No More Champagne

by David Lough

  6. 28 Apr, 12, 26 May 1938 Cooperation accounts, CHAR 8/607/105–6, 108, 109.

  7. 5, 6, 9 May 1938 ER corresp with WSC, CHAR 8/607/40–42.

  8. 9 Jun 1938 WSC ltr to ACB, CHAR 2/353/12; 16 Jun, 1 Jul 1938 H. Hilton ltrs to WSC, 2/353/13, 23.

  9. 2 April 1938 WSC letter to G. Harrap, CHAR 8/547/1.

  10. 3 Apr 1938 WSC ltr to RSC, CHAR 8/598/1. Arms and the Covenant, consisting of forty-one speeches made by Churchill between October 1928–March 1938, was published in Britain on 24 June and in America (as While England Slept) on 30 September, by G. P. Putnam’s Sons. 12, 18 Sep 1938 C. Wood ltrs to WSC, LlBk statement, CHAR 8/594/54, 63, 1/321/164. £100 of Churchill’s advance was clawed back in September when sales in Britain reached only 2,484; the American print run of 5,000 was sold by the end of 1938.

  11. 29 Apr 1938 WSC draft agreement with G. Harrap re ‘Europe since the Russian Revolution’, The Winston S. Churchill Collection of Malcom Forbes, Jr., sold at Christie’s 15 Nov 2011.

  12. 1 Nov 1938 WSC ltr to V. Pearman, CHAR 8/594/174. Churchill spoke to Mrs Pearman’s doctor before telling her that he would continue to pay her monthly salary of £12 while she was away. When Mrs Pearman died in 1941 (at the age of forty), Churchill continued to pay her salary to her seven-year-old daughter Rosemary. From 1943 he covenanted £100 a year towards Rosemary’s education. See M. Gilbert, In Search of Churchill, pp. 157, 159.

  13. 18 Apr, 20 Jun 1938 H. Peat ltrs to WSC, 5C3:997–8, CHAR 1/407/138.

  14. 26 Jan, 15 Apr 1938 H. Peat ltrs to WSC, Memorandum of Agreement, CHAR 1/407/102, 22–6.

  15. 30 Jul 1938 H. Peat cbl to WSC, CHAR 1/407/146.

  16. 17 Aug 1938 WSC ltr to A. Leve, 5C3:118–19; 19 Dec 1938, 10 Jul 1940 WSC ltr to G. Mason, G. Mason ltr to secretary, CHAR 1/329/52, 1/356, 58. Churchill wanted to claim the $2,000 penalty as a tax-deductible expense, but Mason omitted the item on his tax return. Churchill spotted the omission after checking his return during the Battle of Britain in 1940. Through a secretary, Mason reminded Churchill that he had visited him to advise against making the claim because ‘money paid in default could not be said to be money earned’.

  17. 12 Aug 1938 WSC ltr to N. Flower, 5C3:1116.

  18. 2 Sep 1938 N. Flower ltr to WSC, CHAR 8/597/34.

  19. 14 Sep 1938 WSC ltr to GSH, CHAR 8/597/25.

  20. 12 Sep, 10 Nov 1938 C. Wood ltrs to WSC, Harrap account, CHAR 8/598/59, 188; 8/608/56; 13 Oct 1938 CSIII ltr to WSC, 8/595/188. Harrap deducted £309 for author’s corrections from its advance of £3,500. Despite critical acclaim, the book sold only 5,410 copies in the first ten weeks after publication in Britain.

  21. 19 Sep 1938 WSC ltr to R. Mortimer Wheeler, 5C3:1166. Sir Robert Mortimer Wheeler CH (1890–1976) was later director of the National Museum of Wales, keeper of the London Museum and director-general of the Archaeological Survey of India.

  22. 28 Sep 1938, CB corresp with WSC, CHAR 8/604/79, 80.

  23. Recollection of Colin Coote, see 5:988.

  24. 19, 29 Dec 1938 WSC ltrs to CSC, 5C3:1316–7, 1327–31. Churchill helped to build Orchard Cottage at Chartwell.

  25. 31 Dec 1938 LlBk statement, CHAR 1/321/185, 186. The News of the World cheque was for £4,200.

  26. 1 Jan 1939 WSC schedules, CHAR 1/347/1, 1/345/38–39; 1939 LlBk statements, 1/354/187–234.

  27. P. Clarke, Mr Churchill’s Profession, p. 219.

  28. 18 Jan 1939, WSC ltr to CSC, 5C3:1346–9.

