Bleeding Edge

One of the most exciting and important elements of piecing together this most personal of Winston Churchill’s story was getting to know the character, the words, and the contributions, of all those mostly forgotten, yet loyal and devoted people, who worked with my grandfather. I earnestly searched for all those people, in the hope that I discover the kernel of truth and the motives, behind the public man’s existence, and beyond the person that had always been expressing himself in grand words for the common good, and who were those who chose to steer him upon the difficult road of public service, from day one and then helped him carry on from day to day.

And somehow selfishly, I also wanted to “meet” the men and women whose voices served my grandfather well, as voices of reason, and voices of rare humor and intelligence, so that he can go on and serve the people best he knew how. And it is all those people around him that were always supporting, strengthening, and on occasion, staying the hand of the leader – so that he kept a steady hand that also benefited from their stern voices. And because it is all those people around him, that always guided him, but also on occasion saved him from himself, and often saved his life, from his rashness of speed, and wish to risk it all, for a prized glory. Along the way – I hoped to learn also how the Art of Leadership was a communal exercise, and who are the communards that help make it possible. Because n Winston Churchill’s life, they are all invariably remembered in him, and for being with him, from early on, as was his nanny Mrs Everest, whose photograph still hangs above his study at Chartwell, and all the others he loved and kept around him, at Number Ten, or at Number Ten Annexe, or just above the Cabinet War Rooms.

What I’ve come to know is that they all conspired to help Winston by lightening his burden and alleviated his work by helping do the simple yet most important things that Winston was seemingly incapable of doing for himself. They watched over his health, they helped care for his vitals, and for the provision of his victuals, his nutrition, his moderation, and always worked over his “moods” and made sure that he got out of office in order to get his exercise by walking in the park daily, and getting some sunshine and fresh air always when the changeable London weather allowed. Thus, rain or shine, Winston was seen walking the park once, twice, and often times several times per day, seen walking purposefully with the puppies in tow, when he was in search of some mental solution, or trying to untie another Gordian knot of a military, or diplomatic and political problem…

And they always trailed after him with an umbrella because Winston often times would go out after the air raids and wanted people to see him with his unfurled umbrella, even though it might not be raining. He did this, so he could declare to anyone within earshot: “Bombs” while answering those who invariably would ask him “Why the brolly?” He meant that had his umbrella opened so that he could deflect all incoming German bombs. A terrible joke indeed, but one that elicited plenty of laughter, smirks of mirth, and measured merriment, at a time that these emotions were in an awfully short supply.

So today, if one were to go see the War Rooms as they are today, or find oneself going past them — please have your umbrella open as you stand opposite the building in St James’s Park. Have your umbrella open in a show of defiance against the forces of Evil raining down bombs on our heads today, whether from North Korea’s Chinese made nukes, or from the terrible Islamic jihadists that attack our cities unprovoked from within. So when in London, please have your black brolly open, and stand there watching with your mind’s eye; old Winston walking about the park with his black umbrella at the ready, and his dog in tow.
So go ahead and stand on the green grass of the parkside, and then cast your eyes towards the entrance on the War Rooms, and then scan the facade of this small building, by moving clockwise slowly towards the right, until you see a doorway situated, well above ground. To the right of that doorway you will see a set of six windows ending in a curved window at Storey’s Gate.

Stop your gaze right there. Rest, because you’ve arrived…

You’ve reached your historical destination in your quest of Winston Churchill, because those are the actual rooms in which he worked during the whole of the second World War. And by the way this is also where he lived, he ate, and slept as well. He spent here almost the whole of the time of the war. Indeed Winston Churchill was defiant, courageous, and unafraid, during these times, and this is where he actually and purposefully lived. Not underground, but on the first floor facing the park. This is where he spent, the 1,559 nights of the war. Today it s worth noting that Winston Churchill slept underground in the bunkers, only three nights out of the 1,562 nights of the Second World War.

How is that for amazing?

Simply amazing to behold.

Winston slept above ground and quite exposed during the Blitz. In this simple abode. In those six rooms which are well and truly above ground, and it is those rooms and his defiance that defined his outlook, because this is where he lived freely, and fairly unprotected, from the bombs, breathing the fresh air and seeing the sun — whenever the Thames river valley’s fairly constant cloudcover permitted it. Of course the roof had been “strengthened” and plants were planted on top to make it look like park land from above, and indeed lots of effort had been made to make this building look “Green” and very much a part of the park — but still it was an open and highly visible target.

