Journal of the International Churchill Society - Winston Churchill

Journal of the International Churchill Society 

NUMBER 47 Last Portrait From Life by Bernard Hailstone SPRING 1985

Quarterly Journal of the International Churchill Society Established 1968 No. 47 • Spring 1985 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

The Churchill Literary Foundation/'Richard M. Langworth 6 

Handbook Section 2, Supplement 5/H. Ashley Redburn 

ctr 

In Winston's Footsteps: South Africa/David Druckman 12 

Text of An Address to Congress/77ze Prime Minister 16 

Departments: International Datelines/4, Despatch Box/3, Reviewing 

Churchill/11, Woods Corner/19, Churchill in Stamps/20, Member 

Advertising/24, Action This Day/28 

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 

THE INTERNATIONAL CHURCHILL SOCIETY 

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 at right. 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 

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, CB, DFC 

Martin Gilbert, MA 

In Memoriam: 

The Earl Mountbatten of Burma, 1900-1979 

The Baroness Clementine Spencer-Churchill of Chartwell, 1885 -1977 

The Hon 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 

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 

Cover: The Last Known Portrait From Life 

Offered for the first time by the artist, Bernard Hailstone, RP 

PAID ADVERTISEMENT 

Painted in 1955 in conjunction with the life-size portrait of Sir Winston in the 

uniform of Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports by Bernard Hailstone. Never before 

sold or exhibited, the picture is now available for sale. Oil on canvas in French 

frame, 32^x28" with frame, 24x20" without. Bernard Hailstone is a longstanding 

member of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters. His pictures of the 

British Royal Family and other important persons hang in many museums and 

public galleries. Prices and photographs on application. 

Bernard Hailstone, RP • c/o Nicholas L. S Kirkbride 

3 Queen's Gate Place, London SW7 5NT UK • Tel: (01) 584-9089 or 584-0601

IMMORTAL WORDS: TEN WEEKS OF WAR 

I shall not attempt to prophesy 

whether the frenzy of a cornered maniac 

will drive Herr Hitler into the worst of his crimes. 

But this I will say without a doubt: 

that the fate of Holland and Belgium 

like that of Poland, Czechoslovakia and Austria, 

will be decided by the victory 

of the British Empire and the French Republic. 

If we are not destroyed, all these countries will be rescued 

and restored to life and freedom. 

As they look out tonight 

from their blatant, panoplied, clattering Nazi Germany, 

they cannot find one friendly eye 

in the whole circumferance of the globe-Not One! 

Russia returns them a flinty stare; 

Italy averts her gaze; 

Japan is puzzled and thinks herself betrayed. 

The hundreds of millions of people in India and in China, 

whatever their other feelings, 

would regard with undisguised dread a Nazi triumph, 

well knowing what their fate would soon be. 

Despatch 

Box 

Editor, The Times, London: 

I note that the Foreign Office has announced 

that the British Government will not 

commemorate the 40th anniversary of V-E 

Day "for fear of offending the Germans." 

May Churchill forgive the F.O. I cannot. 

No other event of this century is so worthy of 

celebration, not least by the German people. 

At last year's 40th Anniversary of D-Day 

there was a major political flap over the question 

of German involvement. Eventually, no 

invitation was offered, and the celebrations 

were limited to the French, British and Americans. 

No one in Germany objected. Manfred 

Rommel, whose right to speak for his generation 

is unquestioned (a Wehrmacht soldier at 

14, his father killed by Hitler; now he is 

Mayor of Stuttgart), said it best when asked 

to comment on the D-Day celebrations: 

"Better to have lost the war with Hitler than 

to have won it with him." 

The F.O. has shown an incomprehensible 

sensitivity to a non-existent German feeling. 

Our State Department is not so craven. We 

celebrated the hell out of the 200th Anniversary 

of Yorktown. So far as we were aware, 

no one in Britain objected. 

V-E Day signifies the crushing of a terrible 

evil. Without Britain, that victory could not 

have even been contemplated, much less won. 

The British people-most of all the veteranshave 

a great deal to be proud of. The Germans 

have a great deal to be thankful for. There is 

much to celebrate, nothing to be ashamed of, 

and the F.O. should get out of the way and 

allow people to get at it. 

-Dr. Stephen E. Ambrose 

(Eisenhower Biographer); New Orleans, La. 

Your review of Brendon's book (FH#45) 

says you looked in vain for substantiation 

that WSC offered Sir John Fisher a Cabinet 

seat to prevent Fisher's resignation. Ted Morgan's 

Young Man in a Hurry mentions this on 

page 532 and quotes a Fisher letter making 

the claim in Companion Part 2 to Vol III of 

the Official Biography. Thank you for a fine 

magazine. 

-Janis Cairo, Paoli. Penna. 

The great English-speaking Republic across the Atlantic Ocean 

makes no secret of its sympathies or of its self-questionings, 

and translates these sentiments into actions 

of a character which anyone may judge for himself. 

Men of every race and clime feel that this monstrous apparition 

stands between them and the forward move which is their due, 

and for which the age is ripe. 

Let them take courage amid perplexities and perils, 

for it may well be that the final extinction of a baleful domination 

will pave the way to a broader solidarity 

of all the men in all the lands 

than we could ever have planned 

if we had not marched together through the fire. 

-World Broadcast, 1 2 November 1939 

True, but it was hearsay, since WSC wrote 

nothing; (I meant Brendon didn 't state the 

source.) 

It is always amusing to me to read such 

bizarre rubbish as that by "name withheld by 

request" from New Zealand (FH #44 page 5). 

How very sad this person must be. His pompous 

rhetoric falls upon deaf ears. There is no 

question that Churchill was the Man of the 

Century, and iconoclastic ramblings do not 

alter the fact. A ridiculous attempt to compare 

and contrast WSC, FDR and MacArthur is a 

futile, sophomoric effort. It isn't valid, or even 

necessary. Each was a giant in his own right. 

I'm quite pleased 1 don't know Mr. No-Name 

from New Zealand. He is the sort of person up 

with which I would not put. 

-H. William Winstanley, DO, Clawson, Mich.

International Datelines 

ICS ANNUAL MEETING 

Boston, November 1 -3, 1985 

REGISTER NOW AND SAVE 

Boston -The New England Chapter of 

the International Churchill Society cordially 

invites you to the ICS Annual 

General Meeting, at the Parker House, 

Boston, over the nights of Friday/Saturday 

November 1st and 2nd 1985. By 

registering now, you take advantage of a 

guaranteed low price, which we cannot 

guarantee beyond June 30th. 

Friday 1 November: Check-in at the 

Parker House and ICS hospitality suite, 

all day. In the evening, a dinner at the 

elegant Harvard Club, a short walk from 

our hotel, with guest speaker James Calhoun 

Humes. A nationally known lecturer 

and former speech-writer to Presidents 

Eisenhower, Nixon and Ford, Mr. 

Humes is best known for his uncanny 

impersonations of Churchill, which were 

aired late last year on PBS-TV. His 

"Evening with Churchill" will follow 

dinner at the Club, which has a fine 

traditional atmosphere and offers dramatic 

nighttime views of Boston. 

Saturday 2 November: Commencing 

10AM there will be displays of books, 

stamps and memorabilia at our private 

room at Parker House, then a Members 

Lunch at noon, followed by an ICS 

Board of Directors meeting to which all 

members are invited. Parker House is 

centrally situated within easy distance 

of Boston's many cultural and civic 

attractions, which are too numerous to 

mention here. 

Saturday night: A second dinner at 

the Parker House, with a guest speaker 

you will not —we assure you —want to 

miss. It is too early at this point to make 

any revelations, but you can be sure 

that this evening will be a stellar occasion. 

It will also be open to members of the 

public, who will however pay a much 

higher price. 

Sunday 3 November: Breakfast and 

departures. (Boston is easily reached by 

car, train or air, and you are responsible 

for your own arrangements.) 

Hotel Reservations: The Parker House 

is holding a large block of rooms at very 

favorable prices for ICS members only: 

S70 for a single room, $80 for a double. 

(Deluxe rooms, $90 single, $ 110 double.) 

Those familiar with the Parker House 

will know that these prices are as much 

as 50% below the "off the street" figure. 

It is important to book and confirm 

your rooms immediately. Telephone 

"Reservations" at the Parker House, 

(617) 227-8600 as soon as possible. 

Be sure to mention the International 

Churchill Society. 

Convention Registration: For those 

who register before June 30th only, the 

total cost for all events, including both 

dinners and the Saturday lunch, is $95 

(US) per person, payable to ICS and 

sent to treasurer George Lewis, 268 

Canterbury Road, Westfield NJ 07090. 

(In Canada send $133 [Canadian] to 

ICS, c/o George Temple, 20 Burbank 

Drive, Willowdale, Ontario M2K 1M8. 

Elsewhere, contact the editor.) 

Please register now: We cannot hold 

these prices and the price will be as 

high as $125 after June 30th. We want 

to provide you with the lowest possible 

cost, but we need your help in booking 

early. (If you can only attend one 

evening, please contact the editor for 

individual dinner prices.) 

GOOD OLD TIP 

Washington, 20 February — Did you 

catch it? When introducing Prime 

Minister Margaret Thatcher (for the 

fourth speech to Congress by a British 

PM, the other three all by WSC), Speaker 

of the House Thomas P. O'Neill described 

her as "The Prime Minister of the United 

Kingdom of Great Britain" . . . stop. No 

Northern Ireland. If the correct wording 

was too repulsive, Tip O'Neill could have 

quit after "United Kingdom." Alas 

graciousness has never been one of Tip's 

strong points. 

AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AG 

New Hampshire—We are informed by 

several readers that we still don't have 

the IDs right in the photo of the Quebec 

Conference (FH#44 p8, FH#45 p3). 

The Admiral standing second from the 

right (next to Adm. Leahy) is Admiral 

Sir Dudley Pound, not Admiral Cunningham. 

We have given up on Royal Navy 

IDs and are now trying our luck with 

Dervishes at Omdurman. — Editor 

RENEW YOUR BOOK BINDINGS 

Henniker, New Hampshire - Member Ian 

Morrison of the Old #6 Book Depot (an 

excellent place to shop for Churchill, 

English and world history), saved the 

bacon of many old books in our library 

by telling us to forget expensive elixirs 

like "bindery wax" and rub in a good 

coat of plain clear mineral oil, available 

at any drug store (chemist). The stuff 

works best on smooth bindings-tightweave 

cloth, vinyl, buckram or leather 

— and is not recommended for looseweave 

cloth, on which it can give an uneven 

look. On books like The World 

Crisis (English and American), mineral 

oil is a marvel. It restores faded spines, 

erases scratches and smears, adds life to 

hinges, and improves the look of most 

volumes tremendously. Try it! 

LUIGI, R.I.P. 

Thompson, Connecticut-Luigi B. Vercelli, 

retired director of the Savoy Grill 

in London, died here aged 86 in January. 

Vercelli, known to the famous and obscure 

by his first name, was a fixture at 

the Grill, one of the world's great 

restaurants. His clients included the Duke 

and Duchess of York (later King George 

VI and the present Queen Mother), King 

Edward VIII (later Duke of Windsor), 

Noel Coward, Aristotle Onassis, Sir 

John Gielgud, Richard Burton, the 

Kennedys when Joseph was Ambassador 

to Great Britain, and of course WSC. 

When Sir Winston died Luigi decorated 

his customary table with English red 

roses, and on every January 24th following, 

Luigi placed red roses on the table 

and allowed no one to dine there. We 

shall plant a red rose bush for Luigi. 

LIFETIME MEMBERS 

Baton Rouge & Basingstoke - Our USA 

and UK offices report that ICS has now 

acquired six life members, and we should 

like to take this opportunity to thank 

them for their support and encouragement: 

Bruce L. Bogstad, Calif.; Richard 

L. Fisher, N.Y.; John David Marshall, 

Tenn.; W. T. Perkins, Hants UK; William 

R. Schulz, Ariz.; and Michael Sheehan, 

Pa. 

Please consider life membership, 

which costs US$225 or the equivalent in 

UK, Canadian or Australian currency, 

the next time your renewal is due. Aside 

from freeing you from ever receiving 

another renewal notice, it is a tremendous 

shot in the arm for our hard-pressed 

treasury. (For purposes of American income 

tax reports, the Board of Directors 

has affixed $175 of each $225 life membership 

as a donation, which is taxdeductible 

under Section 501(c) (3) of 

the IRS Code.) 

GOOD BIOGRAPHIC NEWS! 

London-Official biographer Martin Gilbert 

informs us that Heinemann have relented 

and allowed him to cover the remaining 

1942-1965 period in two 

volumes rather than the previous one. 

Volume VII will be entitled Road to 

Victory, and will cover events from 

December 1941 to May 1945. "The 

typescript will go to the printer on D-Day 

('delivery day'), 6 June 1985, with a 

view to publication in the early spring 

of 1986," Martin writes. Volume VIII 

will span May 1945 to January 1965, 

making it an eight-volume biography in

all." We are sure all members of ICS join 

us in congratulating Martin for his 

perserverance, and his determination to 

do this important period real justice. 

EXCHANGE WOES 

Zurich — No sooner did we dare hope 

that the pound might recover (FH#45 

p.5) than it took another nosedive 

against the over-valued U. S. dollar, and 

at this writing (20 March) is hovering 

about 15 cents over $1, with many experts 

believing that the slide is not yet 

over. Combined with the February 

postal increases, it now costs ICS $6.64 

to airmail four FHs to Britain, and the 

£13 a British member pays now converts 

to only $14.95, leaving us with a 

"net after postage" of $8 (against about 

$14.75 from a US member's payment.) 

We have switched our paper stock 

from 70- to 60-pound, and hope to have 

several issues per year hand-carried to 

London for local posting at much lower 

rates, but the latter is strictly at the 

whim of one our directors' schedules. 

We vowed at Toronto not to raise subs 

for 1985, and we fully intend to honor 

that pledge. 

Directors will be discussing how to 

handle the postage situation later this 

year, but the best solution really is just 

to ADD MEMBERS! If you have a 

friend who might be interested in ICS, 

ask your nearest ICS office (Baton 

Route, Basingstoke, Willowdale or Endeavour 

Hills) to send you an extra 

copy of Finest Hour and an application. 

