nationwide campaign
53:02began to bring
53:04Churchill back.
53:04People realised he
53:06was the one man
53:07prepared to resist the
53:08growing menace of
53:09Hitler.
53:10Military weakness in
53:11this country encourages
53:13potential enemies.
53:16Anyone can see that
53:18public opinion is
53:19growing in favour of
53:21compulsory national
53:22service in all its
53:24forms and especially
53:25in the highest form.
53:38Britain and France
53:40declared war on
53:41Germany.
53:41It is only after many
53:43vain attempts to
53:44remain at peace that
53:47we have been at last
53:48forced to go to war.
53:51We tried again and
53:53again to prevent this
53:55war and for the sake
53:57of peace we put up
53:59with a lot of things
54:00happening which ought
54:02not to have happened.
54:04But now we are at war
54:07and we are going to make
54:09war and persevere in
54:12making war until the
54:14other side has had
54:16enough of it.
54:18Chamberlain now asked
54:19Churchill to join the
54:20war cabinet as first
54:21lord of the admiralty.
54:22That morning Churchill
54:23told the commons we are
54:25fighting to save the
54:26whole world from the
54:28pestilence of Nazi
54:29tyranny.
54:30That same evening the
54:32admiralty signalled to
54:33the fleet Winston is
54:34back.
54:35The first lord sees the
54:36machines and the men and
54:37the way they live and so
54:39far as the men are
54:40concerned there's welcome
54:41written all over their
54:41faces.
54:43True to character Mr.
54:44Churchill rings the
54:45changes on his head
54:45gear and inspects the
54:47inspecting an RAF unit
54:48appears in a cap of the
54:49Royal Yacht Squadron.
54:50Mr. Churchill likes to
54:52know.
54:52Mr. Churchill's inspection
54:54is no cursory affair and
54:56as he passes down the
54:56ranks of ratings and
54:57civilian workers they are
54:59glad to be there.
55:00He was underemployed
55:02because he had such an
55:05active mind and worked so
55:06hard and long that he
55:08really hadn't got enough
55:10to do with simply the
55:11admiralty business.
55:12officers and he kept on
55:14interfering in the
55:15affairs of the other
55:17service ministers or the
55:19minister of supply or
55:20anybody.
55:20Rather annoyed some of
55:22them I think.
55:22Churchill's frustrations
55:24grew.
55:25It was the period of the
55:26phony war when the only
55:27action was taking place at
55:29sea.
55:30But naval news was often
55:31bad with the frequent loss
55:33of British ships and men.
55:38In April 1940 German troops
55:40occupied Denmark and
55:42southern Norway.
55:49Seeing the chance of
55:50forestalling the Germans
55:51Churchill had long wanted
55:53the fleet sent to Norway.
55:54But the cabinet had
55:55delayed too long and the
55:57Germans got there first.
55:59For three weeks the
56:00British struggled in vain to
56:01drive them out.
56:02The battle for Norway was
56:04a disaster for which some
56:06blamed Churchill.
56:07Many Conservative MPs
56:09however had decided that
56:10it was Chamberlain who had
56:11to go.
56:12And that Churchill now seen
56:14as the watchdog of
56:15Britain's security should
56:17replace him.
56:18In the Commons 80
56:19Conservative MPs voted
56:21against the government.
56:22A coalition with Labour
56:23was inevitable.
56:25But the Labour leaders
56:26Attlee and Greenwood said
56:28Labour would not serve in
56:29any government led by
56:30Chamberlain.
56:35Goodbye Mr. Chamberlain and
56:37thanks for all you've tried
56:38to do.
56:39On the 10th of May 1940
56:41Chamberlain resigned.
56:43The question was who would
56:44succeed him?
56:45Would it be Winston Churchill
56:47whose voice from the
56:48wilderness had for years
56:49predicted the menace of
56:51Hitler?
56:52Or Lord Halifax, a leading
56:54advocate of appeasement who
56:55was supported by the majority
56:57of Conservatives?
56:58Why get rid of Chamberlain to
57:00put in Halifax?
57:01It's like getting rid of the
57:02organ grinder to put in the
57:03monkey.
57:06So Labour made it clear.
57:08It was Labour who, as Tory
57:10backbenchers said, must speak
57:12for England and they spoke
57:14for England by saying that
57:17Churchill, who's a man, they
57:20would support now.
57:22He was a good fighting man and
57:24this is the time when you
57:26wanted your leaders fighting
57:27people, not politicians,
57:29whatever their views, and
57:30they were solidly behind him.
57:31There was only one person
57:33who could hold the country
57:37together in what was coming
57:39to us and what did come to
57:40us within a matter of days.
57:42On the evening of the 10th of
57:44May, Churchill became Prime
57:45Minister.
57:46It was, he later wrote, as if
57:48I were walking with destiny and
57:50that all my past life had been
57:51but a preparation for this hour.
57:55But he warned that hard times
57:57lay ahead.
57:58I have nothing to offer but
58:01blood, toil, tears and sweat.
58:06We have before us an ordeal of
58:08the most grievous kind.
58:10We have before us many, many long
58:13months of struggle and of
58:14suffering.
58:16You ask what is our policy?
58:18I will say, it is to wage war by sea,
58:22land and air, with all our might,
58:25with all the strength that God can
58:27give us, to wage war against a
58:30monstrous tyranny never surpassed in
58:33the dark and lamentable catalogue of
58:35human crime.
58:37That is our policy.
58:50Next week, part two tells the story of
58:52Churchill at war, from the crisis at
58:54Dunkirk to the great victory at
58:56Alamein.
58:57That's next Wednesday at the same
58:58time.
Comments