Letters to Ann

Dear Ann,

When my friend Cheryl rang one morning to say the movie ‘Churchill’ was on at one of our local cinemas, stating that as a prelude the cinema was putting on a special morning tea & asked if I would like to go, my immediate answer was “yes.” I was all for it.

Before long she came to collect me with Sandra already in the car. Sure enough, when we arrived at the cinema, coffee, tea & cake was all set out for us. What a nice prelude to the film.

I didn’t even know ‘Churchill’ was being shown, but then I don’t watch out for what’s coming in the movie world, I leave that to Cheryl.

I certainly did know who Churchill was. He was England’s famous Prime Minister during World War II & noted for his greatness. Not only that, but during his young life he was an army officer in Great Britain where he saw action in a number of wars, British India, Anglo Saxon War, the Second Boer War & World War I.

He gained fame as a War Correspondent & wrote books about his campaigns for which he was noted. He was awarded the Nobel Prize. He was also nick named the ‘British Bulldog’.

Churchill warned England about Nazi Germany & what would happen.  So at the outbreak of World War II he was again appointed as First Lord of Admiralty. He also warned of an Iron Curtain of Soviet & influenced & promoted a European Unity. He was a great man & a very important one in that war.

I think I remember him on air during the war, making some of his speeches & how strong & inspiring he sounded. I do clearly remember all of us children in our family had to be very quiet when the five o’clock news came on air during the war. Dad would not allow any of us to speak!

So when this film was about to be shown I thought it may have been about Churchill’s colourful life, but it was totally about the retreat of our allies from Dunkirk. None of my age would forget that event in history.

When the film commenced Churchill was getting dressed for a secret meeting with President Eisenhower at a secret venue. There were very few others there. The discussion was all about the planned retreat from Dunkirk & Churchill was dead against it, stating that it would cost the lives of too many men, which he was deeply upset about & showed it.

He was very brusque & to the point & even though the President & those with him tried to influence Churchill that wars had changed since World War I that Churchill was involved in, but no amount of talking would change his opinion & he walked off appearing very rude.

This was the theme throughout the film as Britain’s allies tried to convince him on many occasions, but he was adamant & would not listen. All sorts of aspects came into it, including the weather, but Churchill stood his ground.

Then something happened. In one particular scene he was so blunt & rude to his wife that she slapped him hard across the face making a remark about the amount of whisky he drank. It was time he started to think as others did about Dunkirk.

This action seemed to have more effect on him than anything President Eisenhower & his men could do, or even his own advisors, but still Churchill was adamant in the fact that it was all wrong & too many men would get killed. He had to agree with his allies as he was to give a rousing speech on air before the event.

The other leaders were adamant too that it was going to happen & right up to the very last Churchill was the only one against it. However just before it all happened, I think it was his wife slapping him that woke him up, but he even tried to kneel down & pray & even put his glass of whisky down untouched.

Then he did a marvellous thing. When it came time for his broadcast & his rousing inspiring speech he had changed his mind & did what everyone thought was right. He gave the inspiring broadcast particularly for those who were taking part in Dunkirk & the drama was all over. And we all know the story of that memorable event in history.

That film affected the three of us, but particularly me as I am thirteen years older than Sandra (who hails from Scotland) & more than twenty years older than Cheryl, so the whole thing was probably more real to me as I realise the war affected me very deeply.

I was rather quiet on the way home from the cinema. We were coming back to my place so that I could take some puddings off the stove & hang them before I put another lot on. It’s Christmas pudding time for me.

When we got home & I was doing this we were still talking about the film & how good the acting was. It was superb in every respect & depicted so very real that I started to explain where I was & how I felt when it was announced on air that ‘World War II is over’.

At that time we lived in the back of beyond with no neighbours whatsoever. It was a place where only fishermen went. Don’t ask me why Dad decided we should live there for a couple of years, it was just us, family.

It was in that insignificant little home that I heard the news. I couldn’t speak when I heard it & went into a front bedrooom overlooking the bush & the creek while tears rolled down my cheeks. All I kept thinking was ‘the war is over, it’s over at last.’  I will never forget the emotion I felt that day.

I was relating this to my friends as I ‘puddinged away & burst into tears again, which I don’t think I have done for the past fifteen years as it takes a lot for me to really shed tears these days. Churchill was a great film & Churchill was, in his time, known as a great man, particularly remembered in that war.

He was held in high esteem & Knighted by our reigning monarch to became Sir Winston Churchill. He retired as Prime Minister (second time round) in 1953 due to illness & passed away in 1965. The United Kingdom gave him a State funeral, which saw the largest assembly of world Statesmen in history.

He was also granted the honour of being one of only eight people in the world to be given the honour of being an honorary citizen of the United States of America.

If ever this film comes your way, go & see it as it is a true story of a truly great man even if he was known as a British Bulldog!!

Loads of love, Dawn X O X O