Please help sell others on membership. 

EXCHANGE JOYS 

Toronto -Feature editor John Plumpton, 

who teaches school here, writes 

that his School Board paid him 41$ on 

the US dollar for a business trip to 

Chicago. "Every news broadcast mentions 

714 on a dollar," writes John. 

"Try and buy one for that! In effect it 

is a 594 dollar to purchase it at a bank. 

Egads! When I started buying books 

from Dal Newfield he paid me 64 premium 

on the mighty Cdn $1. How the 

mighty have fallen!" Except in ICS, 

John —which offers, at our Canadian 

$20 subscription rate a 75-cent dollar 

—highest in the world! 

THE MAHDIII 

Khartoum, Sudan -Sudanese leader Nimeiri 

has no shortage of rivals, reports 

Newsweek, the most prominent being 

Sadiq el Mahdi, 48, great-grandson of 

the leader who governed Sudan after 

defeating British General Charles "Chinese" 

Gordon here in 1885, and who 

was himself deposed by General Kitchener, 

with the incidental help of 

WSC, in 1899. (See The River War, 

Woods A2.) Nimeiri visited the U. S. in 

March for his annual physical and conferences 

with Washington officials. "He 

could hardly forget," the magazine reported, 

"that it was on his return from 

a similar trip in 1976 that Libyan-backed 

enemies only narrowly failed in a major 

coup attempt." Postscript: They were 

right. The military has taken over Sudan. 

Perfect for 

holidays 

in any 

season 

(as some very 

discriminating 

Reid's Hotel 

Funchal • Madeira 

LIVELY LORDS 

London -Television came to the House 

of Lords easily this year, reports John 

Fraser in the Toronto Globe and Mail, 

and the "star of the occasion was the 

90-year-old Lord Stockton, as former 

prime minister Harold Macmillan [an 

ICS Hon. Member] now styles himself 

. .• . Lord Stockton dismissed most of 

the Government's economic self-defence, 

presented by the Earl of Gowrie, as so 

much 'picksniffian' banter. He ridiculed 

Lord Gowrie's proud claim that exports 

had risen by pointing out this was 'not 

a wholly unexpected result of allowing 

the pound to lose half its value.' 

"When he first stood for Parliament 

63 years ago, he said, unemployment in 

his constituency was 29%. He was back 

in his old bailiwick a few days ago and 

learned that it was now at 28%. 'The 

circle has come completely round and 

it's a sad end to one's life,' he said. 

"Lord Stockton noted that after 

'the depressing reign of Carter came to 

an end, Reagan did a very wise thing: he 

dismissed ... the monetarists. Unhappily 

for us, many of them came here and we 

received them with the usual courtesy 

we always extend to refugees. They are 

here in our universities, our newspapers 

and magazines and they are even rumoured 

to be in Downing Street.' 

"Lord Gowrie made the mistake of 

quoting Gladstone in his defence of 

Government policy, which allowed Lord 

Stockton to observe that he had been 

convinced for some time that the current 

Government's economic planning was 

stuck somewhere in 1860." 

Sir Winston would have enjoyed this 

Parliamentary tour de force by his old 

friend, perhaps remembering the famous 

Rule 12 of The Other Club, which WSC 

had himself written: "Nothing in the 

rules or intercourse of the Club shall 

interfere with the rancour and asperity 

of party politics." 

An Invitation . . . 

NEW ENGLAND PUB LUNCH 

AUGUST 4TH 

Contoocook, WH-The editor and Mrs. 

Langworth cordially invite members and 

friends to an English pub lunch and ICS 

sociable on Sunday 4 August, at their 

riverside home just outside Concord, 

New Hampshire. A ploughman's lunch 

of bread/cheese/pickled onions/chutney 

will be served, along with English and 

Yank beer and soft drinks. An auction 

will be held to benefit the Society (bring 

your Churchilliana), and there will be 

displays of books, stamps and memorabilia. 

Built 1776, Putney House is a 

center-chimney farmhouse along the 

Contoocook River, surrounded by woods 

and fields with no other houses in sight. 

It is 1% hours from Boston, 3 hours 

from Hartford, 5 hours from New York. 

If you plan to tour New England this 

summer, perhaps you can join us. 

Details on local motels and inns and road 

directions will be provided. 

RSVP: Send $6 per adult, $3 per 

child (payable ICS) to the editor, Putney 

House, Contoocook, NH 03229. This 

will cover food and drink, and tell us 

how many to plan for. We look forward 

to seeing you!

If Not Us-Who? 

If Not Now—When? 

The Churchill Literary Foundation: 

The End of the Beginning 

BY RICHARD M. LANGWORTH 

CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD, 

INTERNATIONAL CHURCHILL SOCIETY 

In this man's name, memorials finance 

students of Indian dance, entomologists in 

South America, the study of folk costumes in Europe. 

Yet no one is making a serious effort to preserve his 

eight million spoken and written words from vanishing from 

our schools, libraries and thoughts. Isn 't it time someone did? 

OF ALL the figures in history, none holds a candle in our 

collective memory to Sir Winston Churchill. "Religious figures 

excepted," Dalton Newfield once wrote, Sir Winston "is still the 

most quoted, pictured, written-about personage in the Free 

World ... No week passes without references to him in the 

media. Politicians quote him frequently, and columnists constantly 

refer to his words." 

Perhaps for this reason, the International Churchill Society 

has made a success of devoting itself to this one man, 20 years 

after his death—a man, furthermore, who has been widely 

criticized, justly and unjustly, on many issues over the course of 

almost 100 years. It is hard to imagine, let alone locate, another 

organization dedicated to another statesman, as successful as 

ours. 

There are of course many organizations promoting many 

worthy causes in Sir Winston's name. But among these the ICS 

remains distinct. No other association, public or private, in any 

way matches our singleminded devotion to the study of Winston 

Churchill, "warts and all." No other body has our single, overriding 

goal: to foster knowledge of Churchill's life and works, to 

apply his thought to modernday problems, and so to better 

understand our world and ourselves. Nowhere else, except at 

the Archives Centre of Churchill College Cambridge, are so 

much spent and so many talents applied to this objective. 

Our Society is, therefore, in a unique position. And it has, as 

a result, a special responsibility: to make Churchill's thought 

and experience widely available for study, not only by ourselves 

but by generations to come. Ironically, such an effort is not, in 

any organized way, being made anywhere else. 

To meet this responsibility the leaders of ICS have long 

cherished the idea of a Churchill Literary Foundation. When in 

Toronto last November our directors voted to apply our entire 

1985 budget surplus of S5000 to launching the Foundation, we 

were able for the first time to look upon this one-time impossible 

dream as a concrete reality-attainable within a remarkably 

short time. 

Here then are the problems which confront us, together with 

the solutions we propose, and what you can do to help. 

THE DECLINE OF CHURCHILL BOOKS IN PRINT 

Of the 37 individual books of Sir Winston Churchill, 29 are 

out of print and another four are on the verge. Of some 140 

individual works including pamphlets, virtually all are long out 

of print and many are unobtainable even from antiquarian 

booksellers and libraries. The brilliant literary heritage of 

Churchill is in danger of being lost to all but the wealthy. 

The problem grows more acute yearly. For most publishers 

there is little impulse at present to reprint a long-vanished Churchill 

work. As good as it is-as appropriate to today's issues-it 

lacks sufficient popular appeal to break even on the commercial 

level. 

In 1982, for example, the Durban firm of Griggs & Co. produced 

a new edition of London to Ladysmith via Pretoria, out 

of print since 1906, intending to follow up with the second 

Boer War volume, Ian Hamilton's March. But in 1983 their 

managing director advised us that Hamilton's March could not 

go forward, owing to low sales of Ladysmith. No organized 

attempt had been made to get this epic volume into the hands 

of the many libraries and institutions which could have used it — 

or even into the USA market. Yet Ladysmith, together with 

Hamilton, represents one of the most vital, readable accounts of 

South African history, with many broad parallels to the problems 

there today. 

The Solution: 

The Foundation will encourage such republication, and help 

libraries and institutions acquire the reprinted works, by working 

with publishers to guarantee sufficient sales—even by its own 

purchase orders —for ultimate donation to charitable and educational 

institutions. If possible, the Foundation should encourage 

reprints to take the form of first editions, with the texts taken 

from Churchill's "final revise." Malakand Field Force might, for 

example, appear in its original apple green boards, but with a 

text from the 1899 Silver Library Edition, which was the first 

published text fully approved by the author. 

To return all of Churchill's vanished books to print is not as 

formidable a task as it might appear. If just 15 titles were re-

published, nearly every written and spoken word might be 

restored, since many of his works were revisions of earlier books 

or collections of earlier speeches. A reprint of the 1952/1969 

three-volume War Speeches, for example, would effectively 

restore all of Churchill's WW2 speech books from Into Battle 

(1941) through Secret Session Speeches (1946). 

THE LIMITS ON WORTHWHILE 

CHURCHILL-RELATED BOOKS 

Much the same problem exists concerning scholarly studies 

of Churchill, his life and times, by qualified authors. Publishers 

tend not to undertake any but the most popularized Churchillrelated 

titles, hoping for wide public appeal. To earn that appeal 

a book must too often pander to public taste, and perhaps overdramatize 

personal and family incidents at the expense of 

original research and scholarship. 

Two exceptions to the rule were Winston Churchill's World 

View by Kenneth W. Thompson (University of Louisiana Press) 

and Churchill: Retreat From Empire by Raymond Callahan. 

Both shed important new light on the post-1945 Churchill, but 

their content, not public appeal, enabled them to be produced 

by these small scholarly houses. Both publishers tell us that they 

will soon be out of print, although they have by no means 

reached all the libraries that should include them. 

Another recent, invaluable work is the three-volume Churchill- 

Roosevelt Complete Correspondence by Warren Kimball (Princeton 

University Press). But at S150, this work is beyond the 

reach of most individuals, as well as all too many libraries. A 

Literary Foundation could work in many ways to bring the 

price of such important works down to the point where most 

libraries could afford them. 

The most vital of all Churchill-related works, the Official 

Biography, is in difficulty too. Although Martin Gilbert is now 

being allowed to cover the 1941-1965 period in two final biographic 

volumes and not one as was first intended, no publisher 

has expressed any interest in further "Companion" or Document 

volumes, the latest of which stops at 1940. Since the Churchill 

Archives for 1940-1945 contain some of the most valuable 

documentation on the most crucial five years in this century, 

failing to produce the remaining Companion volumes would be 

an affront to history. 

The Solution: 

The Foundation will establish a Board of Trustees composed 

of recognized authorities, representatives of the Churchill family 

and the Archives Trust, to assign priorities and develop solutions 

to these vexing problems. The Foundation must act to convince 

publishers to undertake works of special merit. If necessary, it 

might guarantee a minimum purchase of books for donation to 

libraries and institutions. The need is urgent. Without such 

action, many deserving works will be lost. 

THE DISSOLUTION OF FINE CHURCHILL LIBRARIES 

Colleges, universities and public libraries which can boast a 

complete set of Churchill for ready reference are pitifully few. 

Those aware of the value and irreplaceability of such books as 

India or The River War must be loath to circulate them. Such 

books have become exhibit items, rather than the tools for 

study they deserve to be. Libraries that do circulate such books 

soon find that normal wear and tear renders them into tatters. 

Those that do not have them cannot serve the student, scholar, 

historian or researcher. 

There are perhaps 100 really good private Churchill libraries. 

Our Society, through our bibliographic activities, is encouraging 

younger people to build more. Several booksellers among ICS 

members are doing their part by stocking volumes priced within 

the reach of anyone—not just the expensive first editions. Alas, 

these fine Churchill libraries are too often broken up after the 

deaths of their creators. One letter received some time ago by an 

ICS bookseller illustrates the problem ... 

"With my concurrence my husband left his collection of 

Churchill books, about 400 volumes, to [a midwestern college 

library]. Last week I found that 8 or 10 had been shelved as 

new acquisitions, another 15 or 20 had replaced worn copies, 

and the balance had been sold to local dealers. It was impossible 

to say what they fetched as they were sold with other rejects in 

a bulk transaction." 

Several collectors have willed their books to Churchill College 

Cambridge or Westminster College. The likelihood that 

those institutions do not already possess every title is low. A 

donor can therefore assume that his collection will be broken up 

and sold off. If the recipient knows the market, the donor's 

objective —to benefit the recipient—is served. But most don't. 

How many can know that a tatty copy of Savrola is a treasure 

of high value? 

Likewise, how does an executor obtain proper value when 

the benefit of the estate is essential? Lawyers say they call in 

"experts" (usually a local bookseller). How many booksellers 

really know Churchill? Auctioneers also use experts. Yet when 

they auctioned a prominent collection recently, one well-known 

auction house undervalued it, in the opinion of many collectors, 

by at least 50%. The heirs, who were in real need, received only 

half its true value. 

The problem persists. Hardly a month passes when our Society 

officers don't get a letter asking, "What shall I do with my 

Churchill library?" 

The Solution: 

The answer is obviously a Book Distribution, or Bequest 

Department of the Foundation, staffed by reliable, competent 

volunteers (of which ICS has many), to receive bequests of 

Churchill book collections and instructions from the donors. 

An instruction might be: "Sell these for the benefit of Chartwell," 

or "place the books where they will do the most good." Or a 

dual instruction: "Realize $3000 for the benefit of my heirs and 

donate any amount realized over that to the Churchill Memorial 

Trust in New York." 

The Bequest Department would operate in strict accord with 

the donors' wishes. It would advise libraries of the availablity of 

titles, and file wantlists against future acquisitions. As a last 

resort it could supervise the proper evaluation and sale of books 

for their genuine value, the proceeds going where the donor 

directs. There are questions to be resolved-storage, inventory, 

reports to executors, office space-but these hardly pose insurmountable 

problems. The important thing is that we would 

hereby guarantee that no books will be sold off to the "trade" 

until every worthy library in Britain, America and the Dominions 

had a chance to obtain them.

