the. day -1 met
by Sir Winston Churchill
On the eve of his SSth birthday, the
man who rallied Britain during the
darkest days of World War If recalls
one of his greatest moments
The morning of the 10th of May (1940) dawned,
and with it came tremendous news. Boxes with
telegrams poured in from the Admiralty, the War
Office, and the Foreign Office. The Germans had
struck their long-awaited blow. Holland and Bel
gium were both invaded. Their frontiers had been
crossed at numerous points. The whole movement
of the German Army upon the invasion of the Low
Countries and of France had begun.
Chamberlain (the Prime Minister) was inclined
to feel that the great battle which had broken upon
us made it necessary for him to remain at his post,
but the new crisis made it all the more necessary to
have a National Government, which alone could
confront it, and Mr. Chamberlain had accepted this
view.
At 11 o'clock I was again summoned to Downing
Street by the Prime Minister. There once more I
found Lord Halifax. We took our seats at the
table opposite Mr. Chamberlain. He told us that he
was satisfied that it was beyond his power to form
a National Government. The response he had re
ceived from the Labour leaders left him in no
doubt of this. The question, therefore, was whom
he should advise the King to send for after his
own resignation had been accepted. His demeanour
was cool, unruffled, and seemingly quite detached .
from the personal aspect of the affair.
I have had many important interviews in my
public life, and this was certainly the most im
portant Usually I talked a great deal, but on this
occasion I was silent As I remained silent, a very
long pause ensued. It certainly seemed longer than
the two minutes which one observes in the com
memorations of Armistice Day. Then, at length,
Halifax spoke. He said that he felt that his position
as a peer, out of the House of Commons, would
make it very difficult for him to discharge the
duties of Prime Minister in a war like this. He
spoke for some minutes in this sense, and by the
time he had finished it was clear that the duty
would fall upon me had in fact fallen upon me.
Presently a message arrived summoning me to
the Palace at 6 o'clock. I was taken immediately to
the King. His Majesty received me most graciously
and bade me sit down. He looked at me searchingly
(Excerpted from "Memoirs of the Second World
War" by Winston S. Churchill, Copyright 1959, by
permission of the publisher, Houghton Mifflin Co.,
Boston, Mass.)
and quizzically for some moments, and then said,
"I suppose you don't know why I have sent for
you?" Adopting his mood, I replied, "Sir, I simply
couldn't imagine why." He laughed and said, "I
want to ask you to form a Government." I said I
would certainly do so.
During those last crowded days of the political
crisis, my pulse had not quickened at any moment.
I took it all as it came. But I cannot conceal from
the reader of this truthful account that, as I went
to bed at about 3 a.m., I was conscious of a pro
found sense of relief. At last I had the authority to
give directions over the whole scene. I felt as if I
were walking with destiny, and that all my past
life had been but a preparation for this hour and
for this trial.
On Monday, May 13, 1940, 1 asked the House of
Commons, which had been specially summoned,
for a vote of confidence in the new Administration.
After reporting the progress which had been made
in filling the various offices, I said:
"I would say to the House as I have said to
those who have joined this Government : 'I have
nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat.'
We have liefore us an ordeal of the most grievous
kind. We have before us many, many long
months of struggle and of suffering. You ask,
what is our policy? I will say: It is to wage war by
sea, land, and air, with all the strength that Cod
can give us; to wage war against a monstrous
tyranny, never surpassed in the dark, lamentable
catalogue of human crime. That is our policy.
You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one
word: it is victory, victory at all costs, victory in
spite of all terror, victory however long and hard
the road may be; for without victory there is no
survival. But I take up my task with buoyancy '
and hope. I feel 'sure that our cause will not be'
suffered to fail among men. At this time I feel
entitled to claim the aid of all, and I say: Come,
then, let us go forward together with our united
strength."'
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Cover:
The attractive young star on today's cover
is Carroll Baker, a lady with a mind of her
own and a talent to match it See "Carroll
Baker Fights Her Way" on page 18.
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