In retrospect some think that Winston had a death wish, or wanting to become a Martyr, or a living legend in his own time — but for anyone who knew the man — this talk is poppycock. Sure Winston was courageous and unfazed by the German bombing raids, but he had to be unafraid and fairly certain of his Destiny, wanting to keep him alive, in order to complete the job, and therefore he had to survive in order to win the Second World War. And that is why he chose to live largely unprotected, in the midst of the most horrible days and nights of the German bombing Blitz and beyond — in order to “tell” the British public that he was not afraid of anything the Germans had to throw at him. And thus through his actions, if not his words — he could “impart” some backbone and courage, into those who had lost their own.

So this is where he lived during the most difficult, and during the finest hour, of Britain and the World, and for the whole duration of the Second World War. Today if you approach and look closely at this low slung building on the side of the park, you will even see the holes where the metal shutters were affixed to the exteriors of all the windows. Indeed as War Prime Minister, Churchill did not want, after all to be blasted out of his rooms; so the heavy metal shutters were installed right then in order to be able to close and secure the building’s openings, during the German nightly bombing raids.

But be certain that those were the very rooms from which both of the wars were conducted and won. In this case both means, the overt war, and the secret war, both fought during the time of the Second World War against Germany and her allies, Japan, Italy and a few others comprising the Axis of Evil powers.
“Number Ten Annexe” was his home-house during the war years, that is, when he did not slip back, as he so often did, to No 10 Downing Street itself. And indeed the record will show that this humble abode, was the place where most of the WarTime Cabinet Meetings were also held, and where most of the important decisions were taken…

From those above ground rooms of the humble abode named “No 10 Annex” also came most all of Churchill’s great wartime speeches. Almost all of his directives, invectives, and instructions, were dictated in those rooms as well.
So next time you go by, do have a look up at the windows of the War Rooms, and pay homage to Winston Churchill’s ferocious courage, his intellect, and his Love of Life; for this Great Man’s ghost might still be there looking out at the park. This view is treasured, because he was able to wage the whole War unafraid from his lovely rooms facing there park, open to fresh air, and plenty of sunlight, with a beautiful view inside a green and floral park — while his opponent Adolf Hitler, lived in constant raging fear, deep inside the earth, in a cold & wet cement bunker, that resembled a tomb for the living dead; always breathing stale, polluted, and sordid air; while planning evil deeds, and ordering actions designed to bring hate and suffering to children and visit death upon the innocent, across the whole of Europe and the world…

The contrast between the two men and their lives could not be greater. When I get around to write the next book, “The Parallel Lives of Churchill and Hitler” — we will expand upon these themes and examine the origins of the two men’s vastly differing psychological make-ups, and of the two men’s actions, and reasons behind them.
Churchill loved flowers and greenery as they were. He loved watching them and walking amidst them. He loved the park and it’s greenery. He loved flowers for what they were. Truth and Beauty. Winston was not at all interested in their utility value, and often times he didn’t even want them cut for decoration in the vases indoors. He loved looking at them and enjoyed the aromatics too. But his opponent, looked at everything from a utilitarian perspective and he even saw flowers for their nutritional value, since the vegetarian meals that Adolf Hitler enjoyed, often contained these along with the green salads that he ate. He also had them, steamed and cooked for his edification. “Barbaric” is how Winston described the diet of Adolf Hitler. Because Churchill enjoyed the greens, in vivo and at large, and he loved to walk amongst them. And that is why Winston would always would take his walks in the park, in order to enjoy the rejuvenating powers of Nature, the Sunlit park, the fresh air, the constitutional value of the walks, and of course it’s beauty. Truth and Beauty can always be found standing next to Churchill, but history, is a fickle mistress. Because after all, she is not a muse who points the way — rather it is You and I, devoted acolytes — who must do that for all of us.

And at long last after some 90 years of active life, Winston Churchill died quietly during the night, at the time and date of his own “choosing” with all of his plans completed. Even the plans for his own disposition, for his memorial services, and of course for his stately funeral arrangements – were completed and carried out as planned.