Right: Diners Club/Hamlyn faithfully reprinted long-extinct 

2- Vol Randolph Churchill in 1974. If you had $150 you could own it. 

THE CHURCHILL CONCORDANCE 

Any student or researcher can attest to the need for a comprehensive 

Concordance-Index of Churchill's words. Week after 

week Westminster College, one of the Churchill Trusts or ourselves 

get requests from the media, researchers or students; "Can 

you confirm that Churchill said XXX? . . . When and to whom 

did he say or write it?" Ninety percent of the time, we fail to 

provide the answers. 

The Official Biography is of course exhaustively indexed, as 

are the Complete Speeches by Robert Rhodes James (eight 

volumes, now out of print). But there are some 2000 works 

relating to Sir Winston-not to mention many by him-in 

which the indexing varies from good to non-existent. It is impossible 

right now for a researcher to have ready access to Churchill's 

thought on a given subject without months of laborious 

manual effort. Even then it is likely that the material assembled 

will be incomplete. We are speaking, after all, of a career which 

spanned over 60 years and touched every subject from the 

opinions of a schoolboy to the question of nuclear war. 

The Solution: 

The computer age is upon us. Within the next ten years there 

will be an explosion in data banks, programs and personal computers 

that will make this device as common as the radio. Surely 

every library, college, university and even grammar school will 

soon acquire computer equipment. 

What could be better than a computer-based Concordance to 

every word Churchill wrote and spoke on every subject under 

the sun? Phone links to a master system could be provided, or 

individual programs distributed. Typically, the researcher would 

operate on a narrowing-down basis. 

Let us say that he feeds the system the word "missiles." It 

returns 489 references to missiles in Churchill's writings and 

speeches. He then punches in "nuclear," and get 153 references 

to nuclear missiles. This is still too many, so he punches in 

"post-1952," desiring to get Churchill's views on the Soviet 

missile threat after the USSR obtained the H-bomb. The computer 

then provides five specific references. The whole job takes 

minutes. Formerly it may have taken weeks. 

After investigation with experts, we have determined that 

such a concept is entirely feasible at present. The technology 

exists, furthermore, whereby we can program literally every 

word Churchill ever wrote or spoke. This would provide instant 

data retrieval without reference to his books. Thousands of such 

programs are being made every month on other subjects, and 

the cost of programming could be as low as $25,000. 

I hasten to add that a computerized Concordance would by 

no means make the books obsolete. You don't sit down to read 

a computer program. Furthermore, the expense of referencing 

computer entries precludes relying on the Concordance exclusively. 

If anything, the computer would support and promote 

the further use of Churchill's books for more thorough research. 

The whole purpose of this proposal is to encourage scholarship-to 

imbue young people, especially, with a knowledge of 

Churchill's role in history, and his ever-so-applicable thoughts 

about it. It is our most cherished goal-the final step by which 

we may preserve his rich literary heritage. 

FOUNDATION STRUCTURE 

Attorney Jon S. Richardson of Manchester, New Hampshire 

firm of Sheehan, Phinney, Bass and Green is an ICS member 

who has volunteered his time to help create a legal Foundation. 

Mr. Richardson has been appointed to a committee comprised 

of three other attorneys: Wallace H. Johnson of Omaha, William 

C. Ives of Chicago, and Ronald I. Cohen of Montreal. Mr. 

Richardson has asked Steven Anderson, a partner with the firm 

of Ernst and Whinney, to assist us in tax and accounting planning. 

When the Foundation is activated, we will ask Ernst and 

Whinney (or another national accounting firm if they are unavailable) 

to audit the Foundation upon payment or normal 

audit fees. 

The Board of Trustees will exercise primary control over 

Foundation activities and make all operating decisions. It will 

consist of prominent persons in the English-speaking nations 

with specific interest and competence in the areas outlined: 

scholars, historians, representatives of the Churchill family and 

Archives Trust, Sir Winston's literary executors and ICS. It will 

not, however, be a department of this Society, although the 

Society will act on its behalf during the initial fund-raising. (See 

below.) The Board will be kept small enough to ensure attendance 

at one annual meeting, though interim business may be conducted 

by mail. Recognizing that Trustees are busy people, 

meetings will be kept to a minimum, rotated in location, with 

all expenses paid. 

The Foundation will be registered as a non-profit charitable 

corporation under Section 501(c) (3) of the United States IRS 

Code, and similarly with the Canadian Inland Revenue. 

FUND-RAISING 

Sir Winston Churchill's place in history is secure. The ability 

to raise funds for projects in his memory diminishes as time 

passes. Therefore, an immediate fund drive will be made to raise 

substantial principal. Decisions on how this principal may best 

be invested or spent shall rest with the Trustees. In the long run, 

we hope the Foundation will be able to operate on interest not 

principal, and therefore indefinitely. The usual safeguards will 

exist to ensure no profit to private individuals and the turnover 

of assets to other charitable institutions should the Foundation 

ever be dissolved. The fund-raising program has several phases: 

1. Test Project: "The Dream" (Woods 527j 

We must first demonstrate that ample support exists for a 

Churchill Literary Foundation. For this we are using the taxfree 

charitable status already in effect for the International 

Churchill Society. This already exists in the United States and 

Mr. Cohen is taking steps to obtain similar status in Canada

Left: Four of the many cheap editions of Savro la- Ne wnes (1908), 

the French (1948) and Spanish (1956) translations and the Beacon 

paperback (1957). But aside from expensive "instant collectibles" like 

the 1974 "Collected Works, " there hasn 't been a Savrolapublished since. 

We will launch this year a pledge drive with the goal of 500 

gifts of at least S250 (US) each. The expenses of this drive will 

be funded by ICS. Our goals will be set down and circulated to 

ICS members, their friends and colleagues, and other individuals 

likely to support us. We have already had support expressed for 

this pledge drive among several prominent regular, life and 

honorary members. 

As a token of thanks for supporters of this pledge drive, we 

propose to publish a finely printed and bound edition of The 

Dream, a rare Churchill short story. Dragonwyck Publishing 

Inc., my company, has volunteered its services without charge in 

the design and production of this volume. The nominal cost of 

the book will be about S10, so that S240 out of each S250 gift 

will be tax-deductible by American and Canadian citizens. 

"The Dream," published only once in a newspaper in 1966, 

is a charming, utterly Churchillian essay about the imagined 

return of Lord Randolph Churchill, who appears suddenly at 

Chartwell in 1948. Winston gives his father a commanding, 

terrifying yet optimistic overview of world history since 1895 — 

without ever mentioning the roles he himself played. 

There are some poignant lines. Lord Randolph asks, "Is 

there still a Czar?" Winston replies, "Yes, but it's another family. 

He is much more powerful, and much more despotic." 

Churchill is, as ever, both prescient and hopeful. "It may well 

be that an even worse war is drawing near ... a war of liberal 

civilisation against the Mongol hordes. Far gone are the days of 

Queen Victoria and a settled world order. But, having gone 

through so much, we do not despair." 

Lord Randolph comments that Winston seems to have quite 

a grasp of these terrible events: "I really wonder you didn't go 

into politics. You might have done a lot to help. You might 

even have made a name for yourself." With that he lights his 

cigarette and vanishes. 

Because of its obscurity and poignance, "The Dream" seems 

ideal for this project. The text would be preceded by a scholarly 

introduction, discussing how it reflects Churchill's philosophy, 

his state of mind at the time, and how it applies to today's 

problems. The book requires several good illustrations, and 

would amount to perhaps 32 heavy pages-small enough to cost 

little, unique enough to be treasured by supporters of the 

Foundation. It would be Churchill's 44th individual published 

book. 

2. The Main Fund Appeal 

Should "The Dream" demonstrate that there is ample support 

for a Churchill Literary Foundation, the organization will 

be immediately established with a direct grant of funds received 

in the pledge drive by this Society. The Trustees would then 

plan further drives, fund-raising dinners in major cities, with 

guest speakers of world prominence, or those closely associated 

with Sir Winston. A further direct mail campaign would simultaneously 

be undertaken. The assistance of other, existing 

organizations, such as the English-Speaking Union, would be 

solicited. The Trustees would also examine the possiblity of 

government grants. 

3. Endowment and Budgeting 

The goal of the initial pledge drive involving "The Dream" is 

$125,000. The ultimate goal is SI,000,000. The use of funds is 

not conditional on meeting the goal immediately. The Foundation 

can begin operations with much less in hand. All budgeting 

will be the responsibility of the Board of Trustees. 

IF NOT US-WHO? 

Sir Winston said, "Don't argue the difficulties—they will 

argue perfectly well enough for themselves." We are sure that 

the plan we outline does not allow for all the obstacles this 

project will face. At the same time, we feel it is desperately 

needed, and that no other body is as ready and able as the 

International Churchill Society to undertake the job. 

The success of our ICS is ample evidence that as big as it is, 

we can and will succeed in setting up the Churchill Literary 

Foundation. Consider what we have already accomplished: 

• With the very minimum of publicity, ICS has brought together 

within three years over 700 people devoted to the Churchill 

saga, who renew their membership at a 75% loyalty rate. 

• We have published since 1981 fifteen issues of an increasingly 

large, professional quarterly journal, staffed by so many 

expert contributors that the editor's biggest problem every issue 

is to find enough space. 

• We have convinced the publisher to plan a new, vastly enlarged, 

rewritten edition of the Woods Bibliography, to which 

we are applying computer technology, that enlarges its scope 

and accuracy by dramatic proportions. The end result, when 

published in 1987, will be a model among bibliographies. 

• We have twice organized near-capacity tours of "Churchill's 

England" by Canadian, American and' Australian members,' 

visiting Churchill shrines both famous and obscure, and fraternizing 

with like-minded people in Great Britain. 

• We have increased the awareness of and interest in the 

Churchill topic among bibliophiles, philatelists, collectors, 

scholars and students. 

• We have hosted dinners in Canada, England and the USA, 

with prominent speakers whose remarks have increased the store 

of oral history relating to Churchill. 

• We have obtained, to our great good cheer, the unqualified 

encouragement and support of prominent members of the Churchill 

family; Sir Winston's former associates; members of government, 

business and the academy; the President of the United 

States and the Prime Minister of Great Britain. 

Surely, if anyone can do this great deed, we can. 

concluded overleaf.

IF NOT NOW-WHEN? 

A year or so ago, we received a letter from one of our youngest 

members, a New England schoolboy. His father had forgotten 

his student membership, and he has missed an issue of Finest 

Hour. "Please don't drop me," he wrote us. "Dad forgot. I reminded 

him and he is sending a check. My school paper last 

term was about 'Young Winston.' I would be lost without my 

ICS membership-please send the issue I missed." 

Ladies and gentlemen, if a boy not yet born when Sir Winston 

Churchill died can be so taken with the story we all know so 

well, what more evidence do we need that Churchill's words and 

thought can and must be preserved for those who come after 

us? 

I would like to think that after all of us are gone, we will 

have left a self-perpetuating legacy of Churchill's wisdom to 

guide, inspire, and perhaps even save a future generation. From 

what I know so far of the universal appeal of Churchill and the 

success of this Society, I am encouraged to think that there is 

hope yet for the civilization he saved—to which he contributed 

eight million of the finest words in the English language. 

WHAT YOU CAN DO-NOW 

If you are convinced that this project can and must go forward, 

please join our campaign: send your pledge of S250 or 

more to our treasurer, George E. Lewis, 268 Canterbury Road, 

Westfield, New Jersey 07090. (Installment pledges are more 

than welcome, but we ask that you plan on completing the 

final payment by the end of 1985.) 

For American citizens, we will acknowledge your gift immediately 

with a receipt stating that all but $10 of your pledge is 

tax-deductible. (Canadians may let us know they will pledge 

now, but please send no money until our tax-free status is approved 

in Canada.) ICS members in Britain and the Commonwealth 

are invited to support us with gifts equivalent to US$250. 

Although we do hope to obtain tax-free charitable status in the 

UK and Australia, we are still looking for a volunteer with legal 

connections to process our application. 

Above: 2-Vol River 

War (I) was last in 

print in 1900; at 

right are the 1-Vol 

abridgements (1933, 

1951, 1973). Right: 

two scholarly works 

which just barely 

made one printing, 

by Callahan and 

Thompson; many 

others never get into 

print in hardbound 

form at all. 

Churchil!.* 

II Retreat 

P| from 

i* Empire 

ICS for its part is acting only as a conduit. We assure you 

that no portion of your pledge will be used for any purpose 

other than the Literary Foundation, and that in due course 

you will receive your finely bound, limited edition of "The 

Dream." 

WHAT YOU CAN DO-LATER 

Why not organize a dinner for ICS members in your area? 

We are now large enough to sustain a reasonable size meeting 

in the New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles and San 

Francisco areas. Planning one is simple: first obtain a qualified 

speaker (I can provide the addresses of several) set a price sufficent 

to cover all expenses plus one meal; invite all local ICS 

members; expand the invitation through press releases to the 

entire community. For further details please write me at Putney 

House, Contoocook, New Hampshire 03229. 

I 

I 

I 

PLEDGE FORM (cut or copy) 

To: ICS, 268 Canterbury Road, Westfield, New Jersey 07090 USA 

Gentlemen: Please find check payable ICS enclosed for: 

• $250 donation to launch the Churchill Literary Foundation 

• $75 installment. (Bill me $50/50/75 at intervals this year.) 

D (Canadians) I pledge the equivalent of US$250 for payment on 

notification that ICS has tax-free status in Canada. 

/ understand that this donation will be used solely to help 

launch the Literary Foundation and that as a token of thanks, 

I shall receive a fine edition of The Dream, limited to 500 copies. 

I understand that $240 of this gift is tax-deductible for U. S. Qtizens 

per Section 501(c) (3), IRS Code. 

Name 

Address 

Town 

"LET US TO THE TASK" 

Many fine things have already been accomplished in Sir 

Winston Churchill's name. There are scholarships and statues, 

memorials and tributes, records and memorabilia. But there 

remains one more task, sorely needed now: to preserve the 

thought of Churchill through his written and spoken words. 

