CHURCHILL’S ENDURING LESSONS
HOUSTON DESCENDANT SHEDS LIGHT ON WHY HE STILL RESONATES
THOUGH to is that hip say the in that storied 2017, it Winston might it’s British certainly be Churchill too prime much true is having a moment. minister who died 52 years ago The famed leader is the subject of two movies this year, including “Darkest Hour,” opening Friday in Houston, in which Gary Oldman gives the kind of performance as the World War II big man with the plan that grabs the attention of Oscar voters. This comes six months after the release of “Churchill,” starring Brian Cox. These follow on the heels of British TV movie “Churchill’s Secret,” which aired on PBS last year. Meanwhile, in the publishing world, books about Churchill, such as last year’s best-selling “Hero of the Empire,” are a cottage industry.
All of this attention makes at least one Houstonian very happy.
Jonathan Sandys is Churchill’s great-grandson and a one-man cheerleader for the so-called British Bulldog. In addition to telling anyone within earshot about Churchill’s legacy, Sandys — who maintains his day job in furniture sales — is an author and motivational speaker who runs Lead Like Churchill (leadlikechurchill.org), a leadership course that aims to show students how they can be more like Greatgranddad.
“Darkest Hour” covers Churchill’s assumption of power and the difficult days that followed when it seemed as if England might succumb to a German assault.
“People are realizing that we need Churchill’s leadership,” Sandys said during an interview on why Churchill suddenly seems to be everywhere. “This world is again facing a crisis … . We need that sort of courage, that sort of faith, that sort of integrity.” Left, right or something else?
With his upper-crust English accent and Union Jack socks, Sandys — whose name is pronounced “Sands” — has been waving the Churchill banner on these shores since arriving in the U.S. from London nine years ago, meeting his Pasadena-born wife, Sara, and settling down in Houston.
“I was sort of semi living here already. I used to fly back and forth to do speeches, ever since 2005,” said Sandys, 42, who remains a British citizen. “That’s when I really started my career as a public speaker.”
Since coming to the U.S. full time, he’s published his book, “God and Churchill: How the Great Leader’s Sense of Divine Destiny Changed His Troubled World and Offers Hope to Ours,” declaring that his greatgrandfather was more influenced by religion than some had thought.
Sandys has also been featured on many conservative and Christian media outlets such as The Daily Caller and Bible Gateway. But he says he thinks Churchill’s message of determination over difficulty has as much to offer liberals as conservatives.
“It resonates with openminded people,” he said. “People who recognize the fact that one person can make a difference, and are willing to stand for honesty, are willing to actually stand for courage … . Sure, it’s always said that Churchill appeals to the conservative, but I’m not looking just to speak to conservatives … . In 1940, when he became prime minister, he formed a coalition government, incidentally of his own choice. The king did not require him to form a coalition government. He chose to form (one) and bring those adversaries of his together because he recognized that everybody had skin in this game.”
Given that perspective, it seems fitting to ask Sandys what Churchill would have thought of President Donald Trump, whom some call “The Great Divider.”
“Churchill sought to work with people, not against them. He wouldn’t insult someone for the sake of insulting them,” Sandys said. “Churchill sought peace, and being peaceful involves actually going out there and looking at something from somebody else’s point of view. You saw it when Her Majesty became the queen. She was a very, very young queen. She knew a bit about how to be queen from her father. But she needed Winston Churchill and his experience to really animate her reign, and to really teach her everything she needed to know … . I believe Churchill would be a positive influence on Donald Trump … . I can’t say how he’d like Trump or dislike Trump, but I do know that he would work with anyone who was in the White House because the relationship between Britain and America is much more important than mere politics.” Educational emotion
Today, Sandys is not just an authority on Churchill but movies about the prime minister as well. His favorite faux Churchill is Albert Finney in 2002’s “The Gathering Storm.” And he didn’t much care for this year’s “Churchill,” despite the good performances, because of historical inaccuracies.
“Darkest Hour,” on the other hand, strikes just the right balance between acting and accuracy for him.
“I think Gary Oldman did a really great job,” Sandys said. “You see, the role of Winston Churchill is much more than just imitating Winston Churchill, it’s about embodying Winston Churchill … . ‘Darkest Hour’ sticks to the truth while incorporating various things that happened around that time … while keeping the time line absolutely accurate.”
For all of his Churchill knowledge, Sandys says he grew up with only a rudimentary awareness of who Winston Churchill was. He didn’t begin delving into Churchill’s life and work until his teenage years.
“My father told us a few stories and things, but we didn’t really talk about him that much,” he says. “One of my teachers came into the dining room (at school) and started shouting at me for the bombing of Coventry. I looked at him, said, ‘Sir, I’m sorry, but first of all, I don’t even know where Coventry is. And secondly, I’ve never played with explosives.’ He said, ‘Not you. Your greatgrandfather.’ I said, ‘Who?’ He said, ‘Winston Churchill.’ I said, ‘Oh, OK.’ ”
After that, Sandys was inspired to learn more about his famous ancestor. “(The teacher) is accusing my greatgrandfather of doing this. Maybe I should go and find out. So I went to the library because, obviously in those days, you didn’t have the internet.”
He found information that said his teacher was ill-informed and told him so — and it didn’t go well. “When a teacher is proved wrong, they tend to get offended,” Sandys says.
More recently, Sandys said that he was the victim of online misinformation that claimed he was in favor of Texas secession. He says his words were taken out of context. And he thinks that Churchill would have been against both Brexit and Scottish independence. “Churchill was a very uniting figure,” he said. “Certainly with regards to Texas and things like that, I believe that Churchill would want to unite.”
Speaking of Texas, Sandys says there were many things he had to get used to after moving here.
“Your driving. You guys have no idea what an indicator is,” he said, with a laugh. “People thought that I would hate the summers here, but I often say to people, ‘If you dislike the summer in Texas because you find it too hot, I challenge you to go and spend six months in Britain during the summer …’ . If we’re lucky, the sun shines, but it’s very, very cold.” cary.darling@chron.com