By his side he had the Lord’s prayer and was last heard praying:
“O Lord God, when though givest to thy servants to endeavour any great matter, grant us also to know that it is not the beginning, but the continuing of the same unto the end, until it be thoroughly finished, which yieldeth the true glory, through him who for the finishing of they work laid down his life, our Redeemer, Jesus Christ…”

In reality Winston’s death, left a few things undone, and although he agonized about finishing his work until the very last breath – he left a couple of great books unfinished long after he had started them, but although he did not like that, perhaps it was somewhat unintentional…

He had no say in the matter, for he had always loved to write the definitive biography of Julius Caesar, but he hadn’t met the man; so this is what Winston had to say about remedying this situation: “Julius Caesar was surely waiting for him on the other side to tell him his own stories.” This is how Winston joked about leaving behind this massive biographical work barely started and certainly unfinished.

He felt similarly strong, about writing Napoleon Bonaparte’s biography, whose story he had researched fully, and thoroughly, and had even been giving tours of the relief maps of Waterloo to his grandchildren, like yours truly, explaining the vast battle in great and fascinating detail under the true timeline of this great battle.

He wanted to write the definitive story of Napoleon, the Leader, with whom he thought would complete his pantheon of biographies of Great Leaders, as a labor of love, that Winston planned to leave behind, and as part of his legacy because once he was gone, he saw this as a method of instruction to the British and the American Leaders, that were to come after him — so that they could understand both through his Life and through his Writings about Great Leaders, the true lessons for those exercising the Art of Power, the Art of Statesmanship, and the Art of Leadership.

But the “Lord Up Above” managing the affairs of men and and the affairs of time and space — must have laughed at Winston’s plans, and recalled him for the permanent holiday in the Elysium Fields of eternal rest and assured garden leave.

People say, that shortly before taking leave of this world, Sir Winston Churchill, who had lived a very long and illustrious life, was reportedly asked about the state of his soul and he answered thus: “I am perfectly ready,” he said, “to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the ordeal of meeting me is another matter.”

“People go on to say that only someone of the stature of Sir Winston could pull off a piece of effrontery that egregious. And, thank God, there’s probably not much of him in most mortal men.”

Yet, I seriously doubt that this “story” actually transpired, because Winston was far too humble in important matters, to trade witticisms with the Lord above…

Like Rantzinger, Churchill believed that a human being emerges into the light of full reality and truth, upon death. That is when the many masks behind which we have so often sought to hide, can no longer be worn. “Man is what he is in truth. Judgment consists in this removal of the mask in death. The judgment is simply the manifestation of the truth.”

And why should this be? Because each of us is nothing less than a divine work of art, something that God is making. He will not be satisfied until the work achieves a certain perfection. Shaping the soul to conform to the criteria laid down by Christ is not to be taken lightly.

Indeed, when a man leaves behind the company of other men, and walks toward the seat of divine judgment, there to gaze upon the face of the living God, all pretense and falsehood are stripped away. There is no room for maneuver, no way to disguise the weight of what one has done or become. Then the true worth of a man’s deeds, whether empty straw or sold metal, will be shown in an absolutely piercing light, which is God himself.

Life, the poet Keats tells us, is a vale of soul making. A lovely image, it reminds us of the impossibility of escape. That we are here to make our souls pleasing to God. And death, of course, is the final scene we are all destined to play. Whether to say to God, “Thy will be done,” and thus to fall blissfully into his arms. Or God to say to us, “Thy will be done,” and thus to sink us into an everlasting misery — it all depends on our conduct while we were on this Earth doing our thing… unbidden and unheeded of the call of our everlasting soul.

Or in the words of St. Augustine, who, recalling the rapture of the soul seized by God on the far side of death, reminds us of the joys that await those who love God:

“There we shall rest and we shall see;
there we shall see and we shall love.
Behold what shall be in the end and
shall not end.”

And this is how the Guardian described Winston Churchill’s funeral in one of the best pieces ever written about him, especially coming from this left leaning newspaper affiliated with the Labour party:

“Winston Churchill’s funeral”

“The cortege as it makes its way down Whitehall.”

“United once again in common purpose,
United in Sorrow shared by millions”

“As during the greatest years of his life, so at his end Churchill brought together and unified in a common purpose the people of his country, by saying:
“On Saturday we stood, shoulder to shoulder, from Westminster to St Paul’s, from St Paul’s to the Tower of London, along the banks of the Thames, with one mind, united with those millions who quietly watched and listened in their homes – in common sorrow, as the passage of that small, flag-draped coffin through the streets of the capital burnt into the mind a strangely sudden awareness that a great chapter had finally closed.”