"Books in all their variety are often the means by which 

civilisation may be carried triumphantly forward," Churchill 

wrote. A book does not require travel to appreciate. Books 

bring the word of the Man of the Century to life better than any 

statue —any memorial. They are the tools by which generations 

yet unborn may come to know Churchill's deeds. The Churchill 

Literary Foundation is the Memorial your Society, with your 

aid, wishes to contribute. Please help us. 

I 

I 

State/Prov 

Zip/postcode 

10

Reviewing Churchill 

Edited by John G. Plumpton 

130 Collingsbrook Blvd. Agincourt, Ont. M1W1M7 

The Story of the Malakand Field Force, 1897 

We have long thought about recapping 

the original reviews of Churchill's books, 

as they were seen by commentators of 

the day. Now John Plumpton, our feature 

editor, has begun a series to accomplish 

just that. "Reviewing Churchill" 

will appear on an alternating basis with 

"From the Journals," John's synopses 

of articles by and about Churchill, with 

"Reviewing" in odd-numbered issues 

t and "Journals" in even-numbered. John 

* hopes to look at each of Sir Winston's 

•• books in the order they were published. 

^ 

THE STORY OF THE MALAKAND 

FIELD FORCE 

Longmans, Green and Co., London, 

New York & Bombay 2000 copies published 

on 14 March 1898. Woods Al. 

THE TIMES, London, 7 April 1898 

The labours and vicissitudes of the 

Tirah Expedition have distracted public 

attention from the operations of the 

Malakand Field Force, but Lieutenant 

Winston Churchill, a son of the late 

Lord Randolph Churchill, has provided 

an adequate record of that considerable 

frontier campaign. 

It is an extremely interesting and 

well-written account of the great rising 

on the Chitral road, of the gallant defence 

of Malakand and Chakdara, and of 

the subsequent operations of Sir Bindon 

Blood's force against the Mohmands and 

Mamunds. 

Risings among the frontier tribes 

have always been sudden, but never 

before has the transition from peace to 

war, from security to imminent danger 

been more abrupt than when the storm 

burst over the small garrisons on the 

Panjkara River. The positions were not 

well-adapted for defence and the Malakand 

camp seems to have been selected 

without any regard to the possibility of 

attack. "The vacillation caused by the 

change of parties in England led to the 

Malakand garrison remaining for two 

years in a position which could not well 

be defended on paper or in reality." 

Under every disadvantage, the garrison 

repulsed attacks and sent help to 

hard-pressed comrades in Chakdara. Following 

the unconditional surrender of 

3,000 tribesmen of the Lower Swat 

Valley, Sir Bindon Blood's men endured 

an easy victory with trifling loss. The 

Swatis were now effectively crushed, 

but "after much delay and hesitation" 

the Government of India decided against 

immediate action. 

Subsequently orders were received to 

move against the Mohmands. Lieutenant 

Churchill gives an admirable account of 

the somewhat complex operations which 

followed. The hard fighting, which is 

vividly described, was for a time critical. 

The small force was saved from destruction 

by the great gallantry of all ranks. 

As the author points out, the scale of 

the fighting was exceedingly small, but 

a defeat, even a decided reverse, would 

have fired the imagination of the tribesmen 

and multiplied their numbers. That 

all difficulties were surmounted is a 

striking proof of the fighting powers of 

the Indian army, and especially of the 

native troops, who comprised by far 

the greater part of the Malakand Field 

Force. 

The book is, however, much more 

than a clever description of military 

operations. The author shows a keen 

insight into frontier questions and his 

outspoken comments frequently go 

straight to the mark. Whereas the British 

regard the march along the Chitral road 

as a "breach of faith," the tribesmen 

regard the British action on the road as 

"a menace to their independence." 

Readers of this most interesting book, 

whether they agree with all the conclusions 

or not, will derive clear impressions 

of a memorable small war and of the 

general conditions on the frontier problem. 

And the power of direct expression, 

the unhesitating candour, and the sense 

of humour displayed by the young 

author will be noted as a striking instance 

of heredity. 

THE NEW YORK TIMES, 30 April 1898 

Lieutenant Winston L. Spencer Churchill's 

story of the Malakand Field Force 

has an especial interest for American 

readers, for he is the son of the late 

Lord Randolph Churchill and the grandson 

of Leonard Jerome. His education 

has been paid for in part from the rental 

of the house of the University Club in 

New York, which his mother owns. 

Young Lieutenant Churchill, an 

officer in the Queen's Own Hussars, 

joined Major Gen. Sir Bindon Blood's 

campaign on the north-west frontier of 

India, which resulted in the subjection 

of the Mamunds and resulted in the turning 

back of the wave of Afghan invasion. 

It was not a long war or a particularly 

exciting conflict but the courage of the 

English soldier and the skill of the 

officers are often underestimated. 

Lieutenant Churchill does not hold 

11 

Malakands: the first 

Colonial (1899) and 

Newnes (1916) editions. 

Lord Clive's prejudice against the Pathan 

Sepoy and is of the opinion that their 

good qualities ought to be more appreciated. 

He notes that "these men are 

placed in a very strange and false position. 

They are asked to fight against 

their countrymen and co-religionists.. . 

Lieutenant Churchill's book is really 

an amplification of the series of letters 

which he wrote during his term of service 

in India to and for The London 

Daily Telegraph. He tells us that he does 

not pretend to deal with the complications 

of the frontier question. He writes 

simply and modestly, and his description 

of the general character of the numerous 

and powerful tribes of the Indian frontier, 

of his own experiences during the 

campaign, and his observations of the 

problems of frontier warfare, are interesting 

and readable. Perhaps the last 

chapter, "The Riddle of the Frontier," 

will have the most interest to readers 

who are familiar with the political history 

of English India. 

When the northern savages descended 

from the mountains and invaded the 

plains at the foot of the Himalayas, 

where British power had paused, they 

were met by equal courage and superior 

discipline and driven back. The defensive 

stance was replaced by a system of punitive 

expeditions which has been derided 

as a policy of "butcher and bolt." The 

hostility amongst the tribesmen and the 

intrigues of Russia brought about 

another change of policy. The Methar of 

Chitral was made a vassal, nominally of 

the Maharajah of Cashmere, but practically 

of the Imperial Government. 

Frontier forts were built and roads constructed, 

while relations were developed 

with border tribes. Frontier tribes were 

threatened and war ensued. Opinion in 

England and India was divided over the 

"forward policy." Lieutenant Churchill's 

opinion, which he says is shared by all 

who know most about the case, is that 

the forward movement is now beyond 

recall and we are inclined to agree with 

him. •

The 

85th 

Anniversary 

WINSTON CHURCHILL'S 

Escape From The Boers 

1899 • December • 1984 

International Churchill Society 

In Winston's Footsteps 

Retracing Churchill's South African Escape 

Almost 85 Years to the Day 

BY DAVID DRUCKMAN 

ON TUESDAY, 12 December 1899, Lt. Winston Churchill, war 

correspondent for the Morning Post, scrambled over a Pretoria 

prison wall and escaped the captivity of the Boers. Eleven days 

later, after one of the most publicized manhunts in history, he 

turned up free and as talkative as ever in Durban, the hero of the 

hour. The British Empire offered up its collective congratulations. 

"Electors of the borough of Oldham wrote to say that they 

would give me their votes," Churchill wrote in London to Ladysmith 

via Pretoria. "Young ladies sent me woollen comforters. 

Old ladies forwarded their photographs." Still, the correspondence, 

as Churchill admitted, "varied vastly in tone as well as in 

character." A member of the Natal Parliament wrote, "... your 

wonderful and glorious deeds [will] send such a thrill of pride 

and enthusiasm through Great Britain and the United States of 

America, that the Anglo-Saxon race will be irresistable." But a 

cable from London read, "Best friends here hope you won't go 

making further ass of yourself." 

Churchill's epic escape proved one of the great climacterics of 

his career, launching him into politics-another battlefield in 

which he would be active for over six decades. It was with this in 

mind that I decided to visit South Africa in late 1984, to trace 

Churchill's movements after his escape as far to the east as possible. 

Our trip, which lasted from 14 December to 7 January, 

coincided with Churchill's journey almost 85 years to the day. 

12 

Traveling the high and low veldt in Transvaal Province is not 

part of the standard South African tour, so I made arrangements 

through a Chicago tourist agency for a made-to-order journey. 

Accompanying my wife and me was our German guide from 

South West Africa, Irmela Middendorff; our transportation was a 

VW mini-bus. 

A Churchill Society project was also involved. When he learned 

of my plans, Richard Langworth suggested I take some blank 

covers with me and have them stamped and hand-cancelled at 

post offices in towns along Churchill's escape route. The postmarks 

would coincide closely with the actual dates of Churchill's 

contact 85 years ago. 

After a first night in Johannesburg, we drove to Sun City, the 

integrated gambling resort in the independent native homeland 

of Bophuthatswana. Our plan had been to drive from there to 

Kruger National Park, stopping enroute at the Churchill sites, but 

this 435-mile trip proved impossible for one day. Instead we 

made overnight reservations for Witbank. Our first stop was Pretoria, 

where Churchill was held "in durance vile." 

The post office in Church Square was easily accessible, but the 

pinnacle of our visit was the library-the former States Model 

Schools —on the busy corner of Van Der Walt and Skinner 

Streets. Here the Boers had held English officers, and from here 

Churchill had escaped. It was Sunday and the library was closed,

RSAJc 

Above: The former States Model School building in Pretoria, from which 

escapee Winston Churchill began his long trek to Portuguese East Africa 

85 years ago. There is some question about its dimensions (see text). 

Below: The famous Town Hall at Ladysmith, whose belfry stood as 

symbol of defiance during the Boer siege,"sorely battered but unyielding," 

as WSC wrote. The belfry is somewhat modified but intact today. 

Left: one of the 40 6 x 4-inch covers David 

had cancelled along WSC's escape route. 

Above: We hope you enjoyed the flavor of 

adhesive, Dave! For details on obtaining 

this extremely limited ICS commemorative 

cover, please see the box on p. 14. 

S.S&. 

but the grounds were accessible. Unfortunately a building now 

blocks the wall over which WSC climbed, and I ran into some 

confusion over the various dimensions. 

The prison diagram in London to Ladysmith (page 182) gives 

the front (Van Der Walt Street) dimension as "150", without 

indicating what units. The measurement is in fact about 150 

yards (Woods, Young Winston's Wars, p.179), but the present 

dimension of the building is 150 feet on Van Der Walt, and 70 

feet on the side (Skinner Street). If Woods' drawing is to scale, 

the building in front was originally 330 feet. Since the "150" in 

Ladysmith referred to the length of the front of the entire compound, 

the left half of the front appears to have been eliminated. 

My pictures show no protrusion on the left side as there is in the 

drawings, and I don't recall seeing one in situ. 

The area referred to as "the garden of the villa next door", 

where Churchill hid for 1 Vi hours before emerging on the streets 

as a lone escapee, is now a series of garages. The area between the 

back of the building and the end of the old compound is 

occupied by several sheds. 

A caretaker at the library knew nothing of its historical importance, 

but it is clearly marked in city maps and there is a 

plaque in front. I was excited, and must have spent over an hour 

walking back and forth, imagining young Winston climbing over 

the wall, hiding in the garden, then jauntily walking away: "I was 

at large in Pretoria," he calmly wrote. Obviously he was oblivious 

to the dense auto traffic . . . 

As we were leaving Pretoria, discussing our Churchill itinerary, 

a stranger approached and said he was from Witbank. To 

my delight, he turned out to be plant manager of a local colliery. 

"Do you happen to know the site of the house and mineshaft 

where Churchill hid?", I asked. He smiled and said (in a Scottish 

accent), "I can give you general directions, but you'll have to ask 

when you get near." Our guide. Irmela, made hasty notes. 

Witbank is about 60 miles east of Pretoria in a mining area. 

Leaving the modern four-lane highway, we followed our friendly 

Scot's instructions, finding ourselves on a muddy dirt road, where 

we finally found a man to direct us. He sent his son, 12-year-old 

Barend Nel, with us, and Barend directed us past a large mine 

hole to a fence marked "Caving Ground." Ten feet beyond the 

fence in an acre of tall grass and dry ditches was a concrete 

elevation measuring about 8x10 feet. We had found Churchill's 

mineshaft. 

An old sign near the concrete read, "Churchill Shaft -This Is A 

Temporary Sign-A Bronze Plate Will Shortly Be Affixed." This 

is exactly what the Witbanker told us to expect. The shaft was 

covered, and a 10xl4-inch plaque read "Churchill Shaft." Next to 

the field was a lorry company run by one Mr. Pearse, owner of 

the shaft and nearby buildings. To me, this was the highlight of 

my African Journey. 

It had taken us two hours to locate the shaft, and after we'd 

spent an hour there my wife Lynn was very tired. We headed into 

Witbank to our motel. But it was a memorable experience to have 

seen the location where Churchill had hid, with only some 

candles, a little food and drink, and a horde of rats for company. 

At the time he published London to Ladysmith the Boer War 

was still raging, and Churchill could not compromise his benefactors. 

Thirty years later in My Early Life, he was able to reveal 

all the facts. His friend Aylmer Haldane had planned the Pretoria 

escape. (Later Haidane had himself got out, and some years on 

he'd complained that Churchill had not had due regard for his 

co-escapees, having flown prematurely— although WSC had no 

choice once over the wall.) At Witbank, his benefactor was John 

Howard, manager of the Transvaal Colleries, who sheltered him 

between 14 and 19 December 1899, two days of which were 

spent in the mineshaft. Howard then arranged for Churchill to be 

smuggled aboard a train carrying wool to the border. Partly 

because the train was left on a siding for 18 hours, the rail trip 

took 2Vi days. Anyone who has not read this account in My Early 

Life is missing a great adventure story, all the more gripping because 

it is true. 

13

In Pretoria, Witbank, Middleburg, Machadodorp, Belfast, 

and Waterval Boven—the last four along the Churchill rail route 

—I succeeded in my plans to have stamps cancelled to coincide 

with Churchill's escape. Belfast, where WSC's train stopped 

overnight, is a small town of about 10,000 with neat, clean 

streets, pastel-colored buildings and beautiful gardens and lawns. 

