Alone: 1932-1940

901 Pages·2012·9.57 MB·English

by  Manchester William

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To
BILL SHIRER
who saw it from the other side
and saw it first
“Ich hatt’ einen Kameraden…”
History with its flickering lamp stumbles along the trail of the past,
trying to reconstruct its scenes, to revive its echoes, and kindle with
pale gleams the passion of former days.
—Winston Churchill Speech in the
House of Commons November 12, 1940
Then out spake brave Horatius, The Captain of the Gate: “To every
man upon this earth Death cometh soon or late.
And how can man die better Than facing fearful odds, For the ashes of
his fathers, And the temples of his gods?”
Thomas Babington Macaulay, Lays of
Ancient Rome Memorized by Churchill at age
thirteen
ILLUSTRATIONS
Chartwell: Churchill’s sanctuary, home, and great keep. (National Trust
Chartwell/Michael Ross-Wills) Churchill’s study at Chartwell. (National Trust
Chartwell/Michael Ross-Wills) Churchill in his study. (The Bettmann Archive)
The Churchill coat-of-arms.
The Churchills and friends entertain Charlie Chaplin at Chartwell. (Broadwater
Collection) Clementine bathing in Chartwell’s swimming pool. (Baroness
Spencer Churchill Collection) A life mask of Clementine, taken by Paul
Hamann. (Mary Soames Collection)
Major (later Sir) Desmond Morton. (Howard Coster)
F. W. Lindemann, “the Prof.” (The Bettmann Archive)
Brendan Bracken. (The Keystone Collection)
A Chartwell guest: French socialist Léon Blum, former Premier of France. (Wide
World Photos) Albert Einstein in Chartwell’s rose garden. (Mary Soames
Collection)
Jack Churchill and Clementine play bezique. (Peregrine Churchill)
Accompanied by her parents, Sarah Churchill is formally presented at Court in
1932. (The Press Association Limited) Diana and her father leaving Morpeth
Mansions in December 1932 for her first marriage. (The Keystone Collection)
Winston, Clementine, and Randolph hunting in Normandy, 1933. (Associated
Press) Winston, Mary, and Clementine en route to Westminster Hall, where
Parliament celebrates the Silver Jubilee of King George V and Queen Mary,
May 9, 1935. (The Illustrated London News Picture Library) Diana’s second
marriage, to Duncan Sandys, MP, September 16, 1935. (Baroness Spencer
Churchill Collection) After electing Churchill Lord Rector of Edinburgh
University, students chair him through the city streets. (Associated
Newspapers Ltd./Daily Mail) A shooting party, representing the power elite
confronted by the Führer of the Third Reich. (From John Evelyn Wrench,
Geoffrey Dawson and Our Times, 1955) Sir Horace Wilson, Chamberlain’s
éminence grise. (Elliott & Fry) David Lloyd George and Winston Churchill in
November 1934. (Wide World Photos) Churchill votes in the General
Election, November 14, 1935. (Planet News Ltd.) King George V dies on
January 20, 1936. (The Bettmann Archive)
The new king, Edward VIII, stands somberly at the Cenotaph, November 11,
1936. (The Bettmann Archive) Edward VIII insists upon marrying an
American woman. Lord Beaverbrook’s Daily Express tells the story. (Daily
Express, December 12, 1936) Sir Nevile Henderson and Hermann Göring.
(The Keystone Collection/Fox Photos) Sir John Simon, Anthony Eden, and Sir
Robert Vansittart follow the coffin of Leopold von Hüsch, German
ambassador to Britain. (The Keystone Collection) Churchill and Foreign
Secretary Lord Halifax walk to Parliament, March 29, 1938. (The Bettmann
Archive) Alfred Duff Cooper, First Lord of the Admiralty, resigns from
Chamberlain’s cabinet in disgust over Munich. (The Bettmann Archive) At the
peak of the Munich crisis, Winston Churchill gloomily leaves No. 10
Downing Street. (The Bettmann Archive) At Chartwell in early 1939 Winston
nails tiles to the roof of Orchard Cottage. (The Bettmann Archive) Clementine
in 1939 with one of Chartwell’s two fox cubs. (Baroness Spencer Churchill
Collection) As Honorary RAF Commodore, Winston flies as copilot at
Kenley, April 16, 1939. (Fox Photos/Photo Source Ltd.) The Daily Mail runs
an article about Churchill in reaction to Hitler’s seizure of the Rhineland.
(Daily Mail, May 11, 1936) “Bring Him Back—It’s Your Last Chance.”
(Sunday Pictorial, April 23, 1939)
Churchill appeals for Territorial Army recruits, April 24, 1939. (The Bettmann
Archive) “Calling Mr. Churchill.” (Daily Express, July 6, 1939)
“The Old Sea-Dog.” (Punch, July 12; Reproduced by permission of Punch)
In the turmoil of the 1930s Churchill often found sanctuary in painting. (The
Keystone Collection) On July 24, 1939, a huge sign appears on the Strand.
(Daily Mirror)
Churchill and Anthony Eden walk down Whitehall in late August 1939. (The
Illustrated London News Picture Library) Churchill is appointed First Lord of
the Admiralty, September 1939. (United Press International) In the first
month of the war Randolph marries Pamela Digby. (Mary Soames Collection)
New York Times, May 11, 1940. (Copyright © 1940 by The New York Times
Company. Reprinted by permission) Winston Spencer Churchill becomes
Prime Minister of Great Britain. (Cecil Beaton Photograph, courtesy of
Sotheby’s, London)
MAPS
London’s Square Mile
Berlin’s Zitadelle
Europe between the Wars
Scandinavia: Cold War, 1940
Blitzkrieg, 1940