I WAS never a great supporter of Churchill, but I do recognise him as a great statesman, not as Reginald Kirby, (Letters, May 9), does with an obvious amount of spite for some reason.
Let me put him straight on one or two items. He mentions that the picture of him was in an Air Marshal's uniform sporting pilots wings, calling these a misdemeanour. He had a right to wear the uniform and the pilot's wings – the pilot's wings were ho
norary.
The fact that he was never a sailor bears no relation to being called the First Sea Lord, for as he admits, it was a desk job, and whoever sat behind that desk assumes the title.
He says we could we have managed without Churchill during the war, as the Americans were the greater partner. This I do not deny, but what about September 3, 1939 to December 7, 1941? Where were the great Americans then? Stating that they wanted "no foreign entanglements in a European war".
Had it not been for Churchill, and the association that he fostered and built up with Roosevelt, we would not have been able to carry on alone, and I stress, ALONE.
He castigates Churchill for his "We will never surrender" speech, stating that he had his arrangements to leave the country had we been invaded, along with the Royal Family. I fail to see his problem, for how would he have been able to organise a fight back if he had been captured, and where would our figurehead have been if the King had also been captured. It was the speeches of the Dutch Royal Family from these shores to Holland that kept their spirits alive.
A G Goldsbrough, Fieldway, Ilkley
To answer Mr Kirby's question would Britain have managed through the Second World War without Churchill, the answer is no!
Before the intervention of the USA he had already made a number of huge decisions to guarantee the safety of Britain, including the destruction of the French fleet to prevent its use by German forces.
To question the man's 'never surrender' attitude and willingness to contribute is naive and disrespectful. Churchill was a prisoner in the Boer War before making a daring escape. He served in the First World War with the 2nd Battalion of Grenadiers.
This country and its people owe Winston Churchill and all the men and women who helped protect this country an unpayable debt.
Leigh Waddington, Chapel Allerton, Leeds
The full article contains 418 words and appears in n/a newspaper.
