What kind of a People do they think we are? - Winston Churchill

Charles Granville Rob MCBERLIN, VERMONT, JULY 27TH— CharlesGranville Rob, 88, a British- born surgeonwho operated on WinstonChurchill and taught generations ofyoung physicians, died today. Dr. Rob,who pioneered techniques for the repairof damaged blood vessels, was one ofBritain's foremost surgeons when theUniversity of Rochester medical schoolbrought him to the United States in1960. He was professor of surgery anddepartment chairman in Rochesteruntil 1978, later teaching in North Carolinaand Bethesda, Maryland, wheremade his permanent home.While at Cambridge, Rob becamea pilot with a reserve commission in theRAF, and in 1941 he was assigned to aparachute brigade as surgical specialist.Air-dropped into Tunisia in 1942, hestarted operating on wounded soldiersunder heavy fire. For his bravery, he wasdecorated on the battlefield with theMilitary Cross. After the war, while stillin Britain, Dr. Rob was regularly calledin as a specialist to tend to Churchill,who was aging and increasingly infirm.His numerous medical papers werepublished throughout the world.Dr. Rob's prescriptions could bequite earthy. At a British Medical Associationmeeting on the surgical treatmentof blood clots in 1957, he saidthat the best painkiller was a stiff drinkof whisky. "We put our patients on bigand rapid doses of whisky up to themaximum tolerance in individualcases," Dr. Rob said. "The best treatmentfor the condition is rest. The bestway to rest is sleep. The best way to getsleep is to relieve pain, and the best wayto relieve pain is to give whisky."—Wolfgang Saxon in The New York Times"Churchill Way," FloridaMANALAPAN, FLA., SEPTEMBER 24TH— ManalapanEstates is a waterfront developmentof seven properties on a 5.7-acreparcel near Miami Beach. The developershave named the entry road"Churchill Way" in memory of SirWinston, "who visited the estate on severaloccasions."Although they say the property wasDATELINESChurchill Way, Manalapan, Floridaformerly the "Vanderbilt Estate," wecan't help wondering if this was part ofthe property owned by Canadian shipowner Frank W. Clarke, whereChurchill rested before delivering theFulton Speech in March 1946. (Clarkeworked for Churchill on the BritishGazette during the 1926 General Strike;after the Quebec Conference in 1943he lent Churchill the use of his lakesidecabin; see the Official Biography8:182.) More details from Ocean & IntracoastalProperties, tel. 561-533-5533.Randy Barber, William Manchester, JonahTriebwasser, 1995 Churchill Conference, BostonLast Lion Still AliveNEW YORK, AUGUST 17TH— The New YorkTimes ran an eloquent lament thatWilliam Manchester has reluctantly concededthat he no longer has theChurchillian stamina required to completehis Churchill trilogy, The Last Lion:"To understand the popular appealof his biography, consider the final sentenceof volume 2: And now, in thedesperate spring of 1940, with the reinsof power at last firm in his grasp, he resolvedto lead Britain and her fadingempire in one last great struggle worthyof all they had been and meant, to armthe nation, not only with weapons butalso with the mace of honor, creating inevery English breast a soul beneath theribs of death.' This is indeed grandiose.Its very sound—echoing Churchill'sprose—makes a claim for his importanceto the last century....It is our misfortunenot to have that struggle again,as told by William Manchester."This drew a reply from MichaelPietsch, Little Brown's publisher, whostates that he and Manchester are discussingbringing in a writer with whomhe could complete the work. "The first250 pages of the third volume are finished,and Mr. Manchester long agowrote an extraordinarily detailed, carefullyorganized set of notes, coded accordingto character, subject and time,complete through Churchill's death.This is part of a vast body of work alreadydone on the tliird volume. I amtalking with writers who might be capableof completing this weighty projectand will present candidates for Mr.Manchester's approval. It is our hopethat in this way Mr. Manchester will beable to oversee the completion of hismagnificent biography, and readers willbe able to read the dramatic and movingstory of Churchill's role in WorldWar II and after."LOCAL & NATIONALChurchill in BritainPORTSMOUTH, UK— The InternationalFestival of the Sea, a four-day spectacle,took place at HM Naval Base, Portsmouthat the end of August. A quarterof a million visitors attended, alongwith 26 Tall Ships and more than 650classic and traditional boats rangingfrom a tiny coracle to the lovinglytended classics including several ofAmerica's Cup yachts.Dominating the exhibition werenumerous Royal Navy vessels and shipsfrom ten other Navies. In pride of placewas USS Winston S. Churchill, at herfirst overseas port-of-call; she attractedmuch interest in the press and on nationaltelevision as well as among thehuge crowds of visitors.On the evening before the Festivalopened, Commander Michael T.Franken and his crew held a receptionon the flight deck to mark their arrivalon the previous afternoon. Among thosepresent were the Lord Lieutenant »»FINEST HOUR 112/13