The roar of the lion : the untold story of Churchill's World War II speeches

1691 Pages·2013·4.59 MB·English

by  Churchill

THE ROAR OF THE LION
THE ROAR OF THE LION
THE UNTOLD STORY OF CHURCHILL’S
WORLD WAR II SPEECHES
RICHARD TOYE
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Acknowledgements
I would like to thank the numerous people who have helped bring this book into
being. Luciana O’Flaherty at Oxford University Press commissioned it, and she
and her colleague Matthew Cotton were extremely supportive throughout the
writing and editorial process. Several other people at OUP also gave valuable
assistance, notably Emma Barber. Edwin Pritchard made an excellent job of the
copyediting, and Michael Parkin created the index. I am grateful too to the
anonymous referee who made some valuable suggestions to help improve the
manuscript, and to the other external readers who supported the project in the
first place. Furthermore, as always, I am indebted to my wonderful agent,
Natasha Fairweather, and her splendidly efficient assistant, Donald Winchester.
The University of Exeter remains a delightful place to work: no one could
hope for better colleagues. Several of them discussed the issue of Second World
War rhetoric with me, in particular: James Mark, Richard Overy, Matthew
Rendle, Nicholas Terry, and Tim Rees. I benefited much from Andrew Thorpe’s
encyclopaedic knowledge of war time British politics. A period of university
research leave ensured that the book could be completed in a timely fashion.
Other friends provided valuable help and advice. Gary Love commented on
the Introduction. Peter Clarke kindly allowed me to see the manuscript of his
wonderful book Mr. Churchill’s Profession in advance of publication. Warren
Dockter similarly shared the text of his excellent forthcoming work Churchill
and the Islamic World. Allen Packwood and his team at the Churchill Archives
Centre provided their usual invaluable assistance. Jason Dinsdale persuaded me
to go on Twitter (@RichardToye)—with what effect remains to be seen.
Churchill studies is now entering the electronic era, with the digitization of
Churchill’s own papers completed in 2012. Most of the research for this book
was carried out in the conventional way, but the site’s publishers kindly allowed
me access to it shortly before the official launch, which assisted me in the final
stages.
stages.
Mass-Observation material is reproduced with permission of Curtis Brown
Group Ltd, London on behalf of The Trustees of the Mass Observation Archive
Copyright © The Trustees of the Mass Observation Archive. Quotations from
the speeches and writings of Sir Winston Churchill are reproduced with
permission of Curtis Brown, London on behalf of the Estate of Sir Winston
Churchill Copyright © Winston S. Churchill.
Throughout the writing of this book Kristine Vaaler and our sons Sven and
Tristan were sources of pleasure and inspiration. My friends Gary Price and
Mike Bush helped take my mind off work by, respectively, playing badminton
and going running with me. I am also grateful to Katherine Waugh and Simon
Stanhope for their friendship and it is to them that I dedicate this book.
Contents
List of Plates
Introduction
1. ‘The Epitaph of Capitalism’
2. ‘Winston Will Explain Everything’
3. ‘The Duke of Marlborough All Over Again’
4. ‘If Hitler Invaded Hell’
5. ‘He’s No Speaker, Is He?’
6. ‘What a Wartime Speech Should Be, I Suppose’
7. ‘Throwing a Temperament Like a Bloody Film Star’
8. ‘Hush, Hush, Hush, Here Comes the Bogy Man’
Conclusion
Appendix: Listening Figures for Churchill’s Speeches
Endnotes
List of Archival Collections
Picture Acknowledgements
Index
List of Plates
1. Winston Churchill as an orator
2. Cartoon, ‘Siege Guns of Rhetoric’
3. Winston Churchill gives a speech, 1939
4. Illustrated London News, 13 July 1940: ‘Mr. Churchill cheered by the
House’
5. Second World War propaganda poster: Churchill’s praise of ‘The Few’
6. Daily Worker, 22 August 1940: ‘We few, we happy few’
7. Listening to Churchill
8. Winston Churchill broadcasting in 1942
9. Extract from Denis Argent’s diary
10. Cartoon, Daily Mail, 21 May 1943: ‘After listening to Churchill’
11. Scene in the Galleria Umberto, Naples, 13 March 1944
12. Churchill speaking from a balcony to crowds celebrating VE Day
13. Churchill addresses the party conference of the National Union of
Conservative and Unionist Associations
14. Cartoon, Evening Standard, 7 June 1945: ‘Dreamland’
15. Removal men outside 10 Downing Street, 1 August 1945
Introduction
O
n 30 November 1954, Sir Winston Churchill turned eighty. That day, at a
special ceremony in Westminster Hall, he was presented by both Houses of
Parliament with gifts, including an overly candid portrait of himself by Graham
Sutherland. Churchill hated it so much that his wife Clementine later ordered it
to be destroyed. The public occasion, however, was all harmony. Labour Party
leader Clement Attlee—who had defeated Churchill at the 1945 election and
kept him out of Downing Street for six years—paid tribute to the Prime Minister,
recalling his stirring wartime speeches. ‘You offered us only blood and sweat
and tears and we gladly took your offer,’ he said. Then Churchill, a little
unsteady on his feet, made his reply, which included a justly famous passage:
I was very glad when Mr. Attlee described my speeches in the war as expressing the will not only
of Parliament but of the whole nation. Their will was resolute and remorseless and, as it proved,
unconquerable. It fell to me to express it, and if I found the right words you must remember that I
have always earned my living by my pen and by my tongue. It was a nation and race dwelling all
1
round the globe that had the lion heart. I had the luck to be called upon to give the roar.
This was a superb piece of rhetoric, in which he neatly avoided appearing to take
too much credit for the power of his oratory. As one of his acquaintances, the
former Liberal MP Arthur C. Murray, had written: ‘I have always held the
opinion strongly that Churchill in the Second World War represented
magnificently the will of the British nation to win the war, but it is nonsense to
suggest—as has been done—that but for Churchill the British nation would not
have continued the fight alone when France capitulated in the middle of June,
1940. The suggestion, indeed, is a libel on the British nation.’2 Churchill
skilfully negotiated this potential pitfall, on the one hand making proper
concessions to modesty—he was a professional writer, and had got lucky—and