Thursday, 18th


May 2017


info@eastcorkjournal.ie East Cork Business Post Charting The Course Of Churchill: Anglo-Irish Perspectives


by DR ROSARII GRIFFIN


Kent Kent


is often referred


to as ‘the Garden of Eng- land’. It is a name well de- served, given its lush green pastures, blooming flower gardens and bountiful trees. The roads are


tiny and


windy, and the sky over- head is covered by low-lying branches with bright green leaves reflecting the light, making the country routes very pretty. Typically, rays of sunlight manage to flick- er through along the road, adding a magical quality. It was like a scene from Alice in Wonderland, with rab- bits, climbing squirrels and foxes that could be spot- ted scampering along the ditches and heading down burrows.


Chartwell On this windy road,


one comes upon a small discreet


signpost signify-


ing ‘Chartwell’. This just happens to be the original home of the former British prime minister, Sir Winston Churchill and his family. On a recent visit to the area Chartwell was open to visi- tors, so we decided to inves- tigate out of curiosity. From there, we learnt a lot about the life and times of the Churchill family. What fol- lows is a summary of this. It appears that Churchill fell in love with the rolling hills and beautiful pasto- ral scenery surrounding Chartwell, so he impulsive- ly purchased the property, without seeking the prior approval of his wife, Clem- entine. This was unusual for him, as he consulted with Clementine on virtu- ally everything. However, he guessed she would not approve, for fear it would ruin them financially. So he acted impulsively and bought the property which


was to become their family home for the next fifty odd years. Chartwell particu- larly appealed to Winston’s artistic sensibilities, as he was an avid amateur artist. For Winston, Chartwell was also somewhat reminiscent of his original family home, Blenheim Palace. Signifi- cantly, it was at Chartwell that the real ‘war cabinet’ used to meet


to discuss


events on the lead up to, and during, World War II. But more about that later.


Winston Winston Churchill was


born in 1874 as a younger son to Sir Randolph and Lady Churchill at Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, Ox- fordshire. Churchill’s father died when he was young, and his mother subsequent- ly remarried. Winston was sent off to boarding school, and subsequently had to find his own way in life and make an independent living. Earlier, his father thought it best that he en- tered the military. Twice Churchill failed the Sand- hurst


Military Academy


exams. It didn’t appear as if Churchill had the ability to pass his exams, however he did succeed in entering it on his third attempt.


correspondent


The Early Years Churchill became a war and also


participant in a number of wars in France, South Africa, India and North Africa. He then was elected to parliament in 1900 when he joined the Tories until 1904. At this time, Church- ill earned living from both his writing and his politi- cal career, but more so the former. Over his lifetime, he wrote


approximately


fifty books, mostly history books of various battles and events. At this point, in 1904, he decided to join the Liberal Party. He was with the Liberals for 15 years un- til 1919 and became a gov- ernment


minister during


World War 1. Due to some internal disagreements, he switched back to the Con- servative Party again.


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Clementine During this time, he met


and fell in love with Clem- entine. She was the love of his life, and a solid rock dur- ing his political and writing career. He fondly referred to her as his ‘Clemmie’. They initially began their court- ship through letter writing, and even after marriage, they continued this practice writing notes or letters to each other practically every day. Even during wartime at their home, Clementine would slip notes under Churchill’s study door so as not to disturb him at his work. He and Clementine had five children together, the fourth child Marigold tragically died at the tender age of three. The Church- ill’s were to have one more child, another girl, Mary who recently died in 2014. She had married, and be- came Mary Soames -


the


last surviving offspring of the Churchill marriage.


Winston’s Concerns Before World War II


broke out, Churchill was very concerned about two things: Independence


for


India, and the rise of Hitler in Europe. He was wrong to be overly concerned about the former, but he was correct in relation to Hitler.


Prime Ministers


Baldwin and Chamberlain were not concerned about Hitler and felt a peaceful accord with him could be achieved.


ever was very much against this position. He felt


Hitler should be tackled head on. Although at


Churchill how- that this


time only a backbencher in Parliament, the other MPs were always astounded as to how much information Churchill knew in relation to Hitler’s progress in Eu- rope. This was because his chief confidante, Brendan Bracken, was secretly keep- ing Churchill posted with updates about


Hitler’s


on-going advancements in mainland Europe.


Bracken Brendan Bracken was an


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Irish man born in County Tipperary. He left Ireland when he was 15 and went to work in Australia before re- turning to Ireland and then England. He was largely self-educated, extremely knowledgeable and man- aged to be elected to parlia- ment in 1929. Bracken was deeply concerned about the rise of Hitler and soon real- ised that the only other MP duly concerned about this was Churchill. So Bracken made it his business to vis- it Churchill secretly at his home at Chartwell passing on information to Church- ill in relation to Hitler’s movements. In parliament, Churchill was fully armed with all the right questions to ask, and eventually won the argument that Britain should be


very worried


about Hitler’s true inten- tions. Nobody knew how Churchill was getting this information, but everyone knew the information was good, accurate, and worri- some. Bracken was by now Churchill’s trusted advisor.


