FINEST HOUR - Winston Churchill

Homepage ("newsgroups") inwhich individuals may post theirown comments on any matters ofdebate and discussion, subject tothe approval of a responsible editorappointed by ICS to presideover each newsgroup.Another WWW service we desperatelyneed is a reliableChurchill quote search system. Iam building a "poor man's CD-Rom": a database on FilemakerPro (Macintosh program, but remember,both Macs and PCs interrelatein cyberspace) in which themajor field is the quote. Otherfields will provide attribution,date, location, to whom said, personlogging the quote, referenceverification. Filemaker searchespretty fast and can find word combinations.For instance, if yousearch for: "the only traditions ofthe Royal Navy are rum, sodomyand the lash," it will find thatquote under "Apocryphal Quotes!"It will tell you that Churchill wasalleged to have said this by ViceAdmiral Sir Peter Gretton in hisFormer Naval Person: WinstonChurchill and the Royal Navy(London & Boston 1968, Redburn254). Churchill never said it, buthe told his private secretary, AnthonyMontague Browne, that hewished he had! — see the latter'snew autobiography, Long Sunset(Cassell 1995).The Online Committee is unanimousin agreeing that the new ICSHomepage is the ultimate place foronline Churchill communications.Now that America Online (AOL),Delphi, eWorld, Microsoft,Prodigy, CompuServe and othercommercial services are offeringfull World Wide Web access,Churchillophiles and -phobes havea central place to communicate.Churchill Online:Britain's VE-Day VideoComments on the British GovernmentWorld War II and VEDay video prepared for schoolchildren(see FH 87, "InternationalDatelines", p7.)Date: 28Aprl995 14:56 ESTFrom: AFJWM@acad2.alaska.edu(James W. Muller)To: Malakand@aol.com(Richard M. Langworth)The neglect of Churchill in theofficial British end-of-war curriculumis typical of current trendsin history on both sides of the Atlantic.If the curriculum had had amajor emphasis on WSC, it wouldhave been startlingly differentfrom the norm. Nor is this a noveldevelopment. As long ago as MartinGilbert's university training inhistory, his tutors neglected WSC'spart almost altogether, as he ruefullyrecalls in his latest book.Trends in American university educationare exactly the same. Thisought to be for us a reminder ofwhy a Churchill Center is such anecessary corrective to certain academicfashions, or unfashions.Date: 30Aprl995 12:30 ESTFrom: Malakand@aol.comTo: AFJWM@acad2.alaska.eduThank you. Arthur Schlesinger,Jr. had a piece in Finest Hour 86called "Divisive Diversity" inwhich he dwells on the destructivenature of the anti-Western curriculumplanners in a way that issuddenly very timely to Churchillians.Little ICS is not going tochange any of this soon, but wehave a lot of alumni-donors whoseinfluence may be felt, includingmine.Date: 28 Apr 1995 15:35 ESTFrom: 76212.3250@compuserve. com(Frank P. Ferguson)To: Malakand@aol.comcc: IBAC0N@uniwa.uwa.edu.au(Ian Bacon, Australia)To minimize the role of Churchillis both a tragedy and a distortion.He was, of course, the dominantfigure in Great Britain duringthe war, and without him it isdoubtful if Great Britain wouldhave even stayed in the war afterthe fall of France in 1940. I thinkthat there should be some responseto this video.Date: 30Aprl995 15:40 ESTFrom: Malakand@aol.comTo: 76212.3250@compuserve.comMany thanks. The question ishow best to respond. It is a touchymatter for outsiders to respond officiallyon matters in the hands ofthe citizens of Great Britain. Avideo prepared by HM Govt. forFINEST HOUR 88/26the use of British schoolchildrenmight be regarded as off limits tocomment by an international organization.Date: 29Aprl995 05:20 ESTFrom: Nathan_Hughes@acd.org(Nathan Hughes)To: Jonah.Triebwasser@marist.eduIt looks as if history is beingwritten by people who know nothingabout the war and the importantcontribution that Churchillmade not only in making theBritish people rally when thingswere really bad, but also havingthe perseverance to push thingsuntil victory was achieved. Wehave the same problem with notfacing up to the fact that in Augustwe will be celebrating VJ Day, not"Victory in the Pacific Day." I wishI could bring home some truths tothe attention of these people whoknow better than those of us whowere involved in it. I spent fiveyears in the British armed forcesfrom 1942 to 1947. In those daysone remained in the service "forthe duration of the emergency"!Date: lMayl995 16:47 EST From:72124.3656@compuserve.com(Jeffrey Wallin,President, The National Academy)To: Malakand@aol.comI think it would be altogetherappropriate for Finest Hour toprint something like Jim Muller'sremarks on the historically inaccuratetreatment of WSC in thevideo intended for school children.And I think the defense of WSCshould be broader than a merepersonal defense or even a defenseofWSC'sroleinWW2.What is under attack is the notionthat there was in fact a pastfull of some facts and not others.Hence the rewriting of history inthis particular case is of a piecewith the broader attack throughoutthe West against the notion ofhistorical objectivity. In this regard,I think we can without exaggerationsay that everything WSCstood for is at stake.Editor's note: We agreed, andFinest Hour #87 ran the commentsof a British author, AndrewRoberts, "Why Children ShouldLearn About Churchill," p32. $