Q - Winston Churchill

RIDDLES,MYSTERIES,ENIGMASSend your questionsto the editorQ%Did Churchill play golf? If so,• where? I once noted his supposeddescription of the sport in abook of quotations: "a game where youput a small ball in a small hole withtools singularly ill-designed for thepurpose." —Mike Campbell(The Editor is preparing a book ofChurchill quotes and would be gratefulif someone could provide attributionfor this quotation, which I think Mikehas right.)A^ He played golf into the Teens,• but it wasn't really his game,needed too much precision. Polo suitedhim better: live opposition, a muchbigger ball, and a real mallet to smackit with. See FH 111:7 for a photo ofWSC setting off on the links withMaxine Elliott in Cannes, February1913. See also Randolph Churchill-Helmut Gernsheim, Churchill: His Lifein Photographs (1955), photos #62(same as above) and #63 (apparentlytaken the same day). Randolph's caption:"He fails to keep his head downand foozles his drive. Mr. Churchillhad little aptitude for golf and so heabandoned it quite early in life."Robert Courts adds: "He certainlyplayed with Asquith in his Liberal days:Violet Bonham-Carter, in WinstonChurchill as I Knew Him (1965) recallsthat it was quite easy on the golf courseto get WSC onto one of his favouritesubjects (e.g., Dreadnoughts), afterwhich he would not play another shot,much to Asquith's delight!"I am researching the history of a a#• British Army base in GermanyHohne (Bergen-Belsen) and Ihave been told that Churchill paid avisit to the camp for a couple of days inMay 1956. Can you provide me withany information?A^ The visit followed his trip to• Aachen to receive the CharlemagnePrize. Sir Martin Gilbert's VolumeVIII {"Never Despair, "p. 1197)mentions the visit but gives no details.Anthony Montague Browne's LongSunset mentions the visit on page 207,specifically the visit to Celle, nearHanover, but is also scarce on details.—Gregory B. SmithQ^ After a lifetime in business a• Canadian friend writes of hisexperience as a young child in theBlitz. He has retired to Charlottetown,Prince Edward Island. Is PEI its ownprovince, or is it part of another, largerone? How long has that bridge beenthere? —Scott MantschPrince Edward Island, the site ofA: .•the creation of the CanadianConfederation in 1867 (though PEIdid not join the provinces that formedCanada until 1873), is a province in itsown right. It can be reached by carferry from Nova Scotia, as well as bythe new bridge from New Brunswick.Our drive from Halifax, N.S. to Charlottetownwas easily done in a day, takingthe ferry. There are many intriguingChurchill sites in Halifax and recollectionsof his visits in the archivesthere. On PEI we were most interested,having a daughter then seven years old,to visit the Anne of Green Gables sites.—James W. MullerMore on P.E.I....It's a great summer vacation spot(the northern shore of PEI is basicallyone long beach), and is the site of myancestors' first landing in North Americafrom Scotland. I'd say the drivefrom Halifax to Charlottetown via theConfederation Bridge is about 3.5hours. I believe the bridge was completedin 1997; I recall taking the nowdefunctferry along the course of thespan as it was being constructed. Theferry from eastern PEI to Nova Scotiais still in operation. —Mike CampbellAnd does everyone know that theauthor of Anne of Green Gables, LucyMaud Montgomery, was born (readyfor it?) on 30 November 1874?—Todd RonneiliFINEST HOUR 114/6Wk&WisdomWisdom of the MomentA selection of Churchillian remarkssuitable to the present situation,compiled by Laurence Geller.Concluded from last issue."The British and Americans donot war with races or governments assuch. Tyranny, external or internal, isour foe, whatever trappings or disguiseit wears, whatever language itspeaks or perverts.""There is only one answer to defeat,and that is victory.""I never worry about action, butonly about inaction.""Difficulties mastered are opportunitieswon.""We are firm as a rock against aggression,but the door is always opento friendships.""Wickedness is not going toreign.""It is a crime to despair. We mustlearn to draw from misfortune themeans of future strength.""What we require to do now isto stand erect and look the world inthe face and do our duty without fearor favour." $5