Hero in this household

“Sir Winston Churchill was a hero in at least one Dundee household,” writes a Craigie regular. “My Tory father placed a bust of the great man on top of our radio and gazed at the wartime leader as he listened to his speeches.

“But it was not always thus. Dad had begun his voting life backing the Labour party, then, as a teetotaller and a supporter of prohibition, he campaigned to put Dundee’s Eddy Scrymgeour into parliament when, much to Churchill’s annoyance, Scrymgeour defeated Winston himself in the process. Churchill apparently never forgave Dundee or The Courier owners, with whom he had his differences, for that.

“In Churchill’s defence, he took very ill during the campaign and was unable to give of his best.

“Dad turned Tory in the 1930s when a Labour council made life difficult for him as a grocer with higher rates and rent. Meanwhile, Uncle Dave had turned Communist and the two had some real ding-dong battles over the years.

“By the way, my reading of Churchill’s life and works has led me to the conclusion that he was a compassionate man. Was he not instrumental in bringing in the first old-age pensions?”