September 5, 2013

Finest Hour 106, Spring 2000

Page 28

BY FRED C. HARDMAN

Hitting the High Spots or “Churchill’s England.”

DURING Winston Churchill’s first visit to America, he wrote to his brother Jack: “A great, crude, strong, young people are the Americans…Some day Jack when you are older you must come out here.” That letter and others were on display for my family and me to see on a visit last January to the Churchill Archives Centre at Churchill College Cambridge. Allen Packwood, Exhibitions Officer and Archivist at the Centre, gave us a tour of the “inner sanctum” of the archives plus an up-close look at several of the many thousands of Churchill papers housed there.

2024 International Churchill Conference

Join us for the 41st International Churchill Conference. London | October 2024

More

Since we were visiting from the United States, Allen had selected for us items with an American connection. We saw a draft of Churchill’s address to Congress in December 1941, with his handwritten changes scribbled between the lines; his famous what-if essay “If Lee had not won the Battle of Gettysburg” (FH 103); wedding photos of Winston and Clementine; Churchill’s official photo album from the Teheran Conference; and much more. One of the most fascinating items was a letter from Truman to Churchill written in October 1947, in which Truman refers to the “ungrateful” Russians and says, “Your Fulton, Mo. speech becomes more nearly a prophecy every day.”

Allen also updated us on the Centre’s progress in computer cataloguing the boxes and boxes of Churchill papers, demonstrating how to access the papers through the Centre’s computers. It was quite impressive. We also met Sarah Lewery, the conservator, who explained to us how the papers are preserved. And we learned of plans for a possible exhibit of Churchill Papers in North America in the near future. (See Churchill Center news. -Ed.) That was exciting and I hope it will be supported by many on this side of the Atlantic. We round the Churchill Archives Centre to be just as Sir Martin Gilbert described it in Finest Hour 87: “a rich seam of historical gold.”

The Centre was one of several Churchill-related stops on our travels. Prior to our departure, my wife and I spent several weeks planning our itinerary. We wanted to do more than just see the usual sights. Scheduling a winter vacation posed a problem for our 12-year-old son, since taking him out of school in January for a two week trip to England required school board approval—a worthwhile chore. He is learning history, and the names Churchill and Chartwell, Blenheim and Bletchley, Bladon and Blitz are not unfamiliar to him.

In London we found many reminders of Churchill’s greatness. There are statues of him on the square opposite Westminster and on Bond Street, where he sits on a park bench with Franklin Roosevelt. There is another inside the Guildhall, and of course at the Churchill Arch in the House of Commons. I found a bust and four portraits in the National Portrait Gallery, including the magnificent painting, “Some British Statesmen of the First World War.” The NPG gift shop sells copies in various sizes of any portrait to which they own the copyright, which includes three of the four Churchills on display plus others in storage. At a photographic exhibit there, Churchill had been named “Face of the Century” by the previous week’s visitors. And inside the Regent Street store of Aquascutum there is even a large photo of him with the caption, “Churchill in his classic Aquascutum.”

A visit to the Cabinet War Rooms on King Charles Street gives one a sense of the atmosphere and conditions of wartime England. We arrived one chilly morning before there were many other tourists. We saw an interesting exhibit of Churchill papers from the Archives Centre, which is changed every four months, and a new exhibit of Churchill’s own medals, orders and decorations on loan from Winston S. Churchill, just as pictured on the back of Douglas Russell’s book The Orders, Decorations and Medals of Sir Winston Churchill. The War Rooms gift shop continues to offer a good assortment of Churchill souvenirs, including medals, books, posters, postcards and trinkets.

A short way from the War Rooms is the Churchill Cafe, where we enjoyed morning coffee under a portrait of the great man. According to Sir Martin Gilbert, it was here that Churchill’s wartime secretary, Kathleen Hill, came during the wee hours of the night that Germany invaded Russia. She kept the information to herself, though, as even Churchill had not yet been awakened with the news.

For us, shopping in London is unlike anywhere else. The prices are generally high, but certain items are bargains, and the selection is always unbeatable. In addition, it is the only city I know of where you can find “Action This Day” pencils or Churchill fridge magnets! Among my souvenirs were reproductions of vintage Churchill posters from the War Rooms and poster-size copies of Cecil Beaton’s 1940 photo of Churchill from the National Portrait Gallery.

One of my favorite sites to browse for books by and about Churchill is Maggs Brothers on Berkeley Square. I bought my first set of Churchill’s The Second World War there (first editions in fine condition with dust jackets) in 1985 for $65. The set they had for sale in January cost five times as much and was not nearly as nice. I didn’t buy any books but it was still neat to look through their stock which included a very clean and bright Malakand for £3750. (Editor’s note: for a day’s worth of London book browsing, possibly encountering Churchills, get yourself to Cecil Court off Charing Cross Road. Don’t expect bargains, but you may make a discovery or two.)