“Throngs of mourners line pavements to view Churchill’s funeral, some sleeping overnight to get a good vantage point.”

“As Big Ben struck 9 45 a.m. the first poignant strains of the Funeral March were blown down Whitehall, the blocks of soldiers, sailors, and airmen with arms reversed moved forward and the great procession began its relentless progress to the Cathedral. At the same moment, the white drag-ropes of the gun carriage tightened and Churchill’s body was slowly drawn away from the buildings of the Parliament, he had entered 65 years ago and which he had loved and served so well.”

“As the carriage left New Palace Yard, a single gun fired in St James’s Park; a muffled boom echoed through the hushed streets and along Whitehall all was still but for the measured, deliberate crunch of boots against the road, a steely jingle of harness, and the sad music of the march.
Numb with cold and cut through by the searing wind, the crowd, at no point thick along Whitehall, stood stock still as first the Battle of Britain air-crews, then contingents from the army, the Brigade of Guards in sombre grey greatcoats, the Royal Marines in long, khaki coats and white helmets, the scarlet cloaks and white plumes of the Life Guards, passed slowly by.”

“Members of the public watch the funeral cortege with the three Chiefs of Staff who followed and behind them, alone, Lord Mountbatten, Chief of the Defence Staff. We stood moved by the solemnity of the march forward, by the honour this great military procession was paying to one man. But it was the sight of the four black cushions bearing the decorations Churchill had earned and worn – carried now by four officers of the Queen’s Royal Irish Hussars – and behind them the two banners, one of the Cinque Ports and the other of Spencer-Churchill. fluttering defiantly in the wind, that brought the shock of sorrow, the sharp realisation that Churchill had gone.”

Here is how the BBC and Associated Press describe the funeral ion Sir Winston Churchill in vivid imagery: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQldUeevrQQ

“Soldiers escort the coffin decorated with the Order of the Garter. As the gun carriage, effortlessly drawn by the tight ranks of naval rating sailors, rolled past the Cenotaph, where Churchill had stood on so many occasions behind his Sovereign, there was a flurry of colour along the pavement as random national flags were lowered.”

“National standards were “dipped” ceremoniously, held tight by teary eyed solemn fighters bowing their uncovered heads. These people were individual Citizens who had come from Greece, France, Poland, Norway, Russia, Denmark, Belgium, India, Ireland, Italy, Holland, Spain, Republic of Catalunia, United States of America, Hungary, Chechoslovakia, Australia, New Zealand, Burma, Romania, Free Yugoslavia, and even one rather tall man from Iceland — all carrying old national flags, that had seen plenty of “action” in their respective wars of Liberation and Defiance against the forces of Fascism during the Second World War. These individual soldiers had fought for their country’s Liberation, and in some cases still fought, alongside British forces in the field of honor around the World, to free their countries enslaved behind the Iron Curtain.”

“Yet today, all of them came to say Goodbye to Winston — some free, some slave, because some of their countries are now enslaved under the Communist boot of the Soviet Union, and must hold their Liberty deeply hidden inside their Hearts, as they live their lives in the gray states behind the vast Iron Curtain that divides Europe. This is the fear that they come to assuage and rid themselves of, as they say Goodbye to the most fearless leader amongst all those who have had Liberty and even those who didn’t. Today on this wintry day, these colourful banners, were carried by these solemn men who had fought in their national resistance movements, and in many foreign battlefields alongside the British forces — and now “dipped” their honour as they lowered their flags out of respect for the ‘Man of the Hour’ and the ‘Man of the Century” — the most important Man of the World during the last Century — Winston Churchill, whose mortal coil was now passing in front of them. They all teared up, as Winston’s coffin was rolling by, laid atop the gun carriage, and draped with the flag. It was at this passing moment that these foreign flags held by hatless soldiers of Freedom and Democracy, steadfast friends of Great Britain and all that it stands for — were lowered low, in honour and respect of the Great Leader past.”