  29. Jan 1939 LlBk statement, CHAR 1/321/188.

  30. 23 Jan 1939 M. Penman, Penman Papers, 5C3:1352.

  31. 31 Jan 1939 WSC cbl to CSC, CHAR 1/344/20.

  32. 18 Jan 1939 WSC ltr to CSC, 5C3:1346–9.

  33. 28 Jan 1939 Literary account 1939, CHAR 8/639/77; 24 Mar, 2 May 1939 WSC ltrs to G. Young, 8/626, 5C3:1487. Churchill converted Young’s honorarium to a salary within two months.

  34. 10 Feb 1939 ER ltr to WSC, CHAR 8/638/19–22.

  35. 17, 18, 20 Feb, 2 Mar 1939 WSC cbl corresp with ER, CHAR 8/638/26, 30, 34.

  36. 9, 11 Mar 1939 Cooperation accounts, ER ltr to WSC, CHAR 8/638/159, 41.

  37. Jan, 8 Mar 1939 RSC, WSC schedules, CHAR 1/345/49, 38; 1/321/ 220. Randolph’s new debts amounted to £4,000; his remaining share of the trust was £1,630. Churchill’s loan from the trust was still £12,000, secured on a mortgage over Chartwell.

  38. 22 Feb 1939 H. Strakosch ltr to WSC, CHAR 2/374.

  39. 28 Mar 1993 WSC ltr to G. Harrap, CHAR 8/626/135–7.

  40. 4, 6, 15, 18 Apr G. Harrap, TB corresp with WSC, CHAR 8/636/28, 31–2, 42, 44, 47. Butterworth sold Step by Step’s US rights to G. Putnam’s Sons for £300. Churchill received cheques for £644 (net of author’s corrections) on publication in Britain (27 June) and £202 in September. It was published in New York on 25 August 1939 and translated into five European languages.

  41. 24, 30 Mar 1939 WSC ltrs to M. Ashley, J. Wheldon, 5C3:1404, 5.

  42. 6, 22, 24 Jun 1939 WSC ltrs to E. Marsh, G. Young, Chartwell Literary Account, 5C3:1513, 1532–3, 1541. Marsh received £20 per 100,000 words.

  43. 27 Apr 1939 C. Thomas ltr to WSC, CHAR 8/633/7.

  44. 2 Jun 1939 ER ltr to WSC, CHAR 8/638/79–80.

  45. 20 Jun, 11 Jul 1939 ER cbl, agreement with WSC, CHAR 8/638/98, 103–4. Churchill’s first talk (eight minutes long) was aired on 8 August. War broke out and Churchill had taken office before the second could take place (scheduled for 5 September).

  46. Jul 1939 LlBk statement, CHAR 1/354/215.

  47. D. Kynaston, The City of London 3:458.

  48. 20, 9 Jul 1939 WSC ltrs to EHM, N. Flower, CHAR 8/626/58, 5C3:1558.

  49. 8 Jul 1939 WSC ltr to E. Carr, 5C3:1557.

  50. M. Gilbert, Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years, p. 260.

  51. 20 Aug 1939 P. Maze diary, Maze papers, 5C3:1591.

  52. 31 Aug 1939 WSC ltr to N. Flower, CHAR 8/624/205.

  20. Early Burdens of War, 1939-41

  1. 28 Sep 1939 J. Drawbell corresp with WSC, CHAR 8/631/20, 11–13.

  2. 10 Sep 1939 WSC ltr to G. Young, CHAR 8/626/190–3.

  3. 6 Oct 1939 WSC ltr to W. Deakin, CWP1:215–6.

  4. 10 Nov 1939 WSC ltr to D. Flower, CWP1:355.

  5. 19 Nov 1939 WSC ltr to W. Deakin, CWP1:392.

  6. 16 Dec 1939 WSC ltr to D. Flower, CHAR 8/626/247.

  7. 27 Dec 1939 D. Flower ltr to WSC, CHAR 8/626/245.

  8. 31 Dec 1939 LlBk statement, CHAR 1/354/236.

  9. 4 Jan 1940 D. Flower ltr to WSC, CHAR 8/658/55.

  10. 4 Jan 1940 K. Hill cbl to WSC, CHAR 8//658/52.

  11. 4 Jan 1940 BRB ltr to D. Flower, CHAR 8/658/51.