After a week in London we rented a car and drove northward, passing through Harrow. We spent a day at Duxford, Britain’s aviation museum and site of an historic fighter station in the Battle of Britain. There we saw Spitfires and Hurricanes as well as the world’s only airworthy Blenheim. Tucked away in a corner of the museum’s Land Warfare Hall was an exhibit that interested us the most—the Montgomery Caravans. This three-vehicle mobile headquarters was used by Monty throughout the campaign in Europe. One of the vehicles was an office and contained portraits of four German Field Marshals, Monty’s opponents. Another, used as his bedroom, was equipped with bed, bath and wardrobe. A third was a map lorry and it was outside this vehicle that the German delegation came to surrender in May 1945. Montgomery said that he would give up these quarters for only two people, “the King and Winston Churchill.”

We also made a return trip to Bletchley Park. There we received a big welcome from Jack and Rita Darrah and saw Jack’s fabulous collection of Churchill memorabilia which is laid out in three large rooms in the Bletchley Park Mansion. Jack gave us a personal tour of his exhibit and, along the way, pointed out several items that had been added since our last visit in 1998. He also warmly greeted other visitors to the rooms while we were there, offering to answer questions from anyone about his exhibit or Churchill. A specialist in hosting young people, Jack posed a question to our son that had him combing the giant display cases for the answer. Jack and Rita are dedicated deliverers of the Churchill message who richly deserve their Blenheim Awards, just bestowed by The Churchill Center (see “International Datelines”).

We took the guided tour of Bletchley and heard its wartime story. It was here that the government’s code and cypher team broke the German codes. Our son grasped the technical principles of the German Enigma machine and the world’s first programmable computer, Colossus, much better than my wife and I. Upon our return home, he studied it further. It was right up his alley! And in March his entry into the county Social Studies Fair was entitled, “What Was Britain’s Best Kept Secret?” His project showed how the Enigma machine worked and explained how the British broke the codes. A caricature of Churchill appeared on the front cover of his report along with the quote, “…my geese that laid the golden eggs, but never cackled.” His entry won first place!

It being January, we did not make our usual pilgrimage to three chief Churchill sites often discussed in these pages: Churchill’s country home at Chartwell (see FH 90, also 88-89); his birthplace, Blenheim Palace (FH 48) or his freshly restored gravesite at Bladon (FH 99). But these places are included in the accompanying sidebar. Chartwell, of course, is the primary shrine of Churchill’s England and always offers something new to see, under the sure hands of administrator Carole Kenwright and her capable staff. Thanks to a new direct coach link, access from London is easier than ever. Please refer to “Getting to Chartwell” on page 6 of this issue.

Even without Chartwell this time, our fortnight in Churchill’s England was a memorable one. Going in search of new things, we returned home gladdened by the people we met and enlightened by the things we saw. And we had fun. As Churchill said in My African Journey, “…for the formation of opinion, for the stirring and enlivenment of thought, and for the discernment of colour and proportion, the gifts of travel…are priceless.”

Churchill’s England Opening Times

AVIATION MUSEUM: off Al 1, Duxford, Cambridge. Daily except 24-26 Dec. Summer hours 10AM-6PM ].4 Mar to 23 Oct. Winter 10AM-4PM. Tel. (01223) 835000.

BLADON, Church of St. Martin’s (gravesite): on A4095 near Woodstock, Oxford. Always open. Parking dicey; the White House Pub, at the foot of the hill, will let you park if you first provide a little “custom,” which is fair exchange.

BLENHEIM PALACE: off A35, Woodstock, Oxford. Daily, 15 Mar-31 Oct, 10:30AM-5:30PM. Tel. (01993) 811091.

BLETCHLEY PARK, Buckinghamshire, off B4034. Open daily but members should contact Jack Darrah beforehand to consult on best times. Tel. (01582) 561781.

CABINET WAR ROOMS, London. Mon.-Sat. 10AM-5:50PM, Sun. 2-5:50PM. Tel. (0171)930-6961.

CHARTWELL, Westerham, Kent (see “Getting to Chartwell,” page 6). Open 11-5 Wed.-Sun. from 1 Apr-1 Nov. Last admission 4:30. Tel. (01732) 868381.

CHURCHILL ARCHIVES CENTRE, Churchill College Cambridge. By appointment. Tel. (01223) 336087 (bring identification on your first visit). For current exhibitions, displays and open days, Tel. Allen Packwood at (0223) 336087 or email [email protected]. 

Mr. Hardman ([email protected]) is a longtime member and Churchill Center Associate in Spencer, West Virginia.