But my welcome wasn't entirely unanimous. 

As I was photographing the Belfast station sign, an impeccably 

uniformed railroad official approached and asked if I had 

permission to take pictures. "I've been taking pictures along 

similar tracks all day long," I said. "You know," he began, "I'm 

not making an accusation, but a communist could stand there, 

take pictures of the railroad, and give them to our enemies in 

some of the countries that surround us." I was flabbergasted. 

When I got my voice back I told him I was an American and 

would be glad to show him my passport. "Tell you what," I said: 

"Let me take a picture of you with the tracks in the background 

and I'll send you a copy." He said okay, and when I said I could 

send some U. S. stamps to his son, the confrontation was over. 

But there is no doubt that many South Africans think of themselves 

as a people under siege. 

I would have traveled further east, all the way to Komati Poort 

on the Mozambique border, but our schedule called for us to 

drive north at Nelsprout for a photographic safari at Kruger 

National Park and Mala Mala, a private reserve. But my Churchillrelated 

travels were anything but over. 

In northeast Transvaal we drove toward Lady smith, passing 

Newcastle, Dundee, Glencoe and Elandslaagte, famous Boer War 

battle areas. We spent a night in Ladysmith nearly opposite "the 

little Town Hall, the tower of which, sorely battered, yet unyielding, 

seemed to symbolise the spirit of the garrison." (London to 

Ladysmith, p.472). Pictures, famous today in Ladysmith, were 

taken of Gen. White's retreat from Dundee to Ladysmith, and of 

the Town Hall after Buller broke the Boer siege. Today the belfry 

is long repaired, with some addition built on. There is a small 

park north of the Town Hall with a building containing historical 

material, and a mile away I found the hill where Sir George White 

had his headquarters, overlooking Ladysmith and—presumably — 

its Boer beseigers. 

South from Ladysmith and then west we found Spion Kop, 

the 1450-foot hill where "Corpses lay here and there. Many of 

the wounds were of a horrible nature. The splinters and fragments 

of the shell had torn and multilated in the most ghastly manner." 

(Ladysmith, p.308). Churchill devoted 20 pages of his book to 

this 24-hour battle that the British, after being within sight of 

victory, lost. 

Many changes have occurred here since 1900. Route 616 lays 

to the north (and only entrance). A reservoir was built south of 

the Tugela, which is two miles south of Spion Kop, overlooked 

now by Spion Kop Resort. Here we stopped to see the Spion Kop 

Museum, picked up a booklet, and then headed for the hill. 

It took us a half hour to drive around to the north side where 

some children opened a gate for us, the area being farmland. But 

only 20 minutes were needed to climb the wide, rocky path to 

the west of the Kop. A Boer monument of rough stone is about 

100 yards north of the crest, and we could see the peak of the 

British monument, 15 feet high with the names of officers and 

men who died on that 20-acre summit. 

The 24th of January 1900 was hell here. The many dead, including 

General Woodgate, were buried in long, shallow trenches, 

realistically portrayed in contemporary photos. Today they are 

dirt mounds about IVi feet high, with white-washed stones along 

their sides. Metal crosses, some looking ancient, carry names or 

memorials from families or friends of the fallen. Spion Kop is 

really a cemetery, a memorial for nearly 1500 killed, wounded 

and missing soldiers, mostly British. They died in an unnecessary 

war that could have been prevented, save for Kruger's stubbornness 

and Rhodes' imperialism. Much worse was to come in 1914. 

Few people were on Spion Kop with us. An ex-pilot told me 

of his exploits in Italy during World War II. Now he is an engineer 

— and a poet —who climbs the Kop for its quiet and eeriness. 

Going down was easier than climbing up, and the children were 

still there to open the gate for us and collect their small tips. It 

was a sad yet wondrous visit. 

From Spion Kop we went southeast to Colenso, a sleepy 

ICS Cover #24: LONDON TO LADYSMITH VIA PRETORIA 

David Druckman went to considerable expense, but charged us 

nothing (he is not a philatelist), to create this unique cover. Our 

supply is limited to 40 copies. Dave (and we) hope you will consider 

a donation of $5 or more for yours (tax deductible in US). We will 

put it to good use-more cover projects! But as they say, "offer 

good while supplies last." Please order from David Marcus, 221 

Pewter Lane, Silver Spring, MD 20904; enclose long SSAE. 

Armoured Train memorial (see also FH #20 p5) is 100 yds. from track. 

On-site map and description of Armoured Train incident 26 Nov 1899. 

Graves of those killed during the Armoured Train wreck. 

The mineshaft where WSC hid; sign is temporary. Truck Co. behind. 

14

ural town that had also seen its share of war. It was hot, so we 

stopped and had some Cokes near a swimming pool where 

children and adults splashed each other and a long-haired dog was 

friendly but obviously uncomfortable in the heat. The owner of 

the hotel gave us permission to climb a fence onto the Colenso 

battlefield, on property belonging to his family, near a British 

cemetary. Here we met a good looking young blond fellow, 

George Clouston (the same name was on a nearby tombstone), 

son of the owner and a Boer War afficionado. For an hour he 

showed me Buller's headquarters, the Boer positions, several 

WAT5RVAL BOVENjfk 

Above: RR stops along the escape route. Below: Belfast stationmaster, 

Spion Kop British graves. Below right: Durban Town Hall today. 

battle areas, mounds where a naval gun had been fixed, and a 

British command post "messed up because of some Italian 

tourists who moved the stones." On one boulder, British soldiers 

had carved ensigns. I thanked George profusely, and he replied by 

handing me some cartridges and shell fragments—Enfield and 

Mauser cartrides and dum-dums. He said he had hundreds more at 

home and was pleased to share them. I was most grateful and 

offered to pay for his time and the momentos, but he refused. He 

was of British stock. 

Driving south we stopped north of Frere to look at the spot 

where Churchill was captured during the armoured train incident. 

There are plaques memorializing the spot, with a map and description. 

On the far side of the tracks is a small graveyard with a 

dozen neat stones, the remains of British soldiers killed in the 

skirmish. 

Still farther south we lodged overnight in Piermaritzburg, the 

provincial capital of Natal. The small Churchill Park is overwhelmed 

with statues relating to the Zulu, Boer and both World 

Wars. A few hours' drive away was Durban, where young Winstor 

had arrived in triumph on 23 December 1899. 

Durban is a vacation city for South Africans and busiest on 

Christmas weekend. It's the Miami Beach of South Africa, with 

about a mile of clean, white sand and modern hotels. After 

shopping in the Oriental Market (Durban has the largest Indian 

population outside India) and swimming in the warm Indian 

Ocean, we drove to the business center. 

I attempted to visit various museums and newspaper offices 

to obtain information on Churchill's speech, which is not recorded 

in any of the published sources. But due to the holidays 

everything was closed. I have letters pending now in Durban, and 

our guide Irmela has promised to follow through. 

We did see the old Town Hall where Churchill spoke after his 

return from Lourenejo Marques. It is now a post office, facing a 

beautiful park across the street, also filled with statues. From 

Durban through Zululand we stayed overnight at Umtata, capital 

of the independent homeland of Transkei. The next morning 

Irmela drove us through Ciskei to Port Elizabeth, then to Oudtshoorn 

and its ostrich farms (the meat is red!). Finally, we spent 

severals days in Cape Town. 

In Chapter II of London to Lady smith, Churchill begins: "We 

have left Headquarters busy with matters that as yet concern no 

one but themselves in the Mount Nelson Hotel at Cape Town—a 

most excellent and well-appointed establishment, which may be 

thoroughly appreciated after a sea voyage, and which, since many 

of the leading Uitlanders have taken up their abode there during 

the war, is nicknamed 'The Helot's Rest'." I can advise that the 

Mount Nelson has lost none of its elegance and charm. Although 

we had only one dinner there, it was an experience: serviettes 

placed on your lap; dishes served with hot silverware for hot 

foods and cold for cold foods; waiters who are there when you 

need them but invisible otherwise; diners wearing proper attire 

(though I saw some children in pajamas). All of this cost the 

equivalent of S25 for two, including a bottle of wine and a tip. 

After much exploring of the area by car and a helicopter, we 

took the Blue Train to Johannesburg. But not before I'd located a 

Cape Town bookshop with 15 books about Churchill and the 

Boer War, three of them first editions. We spent more days in 

Johannesburg —shopping, always shopping—and took one of the 

last tours of the gold mines there before boarding a plane for the 

16-hour flight to New York. Two hours more and we were at 

O'Hare, Chicago and home. The memories proved far better than 

our expectations. With over 300 still photos and a thousand feet 

of moving pictures plus two bags of memorabilia, our experience 

in this beautiful and historic land will be relived many times in 

coming years. • 

15

WSCfrom the poet Clough, 

World Broadcast, 2 7 April 1941: 

"Westward Look, 

The Land Is Bright!" 

PRIME MINISTER THE RT. HON. MARGARET THATCHER, FRS, MP 

WEDNESDAY 20 FEBRUARY 1985 

A SPEECH TO A JOINT SESSION OF THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS 

Mr. Speaker, Mr. President, Distinguished 

Members of Congress: 

On this, one of the most moving 

occasions of my life, my first words 

must be to say thank you for granting 

me this rare privilege of addressing a 

Joint Meeting of the United States Congress. 

My thoughts turn to three earlier 

occasions when a British Prime Minister, 

Winston Churchill, has been honoured 

by a call to address both Houses. Among 

his many remarkable gifts, Winston held 

a special advantage here. Through his 

American mother, he had ties of blood 

with you. Alas, for me, these are not 

matters we can readily arrange for ourselves! 

Those three occasions deserve to be 

recalled, because they serve as lamps 

along a dark road which our people trod 

together, and they remind us what an 

extraordinary period of history the world 

has passed through between that time 

and ours; and they tell us what later 

generations in both our countries sometimes 

find hard to grasp: why past associations 

bind us so closely. 

Winston Churchill's vision of a union 

of mind and purpose between the English-speaking 

peoples was to form the 

mainspring of the West. No one of my 

generation can forget that America has 

been the principal architect of a peace 

in Europe which has lasted 40 years. 

Given the shield of the United States, 

we have been granted the opportunities 

to build a concept of Europe beyond 

the dreams of our fathers; a Europe 

which seemed unattainable amid the 

mud and slaughter of the First World 

War, and the suffering and sacrifice of 

the Second. 

When, in the Spring of 1945, the 

guns fell silent, General Eisenhower 

called our soldiers to a Service of 

Thanksgiving. In the order of service was 

a famous prayer of Sir Francis Drake: 

"Oh Lord God, when Thou givest to 

Thy Servants to endeavour any great 

matter, grant us to know that it is not 

the beginning but the continuing of the 

same until it be thoroughly finished, 

which yieldeth the true glory!" 

On this day, close to the 40th anniversary 

of that service and of peace in 

Europe-one of the longest periods 

without war in all our history— I should 

like to recall those words and acknowledge 

how faithfully America has fulfilled 

them. For our deliverance from 

what might have befallen us, I would not 

have us leave our gratitude to the 

tributes of history. The debt the free 

peoples of Europe owe to this nation, 

generous with its bounty, willing to 

share its strength, seeking to protect the 

weak, is incalculable. We thank and 

salute you [applause]. 

Of course, in the years which separate 

us from the time when Winston Churchill 

last spoke to Congress, there have 

been disappointments as well as hopes 

fulfilled: the continued troubles in the 

Middle East; famine and oppression in 

Africa; genocide in South East Asia; the 

brutal occupation of Afghanistan; the 

undiminished agony of tortured Poland; 

and above all, the continued and continuing 

division of the European continent. 

From these shores, it may seem to 

some of you that by comparison with 

the risk and sacrifice which America has 

borne through four decades and the 

courage with which you have shouldered 

unwanted burdens, Europe has not fully 

matched your expectations. Bear with 

me if I dwell for a moment on the 

Europe to which we now belong. 

It is not the Europe of ancient Rome, 

of Charlemagne, of Bismarck. We who 

are alive today have passed through 

perhaps the greatest transformation of 

human affairs on the Continent of 

Europe since the fall of Rome. In but 

a short chapter of its long history, 

Europe lost the position which it had 

occupied for 2000 years-and it is 

your history as much as ours. 

16 

For five centuries, that small continent 

had extended its authority over 

islands and continents the world over. 

For the first 40 years of this century, 

there were seven great powers: United 

States, Great Britain, Germany, France, 

Russia, Japan, Italy. Of those seven, 

two now tower over the rest—United 

States and the Soviet Union. 

To that swift and historic change 

Europe-a Europe of many different 

histories and many different nations 

-has had to find a response. It has 

not been an easy passage to blend this 

conflux of nationalism, patriotism, 

sovereignty, into a European Community, 

yet I think that our children 

and grandchildren may see this period 

— these birth pangs of a new Europe — 

more clearly than we do now. They will 

see it as a visionary chapter in the creation 

of a Europe able to share the load 

alongside you. Do not doubt the firmness 

of our resolve in this march towards 

this goal, but do not underestimate what 

we already do. 

-Today, out of the forces of the 

Alliance in Europe, 95% of the divisions, 

85% of the tanks, 80% of the combat 

aircraft, and 70% of the fighting ships 

are provided, manned and paid for by 

the European Allies [applause] and 

Europe has more than three million men 

under arms and more still in reserve. We 

have to. We are right in the front line. 

The frontier of freedom cuts across our 

continent. 

Members of Congress, the defence of 

that frontier is as vital to you as it is to 

us [applause]. 

It is fashionable for some commentators 

to speak of the two superpowers- 

United States and the Soviet Union-as 

though they were somehow of equal 

worth and equal significance. Mr. 

Speaker, that is a travesty of the truth. 

The Soviet Union has never concealed 

its real aim. The words of Mr. Brezhnev, 

"the total triumph of Socialism all 

over the world is inevitable-for this 

triumph we shall struggle with no lack 

of effort." Indeed, there has been no 

lack of effort! 

Contrast this with the record of the 

West. We do not aim at domination, at 

hegemony, in any part of the world. 