  12. Jan 1940 LlBk statement, CHAR 1/354/236, 237, 238.

  13. Jan 1969 W. Deakin lecture, University of Basel, published as supplement ‘Churchill the historian’ to Schweizer Monatshefte 1970; CWP1:1152. Although Deakin gives 27 April 1940 as the date of the working session, this is unlikely. By 19 April, Bullock had stood down and Churchill had approved an agreement between Bracken and Flower to postpone History’s publication until after the war. The more likely date is late March or early April 1940.

  14. A. de Courcy The Viceroy’s Daughters pp.314–5, D. Kynaston, The City of London 3:471.

  15. D. Flower, Fellows in Foolscap, p. 171.

  16. WSC, The Second World War Vol. 1 The Gathering Storm, p.522.

  17. 9 May 1940 Ld Camrose notes of conversation with Mr Neville Chamberlain, Camrose Papers.

  18. J. Wheeler-Bennett (ed.), Action this Day: Working with Churchill, pp. 48–51.

  19. Ibid., p.175.

  20. 16 Apr 1940 D. Flower ltr to BRB, CHAR 8/658/47; 26 Jun 1940 BRB note to WSC, 8/803/168.

  21. 18 Jun 1940 LlBk statement, CHAR 1/354/252.

  22. 14 Jan 1941 W. Harrap ltr to BRB, CHAR 8/681/11.

  23. 23 Oct 1940 G. Mason ltr to K Hill, CHAR 1/356/66.

  24. 31 Jul 1940 ACB ltr to WSC, CHAR 8/663/8–9.

  25. 25 Mar 1941 WSC annotation on K. Hill memo, CHAR 8/685/38.


  26. 13 Jun 1941 NM ltr to K. Hill, CHAR 8/685/48. Churchill paid £1,515 (including £15 stamp duty).

  27. 21 Apr 1941 BRB ltr to D. Jarrold, CHAR 8/685/27.

  28. 1 May 1941 TB ltr to WSC, CHAR 8/685/42–3.

  29. 7 May 1941 A. Bott letter to K. Hill, CHAR 8/685/40–1.

  30. 3 Mar, 16 Jun 1942, D. Macmillan, L. Dickson ltrs to K Hill, CHAR 8/700/5, 38. Churchill earned £1,800 from 95,000 copies sold by the Reprint Society.

  31. 15 Oct 1941 S. Bell ltr to K. Hill, CHAR 1/363/42.

  32. C. Eden, C.Haste (ed.) A Memoir: From Churchill to Eden, p. 57.

  33. 14 Sep 1940 K. Hill ltr to G. Penrudock, CHAR 1/35/3.

  34. 14 Sep 1941 Chequers Trust accounts, CHAR 1/365/3. Twelve weekends in May–July 1941 cost Churchill £198, of which telephone calls cost £38.

  35. 26 Nov 1940 WSC contract with Cassell & Co., Into Battle, CHAR 8/803/2–3; 16 Dec 1940 A. Gentry ltr to WSC, 8/803/20: G. Putnam’s Sons paid an advance of £650 against a royalty of 15 per cent, while Cassell bought other foreign rights for £600. 28 January 1941, CHAR 8/803/119: Publication in America as Blood, Sweat and Tears was postponed until April 1941 to clinch selection by the Book of the Month Club, which Putnam estimated to be worth an extra 120,000 copies or $15,000 in royalties.

  36. 1941 LlBk statements, CHAR 1/354/273-304. The April 1941 budget raised the basic rate of income tax to 50 per cent. A top rate of 47.5 per cent sur-tax applied to marginal extra income as high as Churchill’s.

  37. June 1941 Draft WSC contract with Warner Bros, NA 40/12833.

  38. 13 Jun 1940 G. Canny ltr to G. Mason, CHAR 1/363/15.

  39. 23 Jun 1941 K. Hill letter to G. Mason, CHAR 1/363/17; 17 June 1941 LlBk statement, CHAR 1/354/291.

  40. 6 Jun 1941 G. Canny memo to Tucker, NA IR 40/12833.

  41. 16 Jun 1941 G. Canny memo to F. Slee, ibid.

  42. 9 Jun 1941 G. Mason ltr to G. Canny, copied WSC, CHAR 1/363/22–3.

  43. 5 Sep, 15 Sep 1941 K. Hill memo to WSC, S. Ball ltr to K. Hill, CHAR 1/363/33, 42.

  44. 8 Nov 1941 F. Slee memo, NA IR 40/12833.