Churchill and the War Years With the


outbreak of


war in 1939 Churchill’s fears had proved justified and he was reappointed as a cabinet minister. By 1940 a new prime minister was needed and Bracken ad- vised Churchill to remain quiet when it would come to the discussion between Neville Chamberlain and Lord Halifax, as to who should lead the Govern- ment. Following a period of argument and discussion, Churchill duly remained silent when he was expect- ed to back Lord Halifax as prime minister. The silence between the three men was duly interpreted, and in good old English gentle- manly fashion, Lord Hali- fax decided that he was not the man for the job, and so it fell to Churchill. Without any semblance of disloy- alty whatsoever, Churchill was determined to be the right person. Bracken had advised Churchill well; Churchill became prime


minister, and Bracken was appointed his trusted pri- vate secretary.


Churchill’s War Years Churchill subsequently


led Britain during the war years, until 1945. During the early years, the entire European continent


had


fallen into Hitler’s hands. The Battle of Britain took place in summer 1940. The plan was that Hitler would bomb Britain first with the Luftwaffe, establish con- trol of the skies, and then send an invasion force by sea. However, the British RAF just about managed to inflict sufficient damage to deny the German’s air superiority and persuade Hitler to desist from the in- vasion plan for the time be- ing. Later, Churchill man- aged to enlist the military support of the USA (under Roosevelt) and Russia (un- der Stalin) against Ger- many’s Hitler. In 1941/42 with the support and coop- eration between the Allied Forces, the war began to turn around, and the Na- zis under Hitler began to retreat.


Retiring to Chartwell Once the war was won,


Winston Churchill was the war Hero, having lead Britain through ‘it’s darkest hour’, with the Battle


for


Britain hailed as Britain’s ‘finest hour’. However, the British public did not re-elect him for office in July 1945, preferring the platform of Clement Atlee who had a social manifesto including the need for more public housing and the cre- ation of a welfare state in- cluding a National Health Service (NHS). Deeply disappointed, Churchill retired to Chartwell, and wrote a 6-volume history of World War II. By this time, he had written over 40 books. In 1953, he was honoured with the Nobel Prize for Literature for his body of work, most espe- cially, his historical work on the World War II. The


publishing advances he re- ceived from these paid for his lifestyle at Chartwell. During this time, they had 19 waiting staff


including


two cooks as the Church- ill’s were always entertain- ing important visitors and guests.


Political Life once More


In 1951 Churchill was


once again elected Prime Minister of Britain, this time, his agenda focused more on domestic issues rather than foreign affairs. Churchill was also con- cerned about the growth of communism. In fact, it was he who coined the phrase ‘the Iron Curtain’ which he feared at the time was spreading through Europe. However, in 1955 Church- ill retired, having suffered two strokes and another one in 1956. By this time, he was content to retire to his writing, but more so, his painting. Churchill


Reflections on Chartwell Although it was merely a small sign at the side of the road in Kent that piqued my interest, little did I re- alise the story that was to unfold by visiting this place of great historical interest. Indeed, Churchill was a figure larger than life. He not alone failed so many times in his political career, and was never financially secure, yet he managed to achieve so much. He was a man of many interests, writing, science, painting, and he was always a family man. Although rumour had it that he drank on average three bottles of champagne a day, he nevertheless ap- peared to be very strate- gic, clever and educated in the widest possible


sense.


Of course, he surrounded himself with experts and trusted confidantes that helped him achieve


left a


lovely collection of amateur painting behind, mostly of landscapes and Chartwell views and some of South- ern France where he spent some time in friends’ hous- es, and they in his.


Life after Churchill Churchill died in 1965 at


the age of 90. He had the biggest


state funeral ever


known in the history of the world, with represent- atives from 112 countries. Churchill’s wife, Clemen- tine retired to London and subsequently died there. Chartwell House


some


years earlier had fallen be- hind in bank repayments, so rather than allowing the banks to sell the house, Churchill’s friends got to- gether and collectively bought the house from the bank, with the proviso that the Churchill’s should live in it for the remainder of their lives. After that, they stipulated, it was to be given to the National Trust and preserved as a historical place to visit, in honour of one of the greatest leaders of modern times (Ghandi being the other!).


his


goals. None was so endur- ing as the love between he and his wife Clementine. Churchill used to say, ‘a day away from Chartwell is a day wasted’ given that Chartwell was the place he felt most at home, most at ease, and best able to think and reflect. Indeed, ‘the other club’, his political war cabinet often met there at the weekend rather than Downing Street. Despite this, in the end, Clementine was happy to return to Lon- don’s Hyde Park to live out her days there, not wishing to remain in Chartwell fol- lowing Churchill’s death. Maybe the place held too many memories for her, too difficult to bear follow- ing 58 years of marriage. There was no mistaking the love they bore for each oth- er. By his own admission, Churchill said that ‘world war two would have been impossible


without Chartwell House her’. evokes


all the senses, and is well worth visiting. The ‘Garden of England’ contains much more than just a scenic tour. Contact: Rosarii at info@ eastcorkjournal.ie or @ rosarii_griffin.


Tel: 021 463 8000 • Email: info@eastcorkjournal.ie • Web: www.eastcorkjournal.ie


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