Even against those who oppose and who 

would destroy our ideas, we plot no 

aggression. Of course, we are ready to 

fight the battle of ideas with all the 

vigour at our command, but we do not 

try to impose our system on others. We 

do not believe that force should be the 

final arbiter in human affairs. We 

threaten no one. Indeed, the Alliance

has given a solemn assurance to the 

world-none of our weapons will be 

used except in response to attack 

[applause]. 

In talking to the Soviet Union, we 

find great difficulty in getting this 

message across. They judge us by their 

ambitions. They cannot conceive of a 

powerful nation not using its power for 

expansion or subversion, and yet they 

should remember that when, after the 

last War, the United States had a monopoly 

of nuclear weapons, she never once 

exploited her superiority. No country 

ever used such great power more responsibly 

or with such restraint. I wonder 

what would have befallen us in Western 

Europe and Great Britain if that monopoly 

had been in Soviet hands! 

Mr. Speaker, wars are not caused by 

the build-up of weapons. They are 

caused when an aggressor believes he 

can achieve his objectives at an acceptable 

price [applause]. The war of 1939 

was not caused by an arms race. It sprang 

from a tyrant's belief that other countries 

lacked the means and the will to 

resist him. Remember Bismarck's phrase: 

"Do I want war? Of course not! I want 

victory!" 

Our task is to see that potential 

aggressors, from whatever quarter, 

understand plainly that the capacity and 

the resolve of the West would deny them 

victory in war and that the price they 

would pay would be intolerable [applause] 

. That is the basis of deterrence 

and it is the same whatever the nature 

of the weapons, for let us never forget 

the horrors of conventional wars and the 

hideous sacrifice of those who have 

suffered in them. Our task is not only to 

Prevent nuclear war, but to prevent 

conventional war as well [applause]. 

No one understood the importance 

°f deterrence more clearly than Winston 

Churchill, when in his last speech to you 

he said: "Be careful above all things not 

to let go of the atomic weapon until 

you are sure and more than sure that 

other means of preserving peace are in 

your hands!" Thirty-three years on, 

those weapons are still keeping the 

Peace, but since then technology has 

moved on and if we are to maintain 

deterrence —as we must —it is essential 

that our research and capacity do not 

fall behind the work being done by the 

Soviet Union [applause]. That is why 

1 firmly support President Reagan's 

decision to pursue research into defence 

against ballistic nuclear missiles-the 

Strategic Defence Initiative [applause]. 

Indeed, I hope that our own scientists 

w iH share in this research. 

United States and the Soviet Union 

are both signatories to the 1972 Anti- 

Ballistic Missile Treaty, a treaty without 

any terminal date. Nothing in that treaty 

precludes research, but should that 

research —on either side—lead to the 

possible deployment of new defence 

systems, that would be a matter for 

negotiation under the treaty. 

The cover of Time, 14 May 1979. 

Mr. Speaker, despite our differences 

with the Soviet Union, we have to talk 

with them, for we have one overriding 

interest in common —that never again 

should there be a conflict between our 

peoples. We hope too that we can achieve 

security with far fewer weapons than we 

have today and at lower cost, and thanks 

to the skilful diplomacy of Secretary 

Shultz, negotiations on arms control 

open in Geneva on the 12th of March. 

They will be of immense importance to 

millions. They will be intricate, complex 

and demanding, and we should not 

expect too much too soon. 

We must recognize that we have faced 

a Soviet political offensive designed to 

sow differences among us; calculated to 

create infirmity of purpose; to impair 

resolve, and even to arouse fear in the 

hearts of our people. 

Hope is such a precious commodity 

in the world today, but some attempted 

to buy it at too high a price. We shall 

have to resist the muddled arguments of 

those who have been induced to believe 

that Russia's intentions are benign and 

that ours are suspect, or who would 

have us simply give up our defences in 

the hope that where we led others 

would follow. As we learned cruelly in 

the 1930s, from good intentions can 

conic tragic results. 

Let us be under no illusions. It is our 

strength and not their goodwill that has 

brought the Soviet Union to the negotiating 

table in Geneva [applause]. 

17 

Mr. Speaker, we know that our 

alliance —if it holds firm—cannot be 

defeated, but it could be outflanked. It 

is among the unfree and the underfed 

that subversion takes root. As Ethiopia 

demonstrated, those people get precious 

little help from the Soviet Union and its 

allies. The weapons which they pour in 

bring neither help nor hope to the 

hungry. It is the West which heard their 

cries; it is the West which responded 

massively to the heart-rending starvation 

in Africa; it is the West which has made 

a unique contribution to the uplifting of 

hundreds of millions of people from 

poverty, illiteracy and disease. 

But the problems of the Third World 

are not only those of famine. They face 

also a mounting burden of debt, falling 

prices for primary products, protectionism 

by the industrialised countries. 

Some of the remedies are in the hands 

of the developing countries themselves. 

They can open their markets to productive 

investment; they can pursue responsible 

policies of economic adjustment. 

We should respect the courage and 

resolve with which so many of them 

have tackled their special problems, but 

we also have a duty to help. 

How can we help? First and most 

important, by keeping our markets open 

to them. Protectionism is a danger to all 

our trading partnerships and for many 

countries trade is even more important 

than aid. And so, we in Britain support 

President Reagan's call for a new GATT 

round [applause]. 

The current strength of the dollar, 

which is causing so much difficulty for 

some of your industries, creates obvious 

pressures for special cases, for new trade 

barriers to a free market. I am certain 

that your Administration is right to 

resist such pressures. To give in to them 

would betray the millions in the developing 

world, to say nothing of the strains 

on your other trading partners. The 

developing countries need our markets 

as we need theirs, and we cannot preach 

economic adjustment to them and 

refuse to practise it at home [applause]. 

And second, we must remember that 

the way in which we in the developed 

countries manage our economies determines 

whether the world's financial 

framework is stable; it determines the 

level of interest rates; it determines the 

amount of capital available for sound 

investment the world over; and it determines 

whether or not the poor countries 

can service their past loans, let alone 

compete for new ones. And those are 

the reasons why we support so strongly 

your efforts to reduce the budget

deficit [applause]. 

No other country in the world can be 

immune from its effects —such is the 

influence of the American economy on 

us all. We in Europe have watched with 

admiration the burgeoning of this mighty 

American economy. There is a new 

mood in the United States. A visitor 

feels it at once. The resurgence of your 

self-confidence and your national pride 

is almost tangible. Now the sun is rising 

in the West [applause]. 

For many years, our vitality in Britain 

was blunted by excessive reliance on the 

State. Our industries were nationalised, 

controlled and subsidised in a way that 

yours never were. We are having to recover 

the spirit of enterprise which you 

never lost. Many of the policies you are 

following are the policies we are following. 

You have brought inflation down. 

So have we. You have declared war on 

regulations and controls. So have we. 

Our Civil Service is now smaller than at 

any time since the War and controls on 

pay, prices, dividends, foreign exchange, 

all are gone. You have encouraged small 

business —so often the source of tomorrow's 

jobs. So have we. But above all, 

we are carrying out the largest programme 

of denationalisation in our 

history [applause]. 

Just a few years ago, in Britain, 

privatisation was thought to be a pipe 

dream. Now it is a reality and a popular 

one. Our latest success was the sale of 

British Telecommunications. It was the 

largest share issue ever to be brought to 

the market on either side of the Atlantic 

— some two million people bought shares. 

Members of Congress, that is what 

capitalism is-a system which brings 

wealth to the many, and not just to the 

few [applause]. 

The United Kingdom economy is in 

its fourth year of recovery. Slower than 

yours, but positive recovery. We have 

not yet shared your success in bringing 

down unemployment, although we are 

creating many new jobs; but output, 

investment and standard of living are all 

at record levels and profits are well up. 

And the pound? It is too low! Yet whatever 

the proper international level of 

sterling, it is a marvellous time for 

Americans not only to visit Britain but 

to invest with her [applause] -and 

many are! America is by far the largest 

direct investor in Britain and I am 

delighted to say that Britain is the 

largest direct investor in the United 

States [applause]. 

The British economy has an underlying 

strength and like you, we use our 

strength and resolve to carry out our 

duties to our allies and to the wider 

world. We were the first country to 

station Cruise missiles on our territory. 

Britain led the rest [applause]. In proportion 

to our population, we station 

the same number of troops as you in 

Germany. In Central America, we keep 

troops stationed in Belize at that government's 

request. That is our contribution 

to sustaining democracy in a part of the 

world so vital to the United States 

[applause]. We have troops in Cyprus 

and in the South Atlantic and at your 

request, a small force in Sinai, and 

British servicemen are now on loan to 

some 30 foreign countries. We are 

alongside you in Beirut; we work with 

you in the Atlantic and in the Indian 

Ocean; our navy is on duty across the 

world. Mr. Speaker, Britain meets her 

responsibilities in the defence of freedom 

throughout the world and she will 

go on doing so [applause]. 

Members of Congress, closer to home 

there is a threat to freedom both savage 

and insiduous. Both our countries have 

suffered at the hands of terrorists. We 

have both lost some of our best young 

lives and I have lost some close and dear 

friends. Free, strong, democratic societies 

will not be driven by gunmen to 

abandon freedom or democracy [applause] 

. The problems of the Middle 

East will not be solved by the cold 

blooded murder of American servicemen 

in Lebanon, nor by the murder of 

American civilians on a hi-jacked aircraft 

[applause]. Nor will the problems 

of Northern Ireland be solved by the 

assassin's gun or bomb. 

Garrett FitzGerald and I-and our 

respective governments—are united in 

condemning terrorism [applause]. We 

recognise the differing traditions and 

identities of the two parts of the community 

of Northern Ireland—the Nationalist 

and the Unionist. We seek a 

political way forward acceptable to 

them both, which respects them both. 

So long as the majority of people of 

Northern Ireland wish to remain part of 

the United Kingdom, their wishes will 

be respected. If ever there were to be a 

majority in favour of change, then I 

believe that our Parliament would respond 

accordingly-for that is the 

principle of consent enshrined in your 

constitution and in an essential part of 

ours. 

There is no disagreement on this 

principle between the United Kingdom 

Government and the Government of the 

Republic of Ireland. Indeed, the four 

constitutional nationalist parties of 

Ireland, north and south, who came 

together to issue the New Ireland 

Forum Report, made clear that any new 

18 

arrangements could only come about by 

consent, and I welcome too their outright 

condemnation and total rejection 

of terrorism and all its works. 

Be under no illusions about the Provisional 

IRA. They terrorise their own 

communities. They are the enemies of 

democracy and of freedom too. Don't 

just take my word for it. Ask the 

Government of the Irish Republic, 

where it is an offence even to belong to 

that organisation —as indeed it also is in 

Northern Ireland. 

Garrett FitzGerald-and I salute him 

for the very brave thing he did yesterday 

in passing a special law to see that 

money did not get to the IRA —Garrett 

FitzGerald and I will continue to consult 

together in the quest for stability and 

peace in Northern Ireland and we hope 

we will have your continued support for 

our joint efforts to find a way forward 

[applause]. 

Distinguished Members of Congress, 

our two countries have a common heritage 

as well as a common language. It is 

no mere figure of speech to say that 

many of your most enduring traditions 

-representative government,habeus corpus, 

trial by jury, a system of constitutional 

checks and balances —stem 

from our own small islands. But they 

are as much your lawful inheritance as 

ours. You did not borrow these traditions—you 

took them with you, because 

they were already your own. 

Human progress is not automatic. 

Civilisation has its ebbs and flows, but if 

we look at the history of the last five 

hundred years, whether in the field of 

art, science, technology, religious tolerance 

or in the practise of politics, the 

conscious inspiration of it all has been 

the belief and practise of freedom under 

law; freedom disciplined by morality, 

under the law perceived to be just. 

I cannot conclude this address without 

recalling words made immortal by 

your great President Abraham Lincoln 

in his second Inaugural Address, when 

he looked beyond an age when men 

fought and strove toward a more peaceful 

future: "With malice toward none, 

with chairty for all, with firmness in the 

right that God gives us to see the right. 

Let us strive on to finish the work we 

are in, to do all which may achieve and 

cherish a just and lasting peace among 

ourselves and with all nations." 

Members of Congress, may our two 

kindred nations go forward together 

sharing Lincoln's vision, firm of purpose, 

strong in faith, warm of heart, as 

we approach the third millenium of the 

Christian era. 

Mr. Speaker, thankyou! [applause] .•

Woods Corner 

Ronald I. Cohen, Editor 

5 Murray Avenue, West mount, Quebec, Canada H3Y 2X9 

An Ongoing Forum of Additions & Corrections to the Woods Bibliography of Works by Sir Winston Churchill, for the New Edition, 1987. 

("Woods" is shorthand for A Bibliography of the Works of 

Sir Winston Churchill by Frederick Woods, first published in 

1963, current (second revised) edition 1975. At request of the 

author and publisher, ICS has undertaken a complete revision and 

updating of this invaluable work for publication in 1987. Editor 

Cohen requests your comments and additions.) 

In our last installments we have reviewed errors and omissions 

relating to Section C (contributions to press and periodicals). We 

will now turn again to new information relating to Sections A 

and B. While the method of dealing with Section A and B omissions 

will duplicate that used for Section C, there will be a 

different approach to corrigenda, because of the different nature 

of volumes versus periodicals. 

Again, I am omitting here the many minor errors in Woods, 

while making appropriate corrections to the actual text. These 

arise principally in his descriptions of title pages and contents. 

When I do mention them, it is in the context of providing information 

on more substantive issues that have a bearing on collector's 

concerns, such as whether a volume is a first state, etc. 

Al(a)THE STORY OF THE MALAKAND FIELD FORCE: 

Contrary to Woods there are no protective tissues over folding 

maps. The second state errata slip follows, doesn't precede, the 

first folding map. States are also distinguished by the catalogue at 

the end, which is dated 1 2/97 (first state) or 3/98 (second). 

Al(a) Colonial Edition: There are four, not three impressions: 

March 1898, March 1898, November 1898, February 1901. There 

is also a version of the Colonial in both card and wraps printed in 

dark blue on green and carrying adverts on the inside front and 

rear and on the outside rear, but no catalogue. 