“The coffin, with the black cushion bearing the emblems of the Order of the Garter, high on the heavy, grey gun carriage, seemed an incredibly small centre for this great procession, so much smaller than the man who had so often stumped the pavements of Whitehall with a dogged, determined gait between Downing Street and Parliament, and into the various Ministries which at one time or another he had ruled.”

“The funeral cortege on The Strand, with members of the family following. The men and the boys of the Churchill family followed on foot, all but one boy in black silk hats. Randolph the son, and Winston, the grandson, walked side by side ahead of the others. Lady Churchill and her two daughters followed in the first of the six horse-drawn coaches, obscured from sight in the dark interior; but their coachmen wore scarlet coats. Every minute the sound of the steady same gunfire volleys was added to the strains of the funeral marches, the tread of slow-marching feet, the clatter of hooves, and the roll of the carriage wheels; sounds which moved along the Strand, Fleet Street, Ludgate Hill, and ceased only when the gun carriage drew up outside the great west door of St Paul’s cathedral. There, the crowds were immense, pressed tight and packed high on boxes and ladders in the side streets and thousands could gain but a glimpse of the plumes and the procession, the cortege, the gun carriage, the headdresses of the riders, and the coffin.”

“The coffin was carried up the steps of St Paul’s Cathedral, and after a solemn ceremony, presided by the Archbishop of Canterbury, by one o’clock, the great State funeral was over, the Kings and Queens, Presidents and Prime Ministers, the generals and Politicians, and all the Leaders from the world over, had paid their respects, and given their thanks in the cathedral service, and upwards of 7,000 armed services men had lived their part in the nation’s last honour to the greatest leader amongst its wartime fighters, with more than a million people lining the streets of London to pay their respects too. Queen Elizabeth II stood with all the other dignitaries on the steps as the casket of Winston Churchill left the Cathedral of St Paul.”

The body of Winston Churchill was brought aboard the Thames river barge christened “Havengore” and sailed down the river towards festival pier.

The funeral barge carrying the coffin moves into mid-stream off Tower Pier, London, for the journey up the Thames to Festival Hall Pier and Waterloo Station. Look at the cranes lowering their long ‘necks’ to the fallen leader, sailing past them for the last time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=6kPrTWsotlg

After disembarkation at the Festival Pier, it was an ordinary black Princess hearse that received Winston’s body and drove into the central carriageway of Waterloo Station at 1 23 p.m., unescorted by soldiers or police, and followed only by the large limousines with the members of the Churchill family.

Waiting, there, were 10 men from the Queen’s Royal Irish hussars, bareheaded and rigid, who, shoulder to shoulder, sidestepped up to the door of the hearse, as it halted beyond them.

Lady Clementine Churchill, was escorted on the arm of her son Randolph as they followed the coffin. With movements precise as clockwork they lifted the coffin, still draped with the Union Flag, and carrying the emblems of the Garter, and step by step bore it on their shoulders through the wide railway-van doors, placing it gently on a catafalque built inside. Motionless, holding the arm of her son, her eyes never leaving the progress of the coffin, Lady Churchill stood and watched. Behind her were the other members of Sir Winston’s family, bearing the unmistakable Churchill profile.

The crowds had been kept away: the platform was deserted, but for a few railway porters and the soldiers. The van doors were closed, the family entered the train, the guard waved his flag, and with a whistle and a belch of steam, the Battle of Britain class locomotive “Winston Churchill” moved forward. It is significant that the train Winston’s body left Waterloo Station, commemorating the great battle that Winston Churchill had always said so much about. As he left now for the last time this station of Waterloo, the Station Master stood to attention. And as the Pullman coaches pulled out, the station-master took off his silk hat, and the porters removed their caps, as two Guards officers stood at the salute – until the last carriage had disappeared from sight.

This was London’s last salute to Churchill.

That was of course not the end of the line for Winston Churchill who will always live in our Hearts and in our Minds, as a guiding light for Democracy, for Liberty, and for the Rights of Man.

Truly very few Men have received such blessing from History as Winston Churchill did, and in retrospect we all can agree that Winston Churchill will always be honoured and remembered as a Great Statesman — but amongst those who knew him — he will similarly be cherished and respected as the Finest Leader of men of his generation.

Hey there Winnie — May You rest in Peace…

THE END

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Epilogue:

Securing the Future of the Republic
If there is one thing today that President Trump gets right it is that the last few Presidents of the US will be remembered as weak, especially Bush, Clinton, Cheney Bush, and Obama, who were all pathologically weak Presidents due to ingrained personal weaknesses, character flaws, & addictions.

