Darkest Hour

by Anthony McCarten

  p. 109: The Queen spoke . . . administrative methods: Lord Halifax, diary, 11 May 1940, pp. 119–20.

  p. 109: War Cabinet announced . . . Awful: Charles Stuart (ed.), The Reith Diaries (Collins, London, 1975), 11 May 1940, p. 250.

  p. 110: By the time . . . possible delay: Winston S. Churchill to Sir John Reith, Churchill Papers, 2/398, 12 May 1940, cited in Gilbert, Never Surrender.

  p. 110: this night-life is no good to me: Lord Halifax, diary, 11 May 1940, p. 120.

  p. 110: The meeting Winston . . . subject: Ibid., p. 121.

  p. 111: certain air of ‘malaise’ . . . is depressing: John Colville, The Fringes of Power: Downing Street Diaries 1939–1955 (Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1985), 14 May 1940, p. 103.

  pp. 111–12: stomach queasy . . . line of the Dyle: Sir John Sinclair: recollection, 12 May 1940, Davy Papers, cited in Gilbert, Never Surrender.

  p. 112: two-thirds full . . . cloakroom below: Sonia Purnell, First Lady: The Life and Wars of Clementine Churchill (Aurum Press, London, 2015), p. 149.

  p. 112: ‘Don’t come in!’ . . . wanted to say: Chips Gemmell, TV interview, in Martin Gilbert, The Complete Churchill, part 4: Never Despair (A & E Home Video, 1992).

  pp. 112–13: porpoise-like quality . . . lukewarm seawater: Roy Jenkins, Churchill: A Biography (Macmillan, London, 2001), p. 712.

  p. 113: robed like a Roman . . . his bedroom: Mary Soames, Clementine Churchill (Cassell, London, 1979), p. 293.

  p. 113: [f]ollowing his ablutions . . . ‘don’t look!’: Purnell, First Lady, p. 149.

  p. 113: I am coming out . . . watch it!: Elizabeth Gilliatt, TV interview, in Gilbert, Never Despair.

  p. 113: just like a rather nice pig: Colville, Fringes of Power, 16 June 1940.

  p. 114: A book on Churchill . . . hugely amusing: Joseph Goebbels, diary, cited in Michael Paterson, Winston Churchill: Personal Accounts of the Great Leader at War (David & Charles, 2005), 3 May 1941, p. 26.

  p. 115: raffish worlds: David Cannadine, Aspects of Aristocracy: Grandeur and Decline in Modern Britain (New Haven, Conn./London, Yale University Press, 1994), p. 147.

  p. 115: I found complete chaos . . . I doubt: Lord Hankey to Sir Samuel Hoare, 12 May 1940, Beaverbrook Papers, cited in Gilbert, Never Surrender.

  p. 116: two or three days . . . ‘ . . . a long time’: Lionel Hastings, Baron Ismay, The Memoirs of General the Lord Ismay K.G., P.C., G.C.B., C.H., D.S.O. (Heinemann, London, 1960), p. 116.

  6. Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat

  p. 120: Absurdly dramatic . . . regular ovation: R. R. James (ed.), Chips: The Diaries of Sir Henry Channon (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 1993), 13 May 1940, p. 252.

  pp. 121–3: I beg to move . . . united strength: Winston S. Churchill, speech to the House of Commons, Hansard, HC Deb Series 5, 13 May 1940, vol. 360, cc. 1501–3.

  p. 124: was not well received: James (ed.), Chips, p. 252.

  p. 124: I congratulate the country . . . all time: David Lloyd George, Hansard, Conduct of the War, HC Deb Series 5, 8 May 1940, vol. 360, cc.1510–12.

  p. 124: mop[ped] his eyes: Harold Nicolson, Diaries and Letters 1930–1964, ed. Stanley Olson (Penguin Books, Harmondsworth, 1980), p. 183.

  p. 124: only references . . . raised enthusiasm: James (ed.), Chips, p. 252.

  p. 124: [v]ery short . . . but to the point: Nicolson, Diaries and Letters, p. 183.

  p. 124: brilliant little speech: John Colville, The Fringes of Power: Downing Street Diaries 1939–1955 (Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1985), p. 102.

  p. 124: The new PM spoke . . . dramatically: James (ed.), Chips, p. 252.

