Churchill’s genius

SIR – Every great man has flaws; and it is true that General Sir Alan Brooke found Churchill exasperating much of the time (Letters, January 16).

But for all Churchill’s faults, Brooke would not have wanted any other man as our wartime leader. As he himself so succinctly put it: “It is surprising how he maintains a light-hearted exterior in spite of the vast burden he is bearing. He is quite the most wonderful man I have ever met, and is a source of never-ending interest … Occasionally such human beings make their appearance on this earth – human beings who stand out head and shoulders above all others.”

Darkest Hour does not shy away from Churchill’s faults, but Gary Oldman’s performance captures the essence of his genius in his ability to stir a sense of pride in an otherwise demoralised people. It is that sense of pride that stirs modern cinema audiences to applaud in the same way that Britons did in 1940. Nicholas Young

London W13

SIR – Churchill’s famous “The Few” speech originally went: “Never in the history of mankind have so many owed so much to so few.”

He was rehearsing the speech with Major General Ismay “Pug” Hastings, who challenged: “What about Jesus and his disciples?”

“Good old Pug,” said Churchill, who immediately changed the wording to “Never in the field of human conflict…” Brian Foster

Shrivenham, Oxfordshire