Churchill Society of North Carolina

Reflections

December 16 , 2008

The Churchill Society of North Carolina invites comments from our members and readers. Please send your comments to dcraighorn@churchillsocietyofnorthcarolina.org.

Why An Organization Dedicated to the Remembrance of Sir Winston Churchill

On January 29th, 1965, Ambassador Adlai E. Stevenson, U.S. Representative to the United Nations, at the memorial services for Sir Winston Churchill, held at National Cathedral, Washington, D.C., said,

“…in contemplating the life and spirit of Winston Churchill, regrets for the past seem singularly insufficient. One rather feels a sense of thankfulness and encouragement that throughout so long a life, so full of power, virtuosity, his mastery and zest played over our human scene. “Contemplating this completed career, we feel a sense of enlargement and exhilaration. Like the grandeur and power of the masterpiece of art or music, Churchill’s life uplifts our hearts and fills us with fresh revelation of the scale and reach of human achievement. We may be sad, but we rejoice as well, as all must rejoice when they ‘now praise famous men’ and see in their lives the full splendor of our human estate.”

Is it little wonder that those of us who cherish and protect his image and heritage think and feel that it is our duty, opportunity and responsibility to persevere and share with others the wonderment of this great man’s life, literature, accomplishments, failures and values? We are especially anxious to share this heritage with the young people. For it seems to us that the study of Sir Winston Churchill supplies lesson after lesson on the why, what and when of human life.

Many of us have been students of this great man for most of our lives and have read the most famous biographies, large and small. Over those many years most of us felt that emotion which can only be described as “Great Fun.” Such a long life and such a varied and full life generates ample opportunity to smile, to weep, to be brought to anger and sadness, and to be raised on the highest peak of exhilaration. We think the study of Churchill’s life, literature, orations and paintings feeds the lust for knowledge of most students. It is difficult to find another single individual in this or the last century who has addressed in some fashion the fields of history, oratory, leadership, politics, biography, military strategy, philosophy, painting and life in general.

No one has done a better job than Sir Anthony Eden of encapsulating the essence of Sir Winston Churchill and his life when he wrote in the forward of Elizabeth Langford’s book, WINSTON CHURCHILL, in 1974, the following: “Statesman, warrior, writer and painter. His genius has few parallels ever. These gifts, expressed with such tenacity and courage, made his leadership unique in quality and strength.”

We are therefore attempting to bring together in an organized fashion those of us who are now interested, and those who never really considered spending much time thinking about Sir Winston Churchill. We are hoping that the spirit of Sir Winston Churchill will permeate the life and thoughts of many individuals across this State of North Carolina.

A. Wendell Musser, M.D.

On November 12, 1940, Winston Churchill was speaking in the House of Commons on the death of his personal friend and political adversary, Neville Chamberlain, whom he had fought because he was wrong, but never insincere.

“The only guide to a man is his conscience,
The only shield to his memory is the rectitude and sincerity of his actions.
It is very imprudent to walk through life without this shield,
Because we are so often mocked by the failure of our hopes;
But with this shield,
However the fates may play
We march in the ranks of honour.”