It’s no secret that they all suffered from an obsessive desire to being liked, and that caused them to always be speaking, deciding, & behaving in a manner construed to make them likable. They all looked at polls obsessively, before making major decisions, and today in retrospect, we can see the massive flaws in all that wavering and wasting, over.

However in clear contrast to that line of weaklings, President Trump not only does not make an effort to be likable, but seems like he does not even care why one should be likable, or behave in a manner that will make him likable to a wide swath of population.

He simply doesn’t give a rat’s ass about this whole Political Correctness thing, and that makes him a real Leader, walking alone ahead of everyone else, unapologetic, and strong, like the Alpha male of the species that he truly represents.

He is one of us and yet stands taller above us…

And that’s a gift that he alone has…

A gift that makes him clearly different from his predecessors. A gift that could help America become the World Leader all over again, because Trump can clearly choose his path and he can play this country’s course by keeping his own counsel, and doing what’s best for the Republic without falling victim to the PC brigades, or to the Cultural Marxist troops occupying the ramparts of our Culture during these topsy turvy times.

Securing the Present of the Republic is the most vital mission today…

The main contributors to the recent past Presidents’ international failure and general source of weakness, the likes of Carter, Bush, Clinton, Bush, and Obama, exhibited as their main failure point, was their unwillingness to lead with our core principles upfront. And that is what has put America’s subsequent administrative foreign policies on a path to repeating Obama’s isolationist, & debilitating foreign policy. That of course is changing, but is it changing fast enough? Because that’s another thing that Trump gets right: The urgency of now. And he fully gets it, that we cannot afford to wait another moment, let alone another four years of that malaise. And that is why he fired all the ambassadors and all the foreign consuls of the deeply rotten and from the Obama-Clinton corrupted State Department, as his first order of business.

Time is not our friend here… and we have to make haste…

“Securing the Republic”

