.JOURNAL OFTIIE CHURCHILL CKNTER AND ... - Winston Churchill

• "The Influenza" was written by thefifteen-year-old Churchill in 1890 whenhe was a pupil at Harrow School. For hiseffort he received a House Prize whichwent some way towards redeeming his position,bodi with his schoolmasters and hisparents who had been less than impressedby his recent behaviour and scholasticachievement. The poem is remarkably accomplishedfor a fifteen-year-old and givesan early glimpse of Churchill's commandof language, his sense of history and hisimpish humour. It was published in TheHarrovian, the Harrow School magazine,fifty years later on 10 December 1940,when the "Famous Old Harrovian" hadbecome quite a celebrity. See WinstonChurchill and Harrow by E. D. W. Chaplin(Harrow School Bookshop, 1941).PUSSY CATOnly one thing lacks these banks of green—The Pussy Cat who is their Queen....• Churchill's term of endearmentfor his wife, Clementine, was Pussy Cat.He often embellished his letters to herwith small drawings of cats. In April 1924Winston, assisted by the children, movedinto Chartwell. These lines were in a letterto Clementine who was in Dieppe.See Mary Soames, Speaking for Themselves:The Personal Letters of Winston andClementine Churchill (1998).POOR PUGGY-WUGOh, what is the matter with poor Puggy-wugPet him and kiss him and give him a hug.Run and fetch him a suitable drug,Wrap him up tenderly all in a rug,That is the way to cure Puggy-wug.• As a child Mary Churchill had apet pug called "Punch." One day Punchbecame desperately ill. Mary and her sisterSarah were disconsolate. Their fathercomposed this ditty to comfort them andall three sang it together to the ailing dog.Lady Soames adds that the treatmentworked! Published by permission of LadySoames from Sarah Churchill, A Threadin the Tapestry (London: 1967).OH, MRS GRAEBNER!Your husband is a very temperate man -hmphHe needs - er - a little sedative to sleep.He should drink all the brandy that hecan - hmphYou've really very little cause to weep.• Walter Graebner, Churchill's Lifeeditor, writing in My Dear Mr Churchill(Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1965) relatedhow, after dinner at Chartwell oneevening, he and his wife were discussingthe use of sleeping pills with Winston andClementine. Churchill, with an impishgrin, addressed Mrs. Graebner with thisimpromptu piece of doggerel. Not greatpoetry, but the kind of thing Churchillwas very good at—and which pleasedhim hugely.FRENCH VERSELa peinture a l'huileEst bien difficile,Mais c'est beaucoup plus beauQue la peinture a Feau.• In Painting as a Pastime (London:Odhams 1948) Churchill used the rare,possibly unique, combination of Frenchand verse to explain his preference forpainting in oils rather than water-colours.AFTER READING AFOREIGN OFFICE REPORTThe CzechoslovaksLie flat on their backsEmitting loud quacksThe YugoslovoksAll die of the pox.• Anthony Montague Browne,Churchill's Private Secretary 1952-65,quotes this example of WSC's impromptuverse in Long Sunset (London:Cassell 1995, reprinted by kind permission).Mr. Montague Browne believesthat this "schoolboy" verse may havebeen Churchill's own composition. Such"high poetic flights," he says, did not reflectenmity or contempt, but did not reflectmuch high esteem either!CHURCHILL CENTER ASSOCIATESIt is a pleasure to announce that thanks to continued support from theChurchill Center Associates, including many new ones, The ChurchillCenter Endowment Fund hasreached over one million threehundred thousand dollars:more than the goal we set forourselves when launching theAssociates program in late1997. Our gratitude to themall is deeply felt. But this isonly the "End of theBeginning." To create a permanent,fully endowed ChurchillCenter will take ten milliondollars or more. In theautumn we renew our questfor major donors outside ourranks. For the nonce, if youthink you might be amongthose able to sustain the fundwith a donation of $10,000or more over four years,please contact us.FINEST HOUR 103/41REMEMBERWINSTON CHURCHILLWill future generations remember?Will the ideas you cherish now be sustainedtheni Will someone articulateyour principles? Who will guide yourgrandchildren, your faithand your country?There is an answer.With your help, The Churchill Centerwill endure as a powerful voice, sustainingthose beliefs Sir Winston and weheld dear. Now.And for future generations.For more information contact:The Churchill Center AssociatesRichard M. Langworth, President888-454-2275