A2(d) THE RIVER WAR 1933 Edition: An unrecorded binding 

variant exists in violet cloth. Woods does not mention the 

Scribners edition (in all respects identical to the E&S English 

except as to name of publisher), nor the Award (1964) nor New 

English Library (1973) paperbacks. 

A3(a) SAVROLA American Edition: The second impression 

states that the first impression was published November 1899 and 

the second January 1900. Both dates precede Woods' February 

1900 date for the first US appearance.- Since November 1899 is 

also, per Woods, the first publication of The River War, there is a 

possibility that Savrola actually preceded A2! However, the 

Savrola serialization in Macmillan's Magazine did not conclude 

until December 1899; it is unlikely that the hardbound edition 

would have appeared while the serial was still running. [RML 

Query: Yes, but would the Americans have cared over serialization 

in an English magazine, and is this not perhaps the reason 

the US edition appeared so early? I.e., could the English publisher 

have held back because of the Macmillan's serialization: but not 

the American?]. 

A3(b) SAVROLA Colonial Edition: A Copp, Clark cancel 

exists, unmentioned by Woods (although such an edition is mentioned 

under Malakand. Woods also mentions olive wrappers in 

connection with the Colonial. I suspect he reversed his Malakand 

and Savrola data. See comments on Malakand Colonial above. 

A4 LONDON TO LADYSMITH VIA PRETORIA: A Canadian 

edition exists identical in contents/pagination to the American 

edition, but with a cover similar to the English edition (line 

drawing of armoured train). This edition also exists in card wraps 

with Copp Clark designation on title but "Montreal News Company 

Limited" spine. 

A5IAN HAMILTON'S MARCH: An amusing Woods typo is 

his indication that the volume contains excerpts from the DAIRY 

°f Lt. Frankland. Our re-reading indicates no reference to milk 

°r butter. 

A8(a) LORD RANDOLPH CHURCHILL: A Times Book Club 

19 

version exists (contents same, binding different), sold at 7s and 

was the cause of some distress to both WSC and Macmillan on 

account of its low price. (See Companion Vol II Part 1 pages 

493-94.) 

A10 NATIONAL DEMONSTRATION IN FAVOUR OF 

LAND & HOUSING REFORM. There are errors in the title and 

it should be D(b)25/1, since it contains speeches by others beside 

Churchill. 

A12 MY AFRICAN JOURNEY: Contrary to our presentation 

in FH#43, the unmentioned Canadian (Briggs) edition is 1909 

not 1908. 

A15 LIBERALISM AND THE SOCIAL PROBLEM: Apparently 

Woods' description of the speech at p277 as "May 3, 1903 

[stet 1903. Misprint for 1909]" is totally incorrect. All firsts 

examined read "May 4, 1909." The second impression was incorrectly 

altered to "May 4, 1903." The true date was May 3, 

1909! [RML: It is possible that in correcting the second impression 

the typesetter put a "3" in place of the "9" instead of the 

"4" as intended? The 1973 Haskell reprint is, incidentally, 

photographically reproduced from this second imprsn.] Woods' 

acknowledges no second impression at all, and as in Al2 he refers 

to publishers "Doubleday, Doran." I have never seen nor heard of 

a Doran American edition. All US editions known bear Hodder 

and Stoughton imprints, are undated with top boards blank. Title 

pages read "New York and London," versus "Lonaon." (typo) 

A16THE PEOPLE'S RIGHTS: Variant wraps exist, one with 

"Yorkshire Observer Edition" inserted above price and publisher's 

imprint reduced and amended to "Hodder and Stoughton, 

Publishers, London." 

A18/1 CHURCHILL SAID: There appears to be a third (unacknowledged) 

mate to A18/1 and /2; the same title, this one was 

published by the Scottish National Party. Not checked by me. It 

is reported that the nationalist organizations publishing these 

called upon the Scots to establish a separate Parliament as their 

"war" aim. Conclusion? Publication after 1914, not 1911 as per 

Woods, although the address occurred in 1911. (For the text see 

the Collected Speeches, Volume II, pages 1876-84.) 

A20(a) IRISH HOME RULE: Correctly 15(16) pp. not 16 pp. 

A22/1 SPEECH ... ON NAVY ESTIMATES: Separately published, 

apparently extracted from Hansard, reportedly 24 pages 

plus (including?) wraps. Title details incomplete. Info needed. 

Speech date 17 March 1914 {Coll. Spchs. Vol III pages 2262-7.) 

A24NAVY ESTIMATES IN THE GREAT WAR: French 

translation known. 

A26 THE MUNITIONS MIRACLE: Correctly 15(16) pp 

A28 REASON AND REALITY: 36 pp plus wrappers (printed 

red on orange). Speech mentioned on page iii of wraps, described 

by Woods as "unidentified" is in fact "The State and the Individual." 

This item originally published as "Labour versus the Labour 

Party" in the 18 Jan 1920 Illustrated Sunday Herald. (See C70.) 

A31(a) THE WORLD CRISIS: Woods describes the Vol I spine 

only, which contains no star. Spines of all subsequent volumes 

have numerating stars, and a star is added to Volume I with the 

third impression. Part 2 of Volume III has an errata slip tipped 

onto the half-title, not in Woods. An Australian edition (Australasian 

Publishing Co. Ltd.) of Volumes I and II appeared, bound 

as the English but without "Thornton Butterworth" on spine. 

The unmentioned Canadian edition is printed, bound and jacketed 

as per the American edition but labeled Macmillan not Scribners. 

A31(a) THE GREAT WAR: Woods does not note the Danish 

nor Norwegian translations. (See our notes on this in FH#46 

page 16; the Norwegian edition adds an 1 lth form to known versions 

of this title.) Collectors of the blue bound editions should 

be aware that it is not uncommon to find sets with mixed Arabic/ 

Roman numerals. •

Churchill in Stamps 

BY RICHARD M. LANGWORTH 

PAGES 25-30: WINSTON TO INDIA 

This six-page segment of philatelic adventures is built entirely 

around Churchill's travel to India at the height of the 

British Raj (and you need to read many books to understand 

it; "The Jewel in the Crown," good as it was, remains superficial). 

The lack of actual Churchill commemoratives referencing 

this period again requires the philatelic biographer to 

rely, with only one exception, on CR (Churchill-Related) 

stamps. 

25. This page is unfinished, but since this series may later be 

reprinted I include it for continuity. Incidentally, there is a 

mistake in the text: the typical Indian tour of duty was nine, 

not five years. Egypt #46-60 (sg ?) are the stamps Winston 

probably bought for his brother Jack at Port Said. The key 

value missing is Egypt #536 (sg ?) showing Suez. 

26. Ideal to illustrate almost any page concerning WSC/India 

are the fine Victoria definitives in use when he arrived (in use 

1895-1900: #36-46 & #50-52, sg 84-94 & 107-9). As you can 

see, I've yet to find #43 and have rough examples of some 

others. Places mentioned by WSC to look for on postmarks include 

Bangalore, Guntakal, Hyderabad, Poona and Wadi. 

27. The map comes from an old atlas and shows British India 

and the independent Princely States. High-value definitives 

were used, but lacking #50 I substituted temporarily #447 

(sg 502), a Taj Mahal design. Another view of the "Taj" is on 

India #220, issued in 1949. It is remarkable how little of the 

sub-continent Britain administered directly. Bangalore, where 

WSC was stationed, is in the south near Mysore State. 

28. Churchill's fascination with butterflies stemmed from his 

acquaintance with them in India. Three he mentioned collecting 

may be found on stamps: swallowtail, purple emperor and 

white admiral, Poland #1543/46 and Romania #1620. His 

India garden contained roses including "La France," "Gloire 

de Dyon" and "Marechal Nel," but these varieties have disappeared. 

We rely on GB #786-89 (sg 1006-09) for representatives. 

29. Polo, Churchill's favorite sport, is the subject here, with 

Khor Fakkan Minkus #68 the only Churchill issue in these six 

pages. Others are Brazil #891 (India has not to my knowledge 

issued a stamp for her national sport), Laos #79 (tying in 

WSC's lovelorn elephant rides through Hyderabad on a howdah 

with Pamela Plowden), Pakistan #70/72 (for general views of 

the countryside), one of the first three Cochin stamps (WSC 

visited), and any of the Hyderabad #4-12 (sg 4-12) early definitives 

(WSC played polo with the Nizam). 

30.1 am reasonably confident that there's a lot more research 

to be done on the books Churchill read to educate himself in 

India, and the stamps available to illustrate those books. (Can 

any reader provide his complete reading list?) I have found 

stamps to represent his known reading of Plato on Aristotle 

(Greece #RA91), On Pessimism by Shoepenhauer (Danzig 

#222/4), Darwin's Origin of Species (GB's Darwin commemoratives, 

also Germany/DDR #388-89) and Socrates (Dominica 

#243, sg 247). The recent New Zealand 24^ definitive came on 

an envelope, and reminded me that WSC had once passed an 

examination on the strength of his phenomenal memory. The 

night before, he put the names of countries into a hat, drew 

out "New Zealand" and memorized its shape. The next day 

the exam asked, "Draw a map of New Zealand." He must have 

seemed a wizard! 

A continuing series 

25 

26 

TO IMDIA MLUCTANTLY 

Churchill did not want to go to India, which was at peace, but 

to the scene of action—yet action did not obtain. He made brazen 

use of his contacts to avoid the fire-year Indian tour of duty, 

but on 11 September 1696 he found himself enroute with the rest 

of the Fourth Hussars. 

Crossing the 

Bay of Biscay, 

sailing into 

the Mediterranean, 

WSC 

glimpsed Lisbon, 

later 

Malta. On 20 

September the 

ship touched 

at Port Said. 

WSC vent 

ashore, to 

buy cigarettes 

to send 

his mother, 

and stamps 

for his 

brother Jack. 

The voyage 

then took 

Churchill 

through the 

Sues Canal, 

completed 

only five 

years before 

he was born. 

Suet impressed 

him, and 

he wrote 

about it at 

length. 

INDIAN ARRIVAL 

Twenty days out of England, the Fourth Hussars arrived in Bombay 

Harbor. Reaching for a docfcslde hand-ring from the dinghy taking 

him ashore, Churchill wrenched his shoulder, an injury which was 

to plaque him all his life and cause him to play polo with his 

upper right arm strapped to his chest. But the disability caused 

him to forsake rifle for pistol at Omdurman In 1896—luckily. 

The Hussars 

rested at 

Poona, then 

marched via 

Wadi and Guntakal 

to 

Bangalore, 

where they 

would be 

stationed, 

as was then 

Army custom, 

for the next 

nine years. 

Low value 

Indian 

definitive 

s tamps in 

use during 

Churchill's 

arrival. 

Higher values 

overleaf. 

Postmarked 

at Poona, 

where WSC 

often played 

polo.

IOUTH 

TOUIH 

BRITISH INDIA, 1895 

Contrary to common belief, the Queen-Empress did not reiign over 

all India. Britain administered about half the territoriies and 

lert various "Princely States" to hereditary rulers. 

POLO AND AN SAJILT LOTS 

Churchill's Regiment was the first to win a first-class polo 

tournament against native teams within two years of arriving in 

India, at Secunderabad — they did It by purchasing the entire 

stud of the Poona Light Horse, 

It is curious 

that India has 

yet to issue a 

stamp honoring 

the game she 

exported worldwide—In 

which 

WSC indulged 

into his 50s. 

27 

,,,„„ JHSHMI 

S 

BRITISH INDIA 

1 as' 

29 

*rom Secunderabad 

Churchill 

visited nearby 

Hyderabad, and 

fell deeply in 

love with Miss 

Piimela Plowden, 

daughter of the 

British Resident. 

In a howdah, 

they 

toured the city 

and WSC showed 

Pamela some of 

the countryside. 

She was, he 

wrote, "Quite 

the most beautiful 

girl I 

have ever 

seen." Marriage 

did not result^ 

though they 

remained lifelong 

frlendi. 

Poil«lioni u 

5I0U Of Prni 

or.tal * 

WSC Ti»lt«4 

Cochin, played 

polo *lth the 

•Ham of 

li!and> 

TOUTH 

YOUTH 

28 

A SUBILTBIN'S LIFE 

The modest allowance for subalterns allowed Churchill and two 

brother officers to maintain a palatial bungalow and stables for 

30 horses. Each hired a butler, two valets and a syce (groom) 

for each horse. Together they hired two gardeners, three bhlstis 

(water carriers), four dhobies (washermen) and a watchman! 

WSC retained 

his boyhood 

love of butterflies. 

He 

mentioned 

collecting 

Swallowtails, 

Purple Bmperors 

and 

White Admirals... 

He waxed 

enthusiastic 

about the 

bungalow 

rose garden 

and mentions 

growing "La 

france , 

Glolre de 

gljon" and 

Marechal 

?lel", all 

having since 

disappeared 

"lth the 

years. All 

were hybrid 

*ea roses, 

as those 

at right. 

SELF-EDUCATION IN INDIA 

With time on his hands., Churchill began to ask questions of himself. 

What were Ethics? Who was Socrates? What was the "Socratlc 

Method"? What about Philosophy, Religion, Economics? All of the 

subjects he had refused to study In school, and which had not 

been offered at Sandhurst, now began to plague him. He' wrote his 

mother for books, deciding to become his own University. 

Between September 

I896 

and April 

1897, wsc 

read Gibbon's 

DECLINE AND 

PALL OP THE 

ROMAN EMPIRE, 

Macauley's 

HISTORY OF 

ENGLAND, 

Plato's 

REPUBLIC and 

30 E POLITICS 

. -. - OF ARISTOTLE, 

Schopenhauer's 

ON PESSIMISM, 

Malthus' ESSAY 

ON POPULATION, 

Darwin'3 

ORIGIN OF 

SPECIES, Reade's 

MARTYRDOM OF MAN 

and other works 

including Lalng 

and Rochefort. 

He had a phenomenal 

memory. 

Once before a 

school exam, 

he memorized 

the map of 

New Zealand, 

on a chance. 

It was the map 

asked for on 

the exam; he 

knew it exactly.

KS STORES 

Special Prices to Members on Churchilliana, Sundries & Ephemera. Proceeds help support the work of the Society. 

