September 11, 2015

Finest Hour 165, Autumn 2014

Page 10

By THE RT HON SIR JOHN MAJOR KG CH

After Boswell’s massive Life of Samuel Johnson comes Martin Gilbert’s epic history of Churchill. -These are two giants of British life whose every action and opinion was laid out minutely for posterity by two biographers, themselves of literary genius.

Martin Gilbert’s output has been prolific. It is difficult to understand how he could have produced so much high-quality history in a single lifetime. The industry of this remarkable man never ceases to impress. He also retains the affection of many friends, of whom I am proud to be one.

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I met Martin over a quarter century ago and, in the intervening years, we shared many a drink and meal both during and beyond my time in politics. His arrival for a meeting always heralded an occasion for gossip, historical and contemporary politics—mixed with much laughter. They were memorable meetings, during which he dispensed much wisdom—and nothing ever leaked!

Martin was always very generous in providing quotes and material for speeches, and this led to him joining me on a visit to Israel, Jordan and Palestine in 1995. Throughout the visit, Martin was a constant source of historical notes and anecdotes for every place we visited and everyone we met. He sat in on meetings—notably with Israeli Prime Minister Rabin and the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat. Later, his detailed report of the visit missed nothing—and highlighted opportunities, dangers, anomalies and ironies that were hugely valuable to policy making. He would have made a remarkable civil servant.

One highlight of that visit was a helicopter ride with Yitzhak Rabin to the Golan Heights, replete with the Israeli Prime Minister’s views and Martin’s historic analogies. It was an unforgettable day—and unforgettable is an apt description of Martin. He may have been shy, often unobtrusive; but his penetrating intellect, fed on solid research and undeniable fact, often shed light where none had previously existed.

I believe that Martin’s Churchill volumes will be reprinted as long as history is read. And I think it very likely that his name will be linked to Churchill as much as Boswell’s is to Johnson. As a man, Martin is a joy to his friends; as a biographer, he is a gift to history.

Sir John Major was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1990 to 1997. He previously held the posts of Chancellor of the Exchequer and Foreign Secretary in the Thatcher Government and was Member of Parliament for Huntingdon from 1979 to 2001. In 2005 he was bestowed by The Queen with a knighthood as a Knight Companion of the Order of the Garter.