March 18, 2015

Finest Hour 160, Autumn 2013

Page 48
 
Winston & Me, by Mark Woodburn. Valley Press, softbound, 320 pp., $12, Kindle edition $2.99. Portrayal ★★★ Worth Reading ★★★

Mark Woodburn’s first fiction, this is a coming-of-age novel about a young Scot who becomes Churchill’s batman in the trenches of Flanders in 1916. It features a large number of Churchill scenes and covers a period in his life which has rarely if ever, been treated in fiction. Woodburn offers an excellent portrayal of Churchill and those close to him, like Archie Sinclair and Eddie Marsh.

The young hero, 15-year-old Jamie Melville, lies about his age to enlist in the Army and ends up in Churchill’s battalion at about the same time that WSC takes command. Jamie and his age eventually come to Churchill’s attention in an unfortunate way, but when Churchill’s original batman is wounded, Jamie is chosen to take his place. Churchill was a popular CO among his men and Woodburn gives many illustrations to show why this was so. When Churchill leaves the battalion to return to politics, he takes Jamie with him as an assistant, a position he holds until 1919, when Jamie leaves to join his brothers in the family business. Winston Churchill plays a major role throughout in a novel not to be missed.