“Churchill: Walking with Destiny” Book Review
By: Shain E. Thomas
Tags: Politics, Education, History, Book Reviews, British History

While there are numerous biographies exploring Winston Churchill and his contribution to both British and world politics, the latest Andrew Roberts written book Churchill: Walking with Destiny seems to have an element of gravitas that other publications lack.

Even though it was Benjamin Disraeli that said, “History is made by those that show up,” it was Churchill that believed “history [would] be kind to [him], for [he intended] to write it.”

No matter which Churchill biography you happen to read, all of them fall under the immense shadow of the great British wartime prime minister. No biographer, even the now late Sir Martin Gilbert, escaped the undeniable truth of their subject’s political stature.

Published by Viking, Roberts’ Churchill biography is an impressive 982 pages. Considering how much the prime minister accomplished during both his private and public lives, one cannot help but wonder how the author managed to keep the page count under 1,000.

When writing of Churchill, it would be impossible to not at least mention his time as First Lord of the Admiralty, his time spent in the trenches, Joseph Goebbels’ efforts to undermine the British prime minister, the much-quoted “Finest Hour” speech and the end of the Second World War.

During the First World War, the British government was not kind to the then future prime minister. The 1915 Battle of Gallipoli, involving British and French troops as well as divisions of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC), was an unmitigated disaster. In looking for someone to blame for the Gallipoli Campaign, the government set its sights on the First Lord of the Admiralty. From the way things played out, there is no doubt Churchill was deliberately scapegoated.

Even though Churchill was destined for greatness in the eyes of the people, King George V was not all that enamoured by how the then 30-something Blenheim Palace born First Lord could be so full of himself. At times, Churchill seemed so pleased with himself, it was positively unbecoming his social standing.

In a deluge of correspondence between Churchill and George V pertaining to the naming of new Royal Navy ships, it is evident the monarch became exasperated over how Churchill refused to relent. He dug his heels in firmly. So did the King… There was something almost comic about the obstinacy. Churchill would in all likelihood have continued the unequal struggle indefinitely.” If it was not for a high naval subordinate, it is obvious to anyone that understands British politics, Churchill would not have backed down for the king.

Despite having been painted as a warmonger by his predecessor, Neville Chamberlain, Churchill and various parliamentarians were to ready to appease German Chancellor Adolf Hitler. While Churchill believed standing up to Hitler was best for England, efforts made to avoid the possibility of war were forlorn.

“Although the appeasement movement was intended to prevent another war,” Roberts writes, “most of its leaders had not seen action in the Great War, whereas most of the anti-appeasers had.”

Churchill, having resigned as First Lord because of Gallipoli Campaign, fought in the trenches.

When war broke out with Germany, Chamberlain was the British prime minister. Less than a year later, during May 1940, Churchill was named PM. As Churchill put it, the only reason he was afforded the opportunity to lead the British people through the Second World War is that “no one else wanted the job.” With Churchill having previously fought in the trenches with the other ‘Tommies,’ British people immediately expressed a liking for their new PM. This fact, reflected in a 1940 Gallup poll of an 88 per cent approval rating, should not be lost on anyone.

Goebbels, Hitler’s propaganda minister, was working overtime to discredit Churchill in the eyes of the British people. According to Roberts, the propaganda minister decreed “that Churchill was being bribed by the Jews to continue the war but that a fifth column would soon remove him from power. He encouraged Britons to write chain letters for peace, to hiss and boo Churchill’s appearance on the cinema newsreels and to horsewhip him whenever he appeared in public.” The British people, however, stood by their PM in his time of need.

From one of Churchill’s most quoted speeches, “If the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years,” the prime minister famously closed it with the now immortal line, “men will still say: ‘This was their finest hour.’ ” Less than a decade after the end of Hitler’s Nazi regime, Roberts notes the sunset on what was British Empire.

At the end of the Second World War, having pivoted to a position of forgiveness towards Germany, Churchill was the bigger man. In a brilliantly written biography, Roberts captures perfectly an encounter in the House of Commons Smoking Room where Churchill and an old wartime Labour Party nemesis, now advocating amity with Germany, amicably discussed their past disagreements.

“Of course I’ve forgiven you,” Churchill reassures his old wartime Labour Party nemesis.

“Indeed, I agree with very much that you are saying about the Germans… Such hatred that I have left in me — and it isn’t much — I would rather reserve for the future than the past.” Churchill apparently on alone, murmuring under his breath, almost to himself: “Hmm. Judicious and thrifty disposal of bile.”