ST HOUR - Winston Churchill

Weidhorn end notes, continued...13. Grant, pp. 376,454.14. W. S. Churchill, Mr. Brodrick's Army (London:Humphreys, 1903, rep. 1977), p. 23. Sometimes one even runsacross a similar ironic observation. Take the case of a generalleading a force into combat and having a view of theprospects that is at odds with the view held by the authoritieson his own side or on the other side. Grant: "I, as well as theauthorities in Washington, was still in a great state of anxietyfor Burnside's safety. Burnside himself, I believe, was the onlyone who did not share in this anxiety" (249). Churchill: "Ouranxieties about the Italian invasion of Egypt were, it now appears,far surpassed by those of Marshal Graziani, who commandedit" (SWW 2:469). One also runs across in Grant a possibleseedling of a famous phrase: "It indicated to them thatthey had passed through the 'beginning of the end' in the battlejust fought."(314). There is even a curious tripartite connectioninvolving Lee, Grant, and Churchill. In his History ofthe English Speaking Peoples, Churchill quoted the famous remarkby Lee: "It is well that war is horrible — we wouldgrow too fond of it." Yet Grant made a similar observation ona battle scene: "The sight was magnificent, but terrible"(181).Churchill and MusicNo musicianand nearlytone-deaf,the Great Mannevertheless hadhis preferences:the simple songswere best, andthe old songswere best of all.BY JILL KENDALLAS a musician, I believe thatthere is music in everygreat life, and I have foundthat Winston Churchill was definitelyno exception. There wasmusic with him from his youth,during the wars, and still with himat the time of his death.His musical connection actuallybegan before Winston was eventhought of. Jenny Jerome's fatherstarted the New York Opera, andJenny herself became a remarkableconcert pianist. As a young boy,Winston's beloved nurse, Mrs. Everest,would teach him little songswhich he learned very quickly.When he started at Harrow, hewas ready to try his hand at somethingnew. But, though his motherwas a talented musician, he didn'tinherit her gift, and his attempts tolearn the violin and the piano wereunsuccessful. He switched to—by Illinjuiorth.Illingworth in The Daily Mail, 28 January 1942; the PM was facing a Vote of Confidencesinging and in a letter to his mothersaid, "I rank as one of the mostprominent trebles and am in what iscalled the nucleus of the choir ... Ofcourse I am so young that my voicehas not yet broke and as trebles arerare I am one of the few." After ayear or two, Lord Randolph toldWinston that he thought singingwas a waste of time, so, Winston leftthe choir and started drawing.A school event that made a bigimpression on young Winston was alecture one Saturday about thephonograph, a predecessor to thetape recorder that made what werethen called "talking records." Winstonwrote, "it was very amusing,[the instructor] astonished all sobermindedpeople by singing into thephonograph:FINEST HOUR 96/28John Brown's Body lies-AMouldering in the graveAnd his soul goes marching onGlory, glory, Hallelujahand the phonograph spoke it backin a voice that was clearly audible inthe Speech Room." The aspect ofschool he remembered with themost pleasure were the Harrowsongs: "They have an incomparablebook of school songs," he wrote hisparents. "At intervals we used togather in the Speech Room or evenin our own Houses, and sing thesesplendid and famous choruses."When Churchill entered Sandhursthe had less time for music, butit happened to be the inspiration forhis first public speech. In 1894, awoman named Mrs. OrmistonChant started a movement trying to