“The liberal appropriations made by the Legislature of Kentucky for a general system of Education cannot be too much applauded. A popular Government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy; or, perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance: And a people who mean to be their own Governors, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.
I have always felt a more than ordinary interest in the destinies of Kentucky. Among her earliest settlers were some of my particular friends and Neighbors. And I was myself among the foremost advocates for submitting to the Will of the “District” the question and the time of its becoming a separate member of the American family. Its rapid growth & signal prosperity in this character have afforded me much pleasure; which is not a little enhanced by the enlightened patriotism which is now providing for the State a Plan of Education embracing every class of Citizens, and every grade & department of Knowledge. No error is more certain than the one proceeding from a hasty and superficial view of the subject: that the people at large have no interest in the establishment of Academies, Colleges, and Universities, where a few only, and those not of the poorer classes can obtain for their sons the advantages of superior education. It is thought to be unjust that all should be taxed for the benefit of a part, and that too the part least needing it.
If provision were not made at the same time for every part, the objection would be a natural one. But, besides the consideration when the higher Seminaries belong to a plan of general education, that it is better for the poorer classes to have the aid of the richer by a general tax on property, than that every parent should provide at his own expense for the education of his children, it is certain that every Class is interested in establishments which give to the human mind its highest improvements, and to every Country its truest and most durable celebrity.
Learned Institutions ought to be favorite objects with every free people. They throw that light over the public mind which is the best security against crafty and dangerous encroachments on the public liberty. They are the nurseries of skilful Teachers for the schools distributed throughout the Community. They are themselves schools for the particular talents required for some of the Public Trusts, on the able execution of which the welfare of the people depends. They multiply the educated individuals from among whom the people may elect a due portion of their public Agents of every description; more especially of those who are to frame the laws; by the perspicuity, the consistency, and the stability, as well as by the just & equal spirit of which the great social purposes are to be answered.
Without such Institutions, the more costly of which can scarcely be provided by individual means, none but the few whose wealth enables them to support their sons abroad can give them the fullest education; and in proportion as this is done, the influence is monopolized which superior information every where possesses. At cheaper & nearer seats of Learning parents with slender incomes may place their sons in a course of education putting them on a level with the sons of the Richest. Whilst those who are without property, or with but little, must be peculiarly interested in a System which unites with the more Learned Institutions, a provision for diffusing through the entire Society the education needed for the common purposes of life. A system comprising the Learned Institutions may be still further recommended to the more indigent class of Citizens by such an arrangement as was reported to the General Assembly of Virginia, in the year 1779, by a Committee, appointed to revise laws in order to adapt them to the genius of Republican Government. It made part of a “Bill for the more general diffusion of knowledge” that wherever a youth was ascertained to possess talents meriting an education which his parents could not afford, he should be carried forward at the public expence, from seminary to seminary, to the completion of his studies at the highest.
But why should it be necessary in this case, to distinguish the Society into classes according to their property? When it is considered that the establishment and endowment of Academies, Colleges, and Universities are a provision, not merely for the existing generation, but for succeeding ones also; that in Governments like ours a constant rotation of property results from the free scope to industry, and from the laws of inheritance, and when it is considered moreover, how much of the exertions and privations of all are meant not for themselves, but for their posterity, there can be little ground for objections from any class, to plans of which every class must have its turn of benefits. The rich man, when contributing to a permanent plan for the education of the poor, ought to reflect [Volume 1, Page 691] that he is providing for that of his own descendants; and the poor man who concurs in a provision for those who are not poor that at no distant day it may be enjoyed by descendants from himself. It does not require a long life to witness these vicissitudes of fortune.
It is among the happy peculiarities of our Union, that the States composing it derive from their relation to each other and to the whole, a salutary emulation, without the enmity involved in competitions among States alien to each other. This emulation, we may perceive, is not without its influence in several important respects; and in none ought it to be more felt than in the merit of diffusing the light and the advantages of Public Instruction. In the example therefore which Kentucky is presenting, she not only consults her own welfare, but is giving an impulse to any of her sisters who may be behind her in the noble career.
Throughout the Civilized World, nations are courting the praise of fostering Science and the useful Arts, and are opening their eyes to the principles and the blessings of Representative Government. The American people owe it to themselves, and to the cause of free Government, to prove by their establishments for the advancement and diffusion of Knowledge, that their political Institutions, which are attracting observation from every quarter, and are respected as Models, by the new-born States in our own Hemisphere, are as favorable to the intellectual and moral improvement of Man as they are conformable to his individual & social Rights. What spectacle can be more edifying or more seasonable, than that of Liberty & Learning, each leaning on the other for their mutual and surest support?
The Committee, of which your name is the first, have taken a very judicious course in endeavouring to avail Kentucky of the experience of elder States, in modifying her Schools. I enclose extracts from the laws of Virginia on that subject; though I presume they will give little aid; the less as they have as yet been imperfectly carried into execution. The States where such systems have been long in operation will furnish much better answers to many of the enquiries stated in your Circular. But after all, such is the diversity of local circumstances, more particularly as the population varies in density & sparseness, that the details suited to some may be little so to others. As the population however, is becoming less & less sparse, and it will be well in laying the foundation of a Good System, to have a view to this progressive change, much attention seems due to examples in the Eastern States, where the people are most compact, & where there has been the longest experience in plans of popular education.
I know not that I can offer on the occasion any suggestions not likely to occur to the Committee. Were I to hazard one, it would be in favour of adding to Reading, Writing, & Arithmetic, to which the instruction of the poor, is commonly limited, some knowledge of Geography; such as can easily be conveyed by a Globe & Maps, and a concise Geographical Grammar. And how easily & quickly might a general idea even, be conveyed of the Solar System, by the aid of a Planetarium of the Cheapest construction. No information seems better calculated to expand the mind and gratify curiosity than what would thus be imparted. This is especially the case, with what relates to the Globe we inhabit, the Nations among which it is divided, and the characters and customs which distinguish them. An acquaintance with foreign Countries in this mode, has a kindred effect with that of seeing them as travellers, which never fails, in uncorrupted minds, to weaken local prejudices, and enlarge the sphere of benevolent feelings. A knowledge of the Globe & its various inhabitants, however slight, might moreover, create a taste for Books of Travels and Voyages; out of which might grow a general taste for History, an inexhaustible fund of entertainment & instruction. Any reading not of a vicious species must be a good substitute for the amusements too apt to fill up the leisure of the labouring classes.”

–Thomas Jefferson — 4 Aug 1822

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CREDITS

Winston Churchill stands out as a titan among his fellow men.