  45. Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, Capital Gains and Other Taxes Manual, app.37.

  46. 13 Jun 1941 WSC annotation on NM ltr to K. Hill, CHAR 8/685/48.

  47. 30 May 1941, BRB ltr to WSC, CHAR 8/686/28–30.

  48. 3 Aug 1941 WSC–Macmillan agreement, CHAR 8/685/13–15; 28 Aug 1941 Macmillian Archive, M/s Add 55245/2/197-8, BL. Daniel Macmillan declined Mrs Hill’s request to handle the deleted rights informally. He diplomatically suggested that a side-letter should be used to reinstate the appointment; Mrs Hill slipped such a letter into Churchill’s signing folder at the end of August.

  49. 14 Nov 1941 Ld Camrose letter to S. Berry, Camrose Papers.

  21. Film Turns the Tide, 1942-5

  1. 21 Jan 1942 C. Graham-Dixon opinion, NA IR 40/12833.

  2. U/d, post 1953 A. Moir reminiscence, Fladgate LLP papers. Moir places his meeting with Churchill on 18 May 1942, but the House of Commons did not sit that day; it began its debate on 19 May.

  3. 19 May 1942 E. Grigg, MP for Altrincham, House of Commons speech, Hansard c90.

  4. 18 Feb 1942 G. Mason ltr to WSC, CHAR 1/370/8. Churchill had paid Randolph £700; Mason suggested he now transfer an extra £4,200.

  5. E. Waugh, Letters, p.151. Randolph joined no. 8 Commando Regiment, a unit trained for special operations by Colonel David Stirling, later the founder of the Special Air Service (SAS).

  6. 18 Feb 1942 T. Harris ltr to K. Hill, CHAR 1/370/8. The payment was made on 30 March 1942, the day before Churchill paid his own reduced tax bill of £3,500 (which would otherwise have been approximately £9,000) – see 30 Mar 1942 LlBk statement, 1/354/309.

  7. 17 Mar 1942 A. Gentry ltr to K. Hill, CHAR 8/804/107.

  8. 20 May 1942 A. Gentry ltr to K. Hill, CHAR 1/804/90.

  9. 30 Jun 1942 Macmillan & Co. accounts, CHAR 8/700/58.

  10. 9 Nov 1942 K. Hill ltr to D. Macmillan, CHAR 8/700/45.

  11. 9, 12 Jun 1942 W. Blatch note of meeting with A. Moir, G. Mason, note to C. Gregg, NA IR 40/12833.

  12. 29 Sep, 1 Oct 1942 general commmissioners of taxation decision, C. Gregg note, NA IR 40/12833.

  13. 27 Jan, 18 Feb 1943 CHAR 8/805/76, 71, 63. Cassell bid £3,000 for the worldwide rights: Little, Brown cut its contribution by half to $4,000.

  14. 22, 30 Jun 1943 LlBk statement, CHUR 1/1/15/329. The balance was £21,464.

  15. 6 Sep 1943 C. Nicholl brief to Counsel, CHAR 8/710/13–14.

  16. 4 Aug 1943 WSC note, CHAR 8/710/3–6.

  17. U/d Oct 1943 C. Henderson KC Opinion, CHAR 8/710/15–21.

  18. 13 Oct 1943 WSC ltr to W. Harrap, CHAR 8/710/26–7.

  19. 11 Nov 1943 KH note, CHAR 8/710/32.

  20. 16, 17 Nov 1943 C. Henderson draft, K. Hill ltr to W. Harrap, CHAR 8/710/35, 39, 41.

  21. 18 Dec 1943 WSC ltr to G. Harrap, C. Henderson draft, CHAR 8/710/48, 54.

  22. 27 Jul 1943 K. Hill note, CHAR 8/709/3.

  23. 20 Dec 1943 William Hickey column, the Daily Express.

  24. 13, 23 Aug 1943 K. Hill note to H. Osborne, Two Cities ltr to H. Osborne, CHAR 8/709/5, 10.

  25. 19 Sep 1943 K. Hill note, CHAR 8/709/16. The remaining £20,000 was to be paid nine months later, or on completion of the shooting script, whichever occurred earlier.

  26. 19 & u/d Sep, 6 Oct 1943, 18 July 1944 K. Hill notes, contract, CHAR 8/709/16, 32, 40, 61; 4 Oct 1943 LlBk statement CHUR 1/1/19/333. The first payment of £30,000 (lodged on 4 October 1943) increased Churchill’s bank account balance to almost £46,000; the other £20,000 followed on 18 July 1944. The film was never made.

