Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Amidst the Height of the Battle of Britain, Honors His Father

Only the second letter of Churchill from August 1940 that we have had in all these decades

Churchill was named Prime Minister in May 1940, after the Nazi juggernaut had overwhelmed Poland and then smashed into Denmark and Norway, followed shortly by invasions of France, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. From that moment his life and career became one with Britain’s story and its survival. Churchill’s task was to inspire resistance at all costs, to organize the defense of the island, and to make it the bastion for an eventual return to the continent of Europe. To do this, he needed to breathe a new spirit into the government and a new resolve into the people.

On May 13, 1940, he made his maiden speech to the House of Commons and the nation as Prime Minister, warning “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat”. After the French surrender on June 17, he for the first time stopped simply reporting on events in his speeches, but instead addressed themes which would recur throughout his coming inspirational speeches. These themes are like leitmotifs which, taken together, manifest his leadership and spell out his political vision. They form a simple, coherent whole which could be expressed as five essential propositions: (1) We face a monstrous evil which is a threat to the whole world. (2) If we can stand up to it, we will save not only ourselves, but the whole of mankind. (3) Our ultimate goal must be victory, for this is an evil so virulent that it must be utterly extinguished. (4) The road to victory will be long and hard, and involve much pain and sorrow. (5) But if we support each other and stick together, we can do it. This was articulated by his famous pledge to resist made on June 18: “We shall fight on the beaches. We shall fight on the landing grounds. We shall fight in the fields, and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills. We shall never surrender!”; and to his memorable plea for strength and courage – “Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, ‘This was their finest hour”.

All now waited tensely for the expected German invasion of Britain to begin. On July 10 the legendary Battle of Britain commenced. The Germans instituted an air and sea blockade with the Luftwaffe targeting coastal shipping convoys, ports and shipping centers. But to protect an invasion force, the Germans felt that they required superiority in the air. So on August 1, the Luftwaffe was directed to achieve air superiority over the RAF with the aim of incapacitating RAF Fighter Command, and on August 13 it shifted the attacks to RAF airfields and infrastructure. The skies above the south of England became the scene of battles between German and British fighter planes. On August 15 the Luftwaffe carried out heavy attacks under the codename Adlertag (or Eagle Day), using 71% of its bomber force and 85% of its fighter units. Almost 1,500 German aircraft took off, and some 75 were shot down. Britain lost 13 fighters in the air and another 47 on the ground. The hardest fought day of the Battle was Sunday August 18, when the Luftwaffe tried its utmost to destroy fighter airfields flying 850 sorties involving 2200 aircrew. The RAF resisted with equal vigor flying 927 sorties involving 600 aircrew. Both sides lost almost 80 aircraft. On August 19 RAF meetings were held to assess the urgent situation. On the 20th Churchill was in Parliament, and on this day delivered his speech that ended with his tribute to the airmen: “Never, in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few.” On August 22 the Luftwaffe sent over waves of fighters to strafe airfields and landing strips, and that evening Churchill went to visit pilots at the airfields to encourage them and thank them personally. On August 23rd Hermann Goring issued a directive saying, “The enemy is to be forced to use his fighters by means of ceaseless attacks. In addition the aircraft industry and the ground organization of the air force are to be attacked by means of individual aircraft by night and day”, while the RAF countered with the order, “Against mass attacks coming inland, despatch a minimum number of squadrons to engage enemy fighters. Our main object is to engage enemy bombers.”

August 24 commenced the German bombing of British cities, with 200 bombers hitting Birmingham. As for London, that night was far more frightening and spectacular than anything it had seen. Bombs fell at Aldgate in the city, at Bloomsbury, Bethnal Green, Finsbury, Hackney, Stepney, Shoreditch and West Ham. Fires covered the whole of London’s East End, the night sky glowed blood red, fountains of flame bellowed out of factory windows, and wall structures came crashing down. This was a harbinger of the Blitz against London and other British cities that would begin days later. The next day Churchill dispatched an order to Bomber Command that an attack of retaliation be made on Berlin, which was carried out that same night by about 25 Wellington bombers. On August 26 over 200 German aircraft were intercepted, and it proved a rough day for both sides. The RAF lost 27 fighters destroyed in combat, but only six pilots lost their lives. Some 41 German aircraft were shot down. Just two days later, Churchill was visiting Dover and was staying at Dover Castle. While he was there, the air raid siren sounded and he and his entourage watched as fighters clashed with German bombers over the town. Luftwaffe losses for August numbered 864 aircraft, representing over 20% of their total force at the beginning of the month. RAF losses in August were 426 fighters destroyed, amounting to 40 per cent its 1,061 fighters available on August 3.

So Winston Churchill was a busy man in August 1940, too busy for things like correspondence, and in all our 30 plus years in this field we have only had one letter of his from that month. Now we present a second, obtained from the family of the recipient.

Winston’s father was Lord Randolph Churchill, son of the Duke of Marlborough. Randolph’s political career was meteoric, and his son revered him as a great statesman. In 1886, at age 37, Lord Randolph was Chancellor of the Exchequer, the youngest to hold the office in over a hundred years. In less than six months, he resigned from the Cabinet over a matter of principle, thinking it would result in his party turning to him to lead. He miscalculated, and never held high office again. “One could not grow up in my father’s house…without understanding that there had been a great political disaster,” said Winston. Winston respected his father and held him in deep affection, but these feelings were not reciprocated. Lord Randolph frequently expressed harsh disappointment in Winston, and questioned whether he would amount to anything. Randolph died in 1895 at the age of 45, and Winston spent the rest of his life trying to prove himself to his father. And even in death, Winston’s father remained a force to be reckoned with; “All my dreams of comradeship with him, of entering Parliament at his side and in his support, were ended. There remained for me only to pursue his aims and vindicate his memory.”

On August 23 rare book dealer Bertram Rota had in stock the original of the well known watercolor drawing of Lord Randolph Churchill by the noted caricaturist Max Beerbohm. He sought to present this to Churchill, writing, “I am fortunate enough to possess the original watercolor drawing by Max Beerbohm of his brilliant caricature of Lord Randolph Churchill, a reduced and inadequate reproduction of which I enclose. The original obviously belongs in your home, and I should be very happy if you would accept it, as a little personal mark of my appreciation of your inestimable service to the Nation and to civilization. I believe that, catching your eye occasionally, it must relieve for a moment the cares which you bear so courageously. If permission is received the framed drawing will be brought at once to Downing Street.” The Prime Minister’s secretary responded on the 25th saying Mr. Churchill would accept the offer with “much pleasure”, and that he “will look forward to receiving the drawing.” Rota brought it to Number 10 that very day, and it was immediately taken to Churchill.

Churchill paused to take the time from his pressing responsibilities to thanks Rota himself. Probably nothing but thoughts of his father (and the drawing that honored him) would have diverted him at that time. Typed letter signed, on his embossed Prime Minister letterhead, August [25] 1940, the very day he ordered the retaliatory bomber attack on Berlin, to Rota. “I have much pleasure in accepting your generous gift of the original drawing by Max Beerbohm of Lord Randolph Churchill. Thank you so much.” For the usually guarded Churchill, the addition of the words “so much” shows real emotion. This letter comes with Rota’s retained copy of his letter to Churchill and the secretary’s back to Rota.