Letters for the Ages by Sir Winston S. Churchill

Author:Sir Winston S. Churchill
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781399408134
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2023-04-05T00:00:00+00:00

‘The War is a terrible searcher of character’

Winston Churchill may have been a great orator but his speeches did not always demonstrate great political judgement. On the evening of Tuesday 7 March 1916, he used his army leave to return to the House of Commons and take part in the debate on the Naval Estimates. His criticism of government policy was going well until he made the fateful mistake of urging the recall of Admiral Lord Fisher. What he had perhaps intended as a gesture of magnanimity backfired spectacularly, reminding the assembled MPs of the breakdown between Churchill and Fisher and resulting in widespread derision in parliament.

Churchill was motivated by his desire to return to politics, and now sought permission from the Secretary of State for War, Lord Kitchener, and from Prime Minister Asquith to be allowed to leave the army. While Clementine must have been worried about the dangers of his being on the frontline, she was wise enough to see that if he returned too early it would damage his reputation. In the two letters shown here she urges caution and delay; others cannot leave the trenches and he must bide his time until he is called for; his power and prestige will recover if he waits a little longer – ‘The War is a terrible searcher of character’.

This is the role that Clementine plays behind the scenes: canvassing opinion, mobilizing support and giving the ‘frank & clear-eyed friendship’ that Winston had called for in his very first letter to her, eight years earlier. She does not try to disguise her feelings, Winston may be prepared to forgive Fisher but she sees him as a ‘malevolent engine’ and is prepared to say so. When the old Admiral comes for lunch, it is Clementine who tells him to ‘Keep your hands off my husband.’

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