LONDON: Even in the middle of World War Two, Winston Churchill still had time to worry about rubbish in the streets, the finer points of English grammar and whether his troops had enough beer, secret files released on Tuesday showed.
As he planned the June 1944 invasion of France’s Normandy beaches, Britain’s wartime prime minister did not neglect the environment.
“Just below the Foreign Office on the grass opposite St James’s Park there is a very untidy sack with holes in it and sand leaking out... Such a conspicuous place ought not to look untidy, unless there is some real need which can be satisfied in no other way,” he wrote in March 1944.
Churchill’s thoughts came to light when Britain’s Public Records Office opened dossiers of Churchill’s personal minutes and telegrams, some never seen before.
Later in May, the doughty politician railed at his Director of Military Intelligence for sloppy use of the English language.
“Why must you write ‘intensive’ here? ‘Intense’ is the right word. You should read Fowler’s Modern English Usage on the use of the two words,” he fumed.
But the whisky-loving premier showed more clemency in considering the plight of thirsty British soldiers abroad.
“A serious appeal was made to me by General Alexander for more beer for the troops in Italy. The Americans are said to have four bottles a week, and the British rarely get one,” he complained.
The documents also show Churchill in candid form on the subject of both friends and enemies, including French leader General Charles de Gaulle, with whom he enjoyed a tempestuous relationship.
“I... find the greatest difficulty in working with de Gaulle, and that his personality and conduct constitute the biggest obstacle to the relations between Britain and the United States on the one hand, and the France whom we all wish to help on the other,” he wrote.
The Soviets did not get off lightly either. “Never forget that Bolsheviks are crocodiles,” he wrote, again to Eden. And in another letter: “I cannot feel the slightest trust or confidence in them. Force and facts are their only realities.”
The cigar-smoking Churchill wrote to Eden about raising the status of some of its foreign legations to embassies:
“I must say I think Cuba has as good a claim as some of the other places... Great offence will be given if all the others have it and this large, rich, beautiful island, the home of the cigar, is denied.”—Reuters