  pp. 125–6: I entered the presence . . . this afternoon: The Rt Hon. Malcolm MacDonald, Titans and Others (Collins, London, 1982), pp. 94–5.

  p. 126: the composition . . . or to hurry: John Colville, in Action This Day: Working With Churchill, ed. Sir John Wheeler-Bennett (Macmillan, London, 1968), p. 69.

  p. 126: Rhetorical power . . . by practice: Winston S. Churchill, ‘The Scaffolding of Rhetoric’, Churchill Papers, CHAR 8/13.

  p. 126: sudor et sanguis: Livy, The fifth, sixth and seventh Books of Livy’s History of Rome. A literal translation from the text of Madvig, with historical introduction, summary to each book and . . . notes, by a First-classman (J. Thornton, Oxford, 1879), pp. 157, 283.

  p. 127: That ’tis in vain . . . or blood: John Donne, An Anatomy of the World. A facsimile of the first edition, 1611. With a postscript by Geoffrey Keynes (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1951).

  p. 127: Year after year . . . why? for rent!: Lord Byron, Age of Bronze, IV: ‘Satiric – The Landed Interest’ (London, 1823).

  p. 127: Tears, sweat, blood . . . glorified now: Robert Browning, ‘Ixion’, in Jocoseria (1883).

  p. 127: I offer neither pay . . . and death: ‘Offro fame, sete, marce forzate, battaglie e morte’, speech by Giuseppe Garibaldi, St Peter’s Square, Rome, 2 July 1849.

  p. 127: Because of the blood . . . to triumph: Theodore Roosevelt, American Ideals, and Other Essays, Social and Political (G. P. Putnam’s Sons, New York, 1897), p. 260.

  p. 127: only a question . . . blood and tears: Winston S. Churchill, London to Ladysmith via Pretoria (Longmans, Green, London, 1900), p. 96.

  pp. 127–8: It will all seem . . . war comes: Winston S. Churchill, Saturday Evening Post, vol. 173, Issue 1, p. 29.

  p. 128: [r]ecord the toils . . . endless plain: Winston S. Churchill, ‘The Eastern Front’, in The World Crisis, 1911–1918 (Macmillan, London, 1931), p. 17.

  p. 128: follies in blood and toil: Winston S. Churchill, Marlborough: His Life and Times (Harrap, London, 1933), vol. 1, p. 217.

  p. 128: new structures . . . being united: Winston S. Churchill, ‘Hope in Spain, 23 February 1939’, in Winston S. Churchill, Step by Step: Political Writings, 1936–1939 (Butterworth, London, 1939).

  p. 128: the orator is . . . himself believe: Churchill, ‘Scaffolding of Rhetoric’.

  p. 129: the repetition . . . sense of optimism: Richard Toye, The Roar of the Lion: The Untold Story of Churchill’s World War II Speeches (OUP, Oxford, 2013), p. 42.

  p. 131: a series of vivid . . . be assailed: Churchill, ‘Scaffolding of Rhetoric’.

  p. 131: [Mr. Fox] defies me . . . much energy: Winston S. Churchill, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples, vol 3: The Age of Revolution (Cassell, London, 1957), p. 296.

  p. 132: the unreflecting . . . understandings: Churchill, ‘Scaffolding of Rhetoric’.

  pp. 132–3: the art of working . . . delicate touch: Plutarch, Life of Pericles, citing Plato, Phaedrus, 271c, cited in Algis Valiunas, Churchill’s Military Histories: A Rhetorical Study (Oxford, Rowman & Littlefield, 2002).

  p. 133: loudly cheered: Daily Telegraph, 14 May 1940, Evening Standard, 13 May 1940.

  p. 133: he felt an air attack . . . the situation: CAB 65/7/15 and CAB 65/13/7, 13 May 1940. 285

  7. The Worsening Situation

  pp. 137–8: one lived with the battle . . . be done: Winston S. Churchill, The Second World War, vol. II: Their Finest Hour (Cassell, London, 1949), p. 11.

  p. 139: we should not regard . . . in or not: CAB 65/7/16, 14 May 1940.

  pp. 139–40: Germany intends to . . . not fail us: CAB 65/7/17, 14 May 1940.

  p. 140: amphibious tanks . . . intentions of the French: Ibid.