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correct formal attire and gold watchchain, 

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with the other. Low production limited edition 

assures that its value will appreciate. Our supply 

limited-order soon. Size: 16% inches. List 

price SI00+. ICS postpaid price: USA S68, 

UK £56, Canada CS92, Australia AS103. 

(Overseas sent surface-parcel.) 

• #102 Brand new Royal Doulton china statuette 

of size and quality that promises solid collector 

value. Designed by Adrian Hughes. WSC 

wears a white suit and Homburg, pink buttonhole 

and black bowtie to match his silvertopped 

black cane. Hand-painted facial detail is 

wonderfully accurate-even the cigar is carefully 

sculptured. Size: lO'/z inches. List price 

SI25. ICS postpaid price: USA S98, UK 

£80, Canada CS132. Australia AS 148. 

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, 

initials, dates and slogan as above. Color: 

black on white. Size: ll'-i x 15 inches. 

• #103 Canvas alone, postpaid: USA S25, 

UK £21, Canada CS36, Australia AS40. 

•#104 The full kit (yarn, needle, canvas, 

instructions). Postpaid: USA S39, UK £33, 

Canada CS55, Australia AS60. 

"ACTION THIS DAY" LABELS 

ROYAL DOULTON TOBY MUGS 

WSC LIBRARY CREDO 

Q 

THIS'DAY 

IHf IWWtnMH CMJMMILi WeilTY 

S«X8K* ill ill 

thr mraua Ini 

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• #108 Reproductions of WSC's famous wartime 

label. Perfect for tax returns! Black & 

orange, 3 x 1% inches. Pad of 100 postpaid: 

USA S3, UK £3, Canada CS4. Australia AS5. 

MIRRORPIC CIGARETTE CARPS 

• #109 Rare originals by Mirrorpic/England, 

full set of 50 depicts WSC life scenes. Ppd: 

USA S20, UK £17, Canada CS27. Aus. AS32. 

HANDBOOKS 

• Postpaid prices for each: USA S3, UK £3, 

Canada, CS4, Australia AS5. 

• #110 ICS Collectors HB 1974 (Stamps) 

• #111 Churchill-Related stamp checklist 

• #112 "How to Sell your Stamp Collection" 

by Glen Browne (based on WSC stamps). 

Famous hand-painted Royal Doulton toby 

mugs are available in three sizes: 

•#105 Large (9 inches). List price S95. ICS 

postpaid price: USA $81, UK £68, Canada 

CS114, Australia AS 128. 

•#106 Medium (SVi inches). List price S65. 

ICS postpaid price: USA S54, UK £45, Canada 

CS78, Australia AS84. 

•#107 Small (4 inches). List price $45. ICS 

postpaid price: USA S38, UK £32, Canada 

CS56, Australia AS63. 

NOTE ON SHIPPING: Usually via UPS in 

North America. Overseas by surface parcel. 

Royal Doulton items and needlepoint are 

drop-shipped direct to you by manufacturers. 

22 

•#113 Printed on buff parchment. Postpaid: 

USA S2, UK £2, Canada CS2.75, Aus. A$3. 

FINEST HOUR BACK ISSUES 

• #1 14 Full set numbers 1 -40 (some early ones 

photocopied) postpaid: USA S98, UK £80, 


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38 to date. Each, postpaid: USA S3, UK £3, 


ICS HANDBOOK SUPPLEMENTS 

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• Section III (Membership) Number 1 

CACHETED ENVELOPES 

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Each pack, postpaid: USA S7, UK £5.80, 

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Inside the Journals 

Continued from Issue f46, page 19. 

Lloyd George, despite his own misjudgments, 

was incomparably the best 

man for the job. And for him the war was 

all one. Every front, every country, land 

sea and air, food supply and food economy, 

national service, shipping control, 

trade union and House of Commons 

politics, diplomatic relations with Allies, 

finance, comprehending leadership of the 

Empire —over every one of these spheres 

he presided, and often ruled, and brought 

them into grand general harmony. 

(Was WSC writing about his friend 18 

years previously or himself a mere six 

years hence?) 

LLOYD GEORGE'S BITTER FOURTH 

VOLUME (A review of Volume IV) Daily 

Mail, 26 October 1934, page 12, Woods 

C249. 

This volume carries the story to the 

end of 1917. It may not be Literature, 

but it is certainly History. 

The lay reader will note that the decisive 

victory gained by the Allies was a 

hideous muddle conducted throughout 

by fools or knaves, but that, luckily, 

things were just as bad or even worse on 

the other side. And so, thank God, we 

won. The professional soldiers will be left 

to consider what lessons can be learned 

from this merciless endictment of the 

national • heroes: Haig, Robertson and 

Jellicoe. 

' 

L-G was anxious to attack Turkish 

power, but he did so by invading Turkey 

from Egypt. This was like attacking from 

the Turkish finger-tips upwards, whereas 

a thrust at Haifa, the elbow; or at Alexandretta, 

the armpit; or above all a renewed 

thrust at Gallipoli, the heart, would have 

brought Turkey to her knees. 

The crux of this volume is Passchendaele. 

The views of the author and the 

reviewer are in complete harmony on this. 

In 1917 there was no justification for a 

major offensive by the Allies. With Russia 

out of the war, the British Empire and 

France should have husbanded their manpower 

until American power arrived in 

1918. 

L-G saw this with terrible clarity, but 

Haig and Robertson had a willpower and 

a backing which the Prime Minister could 

not overrule. They controlled the military 

machine and the Press-claque. Together, 

for nearly five months, they drove on 

through the mud of Passchendaele, lost 

400,000 men, and almost broke the heart 

of the British Army. We must now await 

with respect such answer as Lord Haig's 

biographer will bring to these calamitous 

charges. 

Meanwhile, to cheer our spirits, we 

must remind ourselves that we won the 

war, and that all these men, soldiers and 

statesmen alike, tried their best, according 

to their lights, when things were 

worst. 

ICS STORES continued 

ICS COMMEMORATIVE COVERS. Limited edition coyers 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. 

#3 25th Anniversary Iron Curtain Speech, Fulton, Missouri 5 Mar 71 

#5 30th Anniv. 1st UN Conference, Washington 28 Dec 71 

#7 75th Anniv "Malakand Field Force," Churchill, Ontario 14 Mar 73 

#8 10th Anniv. Honorary US Citizenship, Washington 3 Apr 73 

-- Unveiling WSC Statue, hand-drawn cachet, London 1973 (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 

#lla 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 

#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 

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, thermo-engraved WSC portrait, with 

either US or UK stamps, canceled at Fulton or London. 

4 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. 

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can donate or wholesale similar items in modest quantity. All earnings 

further the work of ICS and help finance future projects. 

23 

New Book Service: 

#85-2-1 THE WOODS BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Since 1963, "Woods" has been the bible 

for collectors of Churchill's works. As you 

know, ICS is working on a new edition for 

1987, which will be much larger and much 

more expensive. In the meantime, we have 

arranged to obtain this indispensible 406- 

page work in the current edition at an 

unprecedented low price. Follow "Woods 

Corner" and keep it up to date. Our price 

$21.50 postpaid. 

A Bibliography 

of the Worb of 

SIR WINSTON 

CHURCHILL 

#85-2-2 LIBERALISM AND THE SOCIAL PROBLEM (Woods A15) 

Orginally published in 1910, this compilation of spirited 

Churchill speeches is one of WSC's rarest works. First editions 

often command $250. While they last, we can offer the Haskell 

House 1973 reprint, photo-reproduced from the 1910 second 

British edition, for one-quarter the price of the scarce originals. 

414 pages, exact 1910 text, 5Vi x 8% inches, grey cloth, gold 

stamped. Our price $59 postpaid. 

#84-3-1 CHURCHILL & ROOSEVELT: 

COMPLETE CORRESPONDENCE 

Edited by Warren F. Kimball, this huge 3-volume work comprises 

all the messages between WSC & FDR. "Judicious and 

incisive headnotes preceding each message provide a masterly 

running analysis of the military, diplomatic and economic 

debates ... an exemplary work of editing and annotation." 

Each volume 6% x 9Vi inches. Totals 2,285 pages, 26 photos, 18 

naps. Publisher price $150, ours $128 postpaid. 

ist #85-2 ANTIQUARIAN AND OUT-OF-PRINT BOOKS 

A thousand volumes in stock by and about Sir Winston. 40

Action This Day 

BY JOHN PLUMPTON 

130 Collingsbrook Blvd. 

Agincourt, Ontario M1W 1M7 

SPRING 1885: Age 10 

Winston's term report from Brighton indicated that he was 

making very satisfactory progress. In most of his subjects he 

stood in the middle of his class, but in conduct he ranked last 

out of 29 students. 

He continued to plead with his father for autographs to 

show friends, noting that he was willing to settle fora scribbled 

signature at the end of a letter. There was no parental response. 

But Lord Randolph's letters to the rest of his family were a 

delight. After observing Hindu cremations, he wrote that any 

Hindu whose ashes are thrown into the Ganges "goes right up 

to heaven without stopping, no matter how great a rascal he 

may have been. I think the G.O.M. [Gladstone] ought to come 

here; it is his best chance!" 

On his return from India Winston's father addressed a Primrose 

League Banquet. After fulminating against Gladstone's 

Liberals, he described England's role in India as "a sheet of oil 

spread over a surface of, and keeping calm and quiet and unruffled 

by storms, an immense and profound ocean of humanity 

... to give peace, individual security and general prosperity to 

250 million people ... to weld them by the influence of our 

knowledge, our law and our higher civilization . . . and to offer 

the West the advantages of tranquility and progress in the 

East." 

Many years later, Winston could subscribe to Lord Roseberry's 

response to Lord Randolph's remarks: "The diction is 

by no means perfect, but the idea is little less than sublime." 


As Secretary of State for the Home Office, Churchill was a 

senior official in the Asquith Government. Only one predecessor 

in that office had been younger —Sir Robert Peel. 

A transport workers strike in South Wales, called while 

Churchill was holidaying in Switzerland, nearly provoked the 

use of troops and London Police, but it was settled without 

violence. His support of the activities of a non-party Conciliation 

Committee on female suffrage was conditional on the 

support of other leaders and did not commit him to any 

specific legislation. 

He assumed a traditional task of the Prime Minister in 

writing a nightly letter to the King on the affairs of the House. 

In two years, he would write 138 letters to his sovereigns, 

Edward VII and George V. The letters were factual but also 

replete with personal comments. For example, on the issue of 

precedents for the extraordinary use of the Royal Prerogative 

in creating Peers, he informed the King that Lord High Cecil 

had cited the creation of 12 new Peers to destroy the Whig 

Majority in 1711. This was, Churchill wrote, "a singularly unsatisfactory 

example from the history of the past." 

King Edward, resentful that the Liberals were using him 

against the Lords, informed his secretary that he would be 

pleased if Asquith, Lloyd George and Churchill did not meet 

him on his return to England from Europe. 


Aboard the same yacht which took Clementine on a journey 

to the Dutch East Indies was Terence Philip, a bachelor who 

was much sought-after by London hostesses. In the heady and 

romantic atmosphere of the tropic islands, Clementine fell in 

love. On their return to England, he visited her several times at 

Chart well but their relationship, writes her daughter Mary 

Soames, "was like a fragile tropical flower which cannot survive 

in greyer, colder climes." 

While his wife was away, Churchill sent her numbered 

'Chartwell Bulletins' as domestic reports on family doings: redecorating 

the house, replanting of orchard, the building of a 

new wall. Often, after late debates in the House, a tired Winston 

declined to drive to Chartwell and stayed in a flat they 

owned in Morpeth Mansions, near Westminster Cathedral. 

Despite the acrimony of the India Bill debate, WSC attempted 

to make peace with Tory leaders in the hope that 

Stanley Baldwin would invite him to join the Government 

upon the retirement of Ramsey Macdonald. Against a German 

situation which Churchill found "increasingly sombre," he 

advocated collective European security as the best guarantee 

of peace. Others began to heed his warnings. The Daily Express 

apologized for ignoring his comments and Desmond 

Morton told him that "you alone seem to have galvanized the 

House." 

He did not work on Marlborough but he wrote a weekly 

column for the Daily Mail and a daily series in the Evening 

Standard, on The King's 25 Years (Woods C266) to celebrate 

the Silver Jubilee. Following the fatal accident to T. E. Lawrence, 

he remembered his friend with "Lawrence of Arabia's 

Name Will Live," published in the Daily Mail (C269) and reprinted 

in Great Contemporaries. 


Some of Sir Winston's favorite vacations were spent aboard 

Aristotle Onassis' yacht, Christina. On this occasion they 

cruised the Caribbean. The plan was to meet Onassis at Gibraltar, 

but as they approached the rock they encountered 

gale-force winds which caused the pilot to overshoot the 

runway twice. Roy Howells, Sir Winston's valet, describes the 

frightened state of the passengers, "but the calmest man on 

board was Sir Winston, who quietly puffed away at his seveninch-long 

cigar, gazing out of the window as if nothing were 

wrong." Churchill's physician, Lord Moran, ascribes other 

causes to WSC's placid behavior: "The blanching of his brain 

has wiped out his fears." Moran's account relates the story of 

an octogenerian with only sporadic touches —and those were 

usually unhappy—of reality. 

Yet according to Howells, Churchill was so active exploring 

even the most inaccessible parts of the yacht and the small 

ports in the Caribbean that it was a constant challenge for a 

well-trained crew to facilitate those wishes. 

Onassis was determined to be a perfect host for his idol and 

guest and even learned Churchill's favorite card game, bezique, 

in order to play with him. Great crowds welcomed them at 

every port. Often the flotillas of private boats endangered the 

passage of Christina in the harbors. 

Nelson had a dockyard and the Duke of Clarence had a 

house at Antigua. When a tour of these facilities had not left 

time for a visit to the dockyard, Sir Winston was very disappointed 

because, after Napoleon, Nelson was his idol. Another 

disappointment was the failure to sail up the coast of Florida; 

but General de Gaulle was paying a state visit to Britain and 

Churchill had to fly home from Puerto Rico.

Journal of the International Churchill Society - Winston Churchill

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