The film that the Government needs to see
sir – We went to see the film Darkest Hour, about Winston Churchill. The cinema was packed and, at the end, many in the audience applauded.
I wonder if they were showing appreciation of a good film, or whether was it the Dunkirk spirit. My gut feeling says the latter. If I am right, then the sooner the Prime Minister and her Government go to see the film the better.
David Cowgill
Knutsford, Cheshire
sir – Among all the Churchill revisionism, an insight into his character that may have been overlooked can be found in Brian Lavery’s book, Churchill Goes to War (2007).
General Sir Alan Brooke, Chief of the Imperial General Staff, wrote of his leader in September 1944: “He knows no details, has only got half the picture in his mind, talks absurdities, and makes my blood boil to listen to his nonsense. I find it hard to remain civil. And the wonderful thing is that three quarters of the population of the world imagine that Winston Churchill is one of the Strategists of History, a second Marlborough, and the other quarter have no conception of what a public menace he is and has been throughout this war”.
We all know about Churchill’s achievements, but Lavery’s book tells us more about his drinking, his moodiness and his addiction to adventure and danger. For any lesser man, Brooke’s words might have been damning – but with Churchill they just seem to add to the humanness.
Charles Russam
Hanslope, Buckinghamshire