  p. 140: merchant vessels . . . being laid: Ibid.

  p. 140: highest Fascist standing . . . go to war: Ibid.

  p. 140: the most prudent course . . . that light: Ibid.

  pp. 140–41: curious ugly dolphin . . . pills and powders: John Colville, Action This Day: Working With Churchill, ed. Sir John Wheeler-Bennett (Macmillan, London, 1968), p. 49; John Colville, The Fringes of Power: Downing Street Diaries 1939–1955 (Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1985), p. 103.

  p. 141: motley gathering appeared . . . Mr Kennedy: Colville, Fringes of Power, p. 104.

  p. 141: very excited mood: Churchill: telephone conversation with Paul Reynaud, Premier Papers, 3/188/1,
cited in Martin Gilbert, The Churchill War Papers, vol. 2, Never Surrender: May 1940–December 1940 (William Heinemann, London, 1993).

  p. 142: the road to Paris . . . giving up: Ibid.

  p. 142: He [Reynaud] must not . . . after 9 a.m.: Ibid.

  p. 142: the situation was . . . now plugged: CAB 65/7/18, 15 May 1940.

  p. 143: announcing the surrender . . . loss of life: Ibid.

  p. 143: it should be made . . . particular area: Ibid.

  p. 143: the situation had . . . the Netherlands: Ibid.

  p. 144: The war is coming . . . economic means: Colonel Roderick Macleod, DSO, MC, and Denis Kelly (eds.), The Ironside Diaries: 1937–1940 (Constable, London, 1962), 15 May 1940, p. 310.

  p. 144: might be of some . . . Signor Mussolini: CAB 65/7/18.

  p. 144: particulars of the . . . the situation: Ibid.

  p. 145: a good deal shaken . . . was off him: Lord Halifax, diary, 11 May 1940, Halifax Papers (Borthwick Institute, York), A7/8/4, p. 127.

  pp. 145–6: Although I have . . . armed forces: Churchill to President Roosevelt, Churchill Papers, 20/14, cited in Gilbert, Never Surrender.

  p. 146: latest types of aircraft . . . all the same: Ibid.

  p. 146: the visit of a United States . . . wishes and respect: Ibid.

  p. 147: being built in and for the United States: Martin Gilbert, Winston S. Churchill, vol. 6: Finest Hour, 1939–1941 (Heinemann, London, 1983), p. 344.

  p. 147: we [America] could . . . Botwood [Newfoundland]: Ibid.

  pp. 148–9: Now that I have . . . given by us: Churchill to Benito Mussolini, Churchill Papers, 20/14, cited in Gilbert, Never Surrender.

  p. 149: I reply to the . . . event whatsoever: Benito Mussolini to Churchill, Churchill Papers, 20/14, cited in Gilbert, Never Surrender.

  p. 150: there was no doubt . . . to launch: CAB 65/7/19, 16 May 1940.

  p. 151: From the moment . . . the flames: Lionel Hastings, Baron Ismay, The Memoirs of General the Lord Ismay K.G., P.C., G.C.B., C.H., D.S.O. (Heinemann, London, 1960), p. 127.

  p. 151: again emphasise . . . (i.e. six more) tomorrow: Churchill to the War Cabinet, Churchill Papers, 4/149, cited in Gilbert, Never Surrender.

  p. 152: [Churchill was] delighted . . . received it: Ismay, Memoirs, pp. 128–9.

  p. 153: had been faced . . . considerable degree: CAB 65/7/21, 17 May 1940.

  p. 153: the life of the country . . . only 150 left: CAB 99/3, 16 May 1940.

  pp. 153–4: we had bombarded . . . ground action: Ibid.

  p. 154: of course giving every . . . take time: CAB 65/7/21, 17 May 1940.

  p. 154: supreme emergency . . . the following day: CAB 65/13/11, 18 May 1940.

  p. 154: You ought to have cried . . . with lies!: Colville, Fringes of Power, 19 May 1940, p. 108.

  p. 154: a gruelling week . . . ( . . . eaten by foxes): John Colville, Man of Valour: The Life of Field-Marshal the Viscount Gort, VC, GCB, DSO, MVO, MC (Collins, London, 1972), p. 204.

  p. 155: would be closely . . . our own Army: CAB 65/13/12, 19 May 1940.

