February 3, 2015

“Dockers” at Attention on the Thames, 30 January 1965Following the broadcast last week of a BBC special hosted by Jeremy Paxman commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the State Funeral of Sir Winston Churchill, The Churchill Centre received this important letter from a viewer:

After watching the tribute to Winston Churchill on the BBC with Jeremy Paxman, I felt the need to write down my thoughts on the programme.

Firstly, I come from a long line of “Dockers”, my two grandfathers, William Deeprose and Joe Catchesides, my father also Joe Catchesides, several uncles and cousins all worked in the Surrey Docks. My father Joe was a stevedore as was Joe senior, William (Bill) Deeprose was a deal porter (loading and unloading timber from the ships, a very very hard job in those days, he often came home with huge splinters lodged in his back). I only remember them speaking very highly of Sir Winston, even though they were lifelong labour supporters as was most of the old working class people. One of my uncles was fortunate enough to meet him, and always was very proud to relate the story.

My mother, Flo thought of Sir Winston as a hero and said that we would never have won the war if it hadn’t been for him, a sentiment that thousands of people believed. I took my mother to Chartwell several times as she loved it there and always looked forward to our visits. I once took her to Blenheim so that she could see where Sir Winston was born. She found the letters he wrote to his father from his school very touching, especially the one where he confessed to dropping the watch his father had given him down the drain and the pains and expense he went to, to get it back.

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I was so annoyed by the dock worker in that programme saying that all the Dockers hated Sir Winston and that they were all starving and having to put cardboard in their shoes as they didn’t have any money while Sir Winston flashed his expensive cigars as if mocking them, what a load of rubbish. My Grandfather Joe had 7 children, all living in the Rotherhithe area, and although apart from one Aunt who is still alive, have all gone now, if only I had recorded some of their stories about the “old” days, I can honestly say that I never ever heard that they were starving, or didn’t have any decent shoes to wear. They never had much in the way of luxuries, but then nobody else did, they enjoyed life in their own way, great parties, my aunt Kate at the piano and great laughs. How dare that ex-docker, taking it on himself to speak for everyone, my family certainly didn’t hate Sir Winston, on the contrary they adored him.

Julie Costin