More of 1940 from Jenkins: "The national mood ... was not so much defiant as impregnable. The prospects were awful, but people pushed the consequences of defeat out of their collective mind. It was not a question of bravery. It was more that they chose to believe the worst would not happen. To what extent this was a product of the mesmerizing quality of Churchill's oratory is a difficult question to answer. His purpose and his method were to promote a mood of defiance. What he did, almost more in my recollection of my nineteen-year-old mind, was to produce a euphoria of irrational belief in ultimate victory."
"Instances of Churchillian modesty are not so frequent that the historian can dismiss even one of them without some regret. But this must be the case with his utterance that in 1940 'it was the nation and the race dwelling all round the globe that had the lion's heart. I had the luck to be called upon to give the roar.' Churchill did not simply 'give the roar', he created it, and he did so out of the materials which had fashioned his own vision of Britain - and by communicating that vision to the nation." 'Churchill: the End of Glory' (1993), John Charmley.
Churchill was, I believe, known to quote this passage from Macaulay's 'Lays of Ancient Rome': 'Then out spake brave Horatius, The Captain of the Gate: "To every man upon this earth Death cometh soon or late. And how can man die better Than facing fearful odds, For the ashes of his fathers, And the temples of his Gods." ' Perhaps this was precisely the courage and defiance that in 1940 he was trying to instil. Many of his well-known passages carry an echo of that passage and of those sentiments: "If this long island story of ours is to end at last, let it end only when each one of us lies choking in his own blood upon the ground." "...what is happening now is on a far greater scale and of far more consequence to the life and future of the world and its civilisation than these brave old days of the past." "...no one should blind himself to the fact that a heavy, full-scale invasion of this island is being prepared with all the usual German thoroughness and method.."
What few people probably know is that Churchill could tell, if given a chance, quite a few risque stories I dicovered this when shortly after ww2 ended there was a Regimental Re-union held in London and I was one of the lucky NCOs who was invited to attend from Trieste. After dinner they cleared the room of the waiters and waitresses and he told some very blue stories that he must have remembered from the time that he first served in the 4th Hussars. A very appreciative audience roared their approval ! Ron
and mercifully no digital recording devices so the evenings events were not the lead story on the evening news!
For those with a strong taste for Churchill quotes there's usually a good few choice excellent ones in any episode of these: http://www.podbay.fm/show/663872027 Hillsdale Dialogues Podcast : HILLSDALE COLLEGE - HIGHER EDUCATION DESCRIPTION : Larry P. Arnn, president of Hillsdale College, on the Hugh Hewitt Show http://www.podbay.fm/show/663872027 (nb. if the list doesn't load for you from this link because of your computer setup just type "Hillsdale" in the "search" ) Or use the link here: https://online.hillsdale.edu/hillsdaledialogues Larry Arnn : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_P._Arnn "a political conservative and a Constitutional scholar" who "worked as Director of Research for Martin Gilbert, the official biographer of Winston Churchill.[1][3]" There's also a big section of Hillsdale episodes purely on Churchill from Sep 19, 2013 to Dec 02, 2013 that are well worth a hearing through. The latest one (April 14th 2015) is on "the American Character". To quote Churchill from which about sanctions by the league of Nations against Italy over Abyssinia:" a willingness to strike but not to wound" Since they exempted Italy from sanctions against things that Churchill thought actually mattered (such as oil). Which is a great turn about from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damning_with_faint_praise "Willing to wound, and yet afraid to strike" And of the Baldwin and Chamberlain government in the 1930's : "Steadfast for drift, foursquare for hesitation" There's also some "drift" in these episodes from classical history and on into contemporary US politics and the educational system - with also some details about various wars including a good amount on WW2. (but not much hesitation! as they cut out the adverts that come on the live US show) All the best, Rm.
"Some people pretend to regard me as the British Lion. But I am not the Lion. I am simply the roar of the Lion."
How about the ones that subsequentally were shown to be wishful thinking, at best. Like about Singapore? I guess that GB needed a rev up in the circumstances and for that alone Churchill was the man for the moment, ignoring that aspect would be just to miss the vital core of hope and courage required at that point in time. But, otherwise a bit of a menace with his amateur influence and interferance in the business of doing what you could with what you had militarily.
This got me ROFL. Here are additional funny quotes for you guys, it is good to lighten up a bit. Just found it on the net: 44 Funny Inspirational Quotes That'll Add Sparkle to Your Life
Dogs see humans as leaders, cats see us as servants... I have actually seen cats that retrieve - not just chase, but return with things - but I think it is because they are amused by it, not to please us
On Sea Lion: "Had the Germans possessed in 1940 well trained and equipped amphibious forces their task would still have been a forlorn hope in the face of our sea and air power. In fact they had neither the tools or the training. There were indeed some who on purely technical grounds, and for the sake of the effect the total defeat of his expedition would have on the general war, were quite content to see him try."
That Astor quote is the best of the bunch,some say it was attributed to Bessie Braddock,a Liverpool MP but she did not frequent the social circle as Lady Astor and WSC did. Lady Astor was always giving WSC some stick about his drinking while meeting in their upper class social circle which they met frequently. ...hence the response. I think Lady Astor at the time was a member of the Temperance Society.
Famous and funny alcohol quotes As someone who enjoyed so much Champagne, it is perhaps not surprising he has quotes attributed to him about the drink. One has a touch of Lily Bollinger to it: “Champagne. In success you deserve it and in defeat, you need it.” Napoleon Bonaparte is also credited with a very similar quote: “I drink Champagne when I win, to celebrate and I drink Champagne when I lose, to console myself.”
the old ones are the best Lady Astor: "Winston, you're drunk". Winston: "But I shall be sober in the morning and you, madam, will still be ugly. "
you don't help your self Bob do you you don't learn I might have got it wrong and will learn from it but at least I wont be a smart arse in the morning who was it then