  pp. 155–6: After forty years . . . a small room: William Manchester, The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill, Defender of the Realm, 1940–1965 (Michael Joseph, London, 1983), Kindle edn, Loc. 1549.

  pp. 156–60: I speak to you . . . ‘ . . . even so let it be’: Churchill, broadcast to the nation, 19 May 1940, Churchill Archives Centre, CHAR 9/176A-B.

  p. 161: You have never . . . thank God for you: Anthony Eden to Churchill, Churchill Papers, 2/394, cited in Gilbert, Never Surrender.

  p. 161: The PM gave a . . . everybody here: Captain Berkley, diary, Berkley Papers, 20 May 1940, cited in Gilbert, Never Surrender.

  p. 161: I listened to your . . . lies on you: Earl Baldwin of Bewdley to Churchill, Churchill Papers, 20/1, cited in Gilbert, Never Surrender.

  8. Fear, Doubts and Pressures from Within

  p. 165: It is always . . . enormous front: Lionel Hastings, Baron Ismay, The Memoirs of General the Lord Ismay K.G., P.C., G.C.B., C.H., D.S.O. (Heinemann, London, 1960), p. 129.

  p. 166: already reached . . . continue the war: CAB 66/7/262, 18 May 1940.

  p. 166: may give up the struggle: CAB 66/7/263, 18 May 1940.

  p. 166: a telegram for those bloody Yankees: John Colville, The Fringes of Power: Downing Street Diaries 1939–1955 (Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1985), 19 May 1940, p. 109.

  p. 166: soothing words: Ibid.

  pp. 166–7: In no conceivable . . . German will: Churchill to President Roosevelt, 20 May 1940, Churchill Papers, 20/14, cited in Martin Gilbert, The Churchill War Papers, vol. 2: Never Surrender: May 1940–December 1940 (William Heinemann, London, 1993).

  p. 167: in a state of indecision: CAB 65/7/27, 21 May 1940.

  p. 167: lost his temper . . . completely beaten: Colonel Roderick Macleod, DSO, MC, and Denis Kelly (eds.), The Ironside Diaries: 1937–1940 (Constable, London, 1962), 20 May 1940, p. 321.

  p. 167: hundreds of thousands . . . French towns: CAB 65/7/27, 21 May 1940.

  p. 168: In all the history . . . such mismanagement: Colville, Fringes of Power, p. 110.

  p. 168: not seen Winston so depressed: Ibid.

  p. 168: in spite of his . . . his plan of war: Martin Gilbert, Winston S. Churchill, vol. 6: Finest Hour, 1939–1941 (Heinemann, London, 1983), p. 57.

  pp. 168–9: there were at Calais . . . the town: Supreme War Council minutes, CAB 99/3, 22 May 1940.

  p. 169: there could be no . . . certain disaster: Ibid.

  p. 169: not entirely satisfactory: Ibid.

  p. 169: on a note of restrained optimism: Ismay, Memoirs, p. 130.

  p. 169: almost in buoyant . . . by Weygand: Macleod and Kelly (eds.), Ironside Diaries, p. 328.

  p. 169: lost a chance . . . and ammunition: Colville, Fringes of Power, p. 111.

  pp. 169–70: really worried . . . to that extent: Ibid.

  p. 170: observed that . . . time to mount: CAB 65/13/15, 22 May 1940.

  p. 170: were not prepared . . . doing so: Ibid.

  p. 170: seemed to me . . . means to mount it: The Rt Hon. The Earl of Avon KG, PC, MC, The Eden Memoirs, vol. 2: The Reckoning (Cassell, London, 1965), p. 108.

  p. 170: very much larger . . . become so critical: CAB 65/7/3, 23 May 1940.

  p. 171: the whole success . . . of doing so: Ibid.

  p. 171: seething mass . . . completely demoralised: Ibid.

  p. 171: in danger of falling . . . Channel Ports: Ibid.

  pp. 171–2: Signor Mussolini . . . declare war: Ibid.

  p. 172: renews and reiterates . . . ‘Yes, Sir’: Mr Gurney Braithwaite to Churchill, Hansard, HC Deb Series 5, 23 May 1940, vol. 361, c330W.

  p. 173: the Germans were . . . yet begun: Gilbert, Finest Hour, pp. 384–5.