Consequently his mistakes and triumphs are often intermingled on a grandiose scale, and his personality seldom fails to draw a challenge. As a statesman he moved through four decades of tumultuous events before he reached the grand climax of his life. But in retrospect his political misfortunes seem providential, for without them he might not have been set apart, or ‘spared’, as Mr Attlee once put it, to lead his country in the stirring days of the war years of the 1940s.

Acknowledgments are made to the following writers and publishers for some of the selections of their works that were reprinted in this book and to all the others who have not been selected nor singled out here below.

Thank you to one and all and especially to old grandpa Winnie for his lucid and prolific writings.

Here below follows a List of Names of Grateful Acknowledgments for the many, writers, journalists, and publishers whose Thanks is warranteed by virtue of their contributions to this book, and also a great Thanks to the other many unmentioned and unknown contributors to this work, because all words have been written at some point of another and we are shamelessly using them all over again.

As this earth does not produce any fresh atoms and we are constantly in need of recycling the existing ones — so it is wit books. We recycle words and thoughts, and ideas and streams of consciousness and we rearrange things n a way to present the song of Life n a new way.

So here are some of the most valuable Books, Newspapers, Magazines, and Personal Accounts that comprise this work like a great Collage: The Times, The Guardian, The New York Times, The Free World, The London Times, The Evening Times, The Punch, The Observer, The Guardian, The Evening Standard, and all the Hansards of the Houses of Parliament, that reported dutifully all the speeches of Winston Churchill, and all his Policy initiatives and all the votes in the House of Commons, during all of his long yeas in Parliamentary service.
People: Winston Churchill, Randolph Churchill, Lord BeaverBrook. The Churchill family. Virginia Cowles. Dimitra Crocou. Randolph Churchill.
Books: Winston Churchill all of his books, and the six volume History of the Second World War, and all of his biographies. The Malakand Force, by Winston Churchill. Triumph and Tragedy: The Second World War by Winston Churchill. Lord Curzon, the Last Phase, by Harold Nicolson. The Aftermath, by Winston Churchill. Churchill by Virginia Cowles. Lays of Ancient Rome, by Thomas Babington Macaulay. The Ecclesiastical History of the English People, by Bede (AD 731). History of the Second World War, by Winston Churchill (Six volumes). A History of the English speaking Peoples by Winston Churchill (Four volumes). The History of the decline and fall of the Roman empire, by Edward Gibbon. War Diary by Lord Riddell. Odhams Press, Ltd: Lord Randolph Churchill by Winston S. Churchill. P. Putnam’s Sons: Great Contemporaries by Winston S. Churchill. Anglo-American Memories by George Smalley. Charles Scribner’s Sons: The Aftermath by Winston S. Churchill. Amid These Storms by Winston S. Churchill. Thoughts and Adventures. Marlborough by Winston S. Churchill. A Roving Commission by Winston S. Churchill. My Early Life. The World Crisis by Winston S. Churchill. Fighting in Flanders by E. Alexander Powell. Christophers Ltd: Incidents and Reflections by J. B. Atkins. History of England: Lord Macaulay. The Life of Marlborough: Winston Churchill. J. ML Dent & Sons, Ltd. Certain People of Importance. Pillars of Society and Prophets, Priests and Kings by A. C. Gardiner.
Doubleday & Company, Inc: Life of Lord Fisher by R. H. Bacon.
Politicians and the War by Lord Beaverbrook. Five pillars of Wisdom.
Harcourt, Brace & Company, Inc; The Economic Consequences of Mr
Churchill by J. M. Keynes. Intimate Diary of the Peace Conference and
Afterwards by Lord Riddell. Henry Holt & Company, Inc: A Shropshire Lad by A. E. Housman. Houghton Mifflin Company: The Second World War by Winston S. Churchill. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc: My Diaries by Wilfrid Scawen. Blunt Little, Brown & Company and Lord Beaverbrook: War Memoirs of David Lloyd George, by David Lloyd George. Little, Brown & Company: Memories and Reflections by the Earl of Oxford and Asquith.
Longmans, Green & Company, Inc: Our Partnership by Beatrice Webb.
William Morrow & Company: Life’s Ebb and Flow by Frances, Countess
of Warwick. Nicholson & Watson, Ltd: C. F. G. Masterman by Lucy Masterman.