  p. 173: there was no reason . . . way to elation: John Colville, Man of Valour: The Life of Field-Marshal the Viscount Gort, VC, GCB, DSO, MVO, MC (Collins, London, 1972), p. 213.

  p. 173: [T]he reason for . . . ‘ . . . if they did’: Jock Colville in conversation with Martin Gilbert, 21 January 1981: Gilbert, Finest Hour, p. 385.

  pp. 173–4: been giving further . . . General Weygand’s plan: CAB 65/7/31, 23 May 1940.

  p. 174: The Prime Minister . . . probably be immense: King George VI, diary, 23 May 1940, cited in John Wheeler-Bennett, King George VI: His Life and Reign (Macmillan, London, 1958), p. 456.

  pp. 174–5: War is usually . . . received no directive: Telegram from Churchill to General Weygand, 24 May 1940, Churchill Papers, 20/14, cited in Gilbert, Never Surrender.

  p. 175: no (repeat no) . . . serious attack: Ibid.

  p. 175: We have not here . . . at earliest?: Ibid.

  p. 175: time is vital as supplies are short: Telegram from Churchill to Reynaud, Churchill Papers, 20/14, cited in Gilbert, Never Surrender.

  p. 176: President Roosevelt . . . opposite sides: CAB 65/7/32, 24 May 1940.

  p. 176: that a reply . . . on these lines: Ibid.

  p. 177: The only effect of . . .
on its front: Churchill to General Ismay, Churchill Papers, 4/150, cited in Gilbert, Never Surrender.

  p. 177: German tanks . . . town and the sea: CAB 69/1–24 May 1940.

  p. 178: Reinforcements urgent . . . not overwhelmed: ‘Narrative of operations conducted from Dover May 21–26, 1940: Calais’ (the Calais war diary), in NA/PRO ADM 199/795, cited in Hugh Sebag-Montefiore, Dunkirk (Viking, London, 2006), p. 228.

  p. 178: You must comply . . . and fight on: Calais war diary, NA/PRO WO 106/1693 and 1750, cited in Sebag-Montefiore, Dunkirk, p. 3.

  p. 178: all regular troops, and I need not say more: Ibid., NA/PRO WO 106/1697.

  p. 178: Pray find out . . . fight to the end: Churchill to Anthony Eden and General Ironside, 25 May 1940, Churchill Papers, 4/150, cited in Gilbert, Never Surrender.

  pp. 178–9: To Brigadier Nicholson . . . British name: Calais war diary, NA/PRO WO 106/1750, 25 May 1940, cited in Sebag-Montefiore, Dunkirk, p. 230.

  p. 180: [an] Italian diplomat . . . with a rebuff: CAB 65/7/33, 25 May 1940.

  p. 180: very likely nothing . . . their own policy: Ibid.

  p. 180: If it was to honour . . . event whatsoever: Benito Mussolini to Churchill, 18 May 1940, cited in Winston S. Churchill, The Second World War, vol. II, Their Finest Hour (Cassell, London, 1949), pp. 107–8.

  pp. 180–81: to an approach . . . of weakness: CAB 65/7/33.

  p. 181: it was very . . . bargaining position: Ibid.

  p. 181: the public don’t grasp the situation at all: David Dilks (ed.), The Diaries of Sir Alexander Cadogan O.M., 1938–1945 (Cassell, London, 1971), 23 May 1940, p. 288.

  p. 181: STAY IN PARIS . . . ALLIED FORCES: Manchester Guardian, 25 May 1940.

  p. 181: ALLIES POUNDING . . . STRONGLY DEFENDED: News of the World, 26 May 1940.

  p. 182: FRANCE SACKS . . . ‘ . . . THE ENEMY’: Sunday Express, 26 May 1940.

  p. 182: NAZIS CLAIM ALLIED . . . ENEMY LOSSES: People, 26 May 1940.

  p. 182: NAVY GOES INTO ACTION . . . SHELLS ENEMY: Daily Mail, 27 May 1940.

  p. 182: ‘ENORMOUS’ GERMAN . . . HELD TO-DAY: Evening Standard, 27 May 1940.

  p. 182: FIGHTING IN THE . . . ARMOURED DIVISIONS: Daily Express, 27 May 1940.

  p. 183: the march to the sea: Churchill, Their Finest Hour, p. 66.