  27. 16 Nov 1943 Daily Herald, CHAR 8/709/44.

  28. 28 Jan 1944 K. Hill note, memo to WSC, CHAR 18/713/3, 1.

  29. 5, 8 Feb 1944 Agreement WSC and Cassell & Co., K. Hill ltr to C. Nicholl, CHAR 8/713/5, 4.

  30. 7 Mar 1944 BRB ltr to Ld Camrose, CHAR 8/713/14.

  31. 13 April 1944 WSC note, CHAR 8/713/21.

  32. 18 Apr 1944 C. Nicholl, C. Henderson memo, CHAR 8/713/23.

  33. 27 Apr 1944 WSC ltr to D. Macmillan CHAR 8/714/32.

  34. 15 Mar 1944 LlBk ltr to WSC, statement, CHAR 1/382/18, CHUR 1/1/338. Sir Henry Strakosh died in September 1943. On payment of his legacy in March 1944, Churchill’s bank balance reached a record £56,806.

  35. 10 Aug 1944 WSC ltr to D. Macmillan, CHAR 8/714/50, Macmillan Archive, M/s Add 55245/2/202, 203, BL.

  36. 11 Aug, 9 Oct 1944 D. Macmillan ltrs to WSC, CHAR 8/714/51, 57. Macmillan & Co.’s accounts for Churchill’s book earnings for year to 30 June 1944 showed profits (£3,714) double the previous year. My Early Life contributed over £2,000 (selling 5,200 copies through bookshops and 79,785 through the World Book Club); Great Contemporaries took second place with £857 (selling 3,000 copies) – see 17 Oct 1944 CHAR 8/714/59–60.

  37. 23 Aug 1944 C. Nicholl ltr to K. Hill, CHAR 8/710/106.

  38. Ibid.

  39. 4 Sep 1944 WSC note to BRB, CHAR 8/710/112–13.

  40. 4 Sep 1944 K. Hill note, CHAR 8/710/114–15.

  41. 7 Sep 1944 W. Harrap ltr to WSC, CHAR 8/710/117.

  42. U/d Sep, 23 Dec 1944 BRB cbl to WSC, WSC corresp with C. Nicholl, CHAR 8/710/123, 168, 169. Each side paid its own legal costs. The arbitrator, Sir William Raeburn, decided not to charge. Churchill wanted to send him an honorarium of 100 guineas but Nicholl persuaded him to send 25 guineas (which Raeburn donated to the Overseas Tobacco League for Soldiers Abroad).

  43. 24 Oct 1944 WSC ltr to Ld Camrose, CHAR 8/713/32.

  44. 8 Nov 1944 Ld Camrose note, Camrose Papers.

  45. 10 Nov 1944 WSC ltr to Ld Camrose, CHAR 8/713/61.

  46. 21 Nov 1944 C. Nicholl ltr to K Hill, CHAR 8/713/71; 26 Apr, 2 Aug 1945 C. Nicholl ltr to K. Hill, WSC letter to C. Nicholl, 8/720/16, 20. In April 1945, Colonel Charles Nicholl raised the question of Churchill’s legal fees with some diffidence. Both he and Charles Henderson KC had spent hundreds of hours during the war on Churchill’s a
ffairs, but neither wished to charge their normal rates. They felt Churchill’s unique responsibilities had left him short of time and exposed to serious public damage from any mis-step. Each suggested a token fee of 250 guineas. Churchill paid and thanked them after he left office (‘I think these charges are indeed moderate and I thank you’). 30 Dec 1960 CHUR 1/117/115–6: there was a codicil fifteen years later, after Nicholl’s death, when the two remaining partners of Nicholl, Manisty Co. merged with Withers & Co., its larger neighbour. One of the partners, J. W. Roome, explained to Churchill that, while he was clearing up loose ends before the merger, he had noticed the firm had never charged Churchill for any post-war work. ‘I understand it was Colonel Nicholl’s wish and intention that the Firm should not make any charge for the work involved,’ Roome wrote. While he proposed to ‘treat the bills... as having been discharged’, he asked Churchill to reimburse cash payments (such as stamp duty) made by the firm on his behalf. Churchill obliged with a cheque for £200.18s.7d.

  47. 19, 20, 21 Nov 1944 C. Henderson draft of WSC ltr to N. Flower, K. Hill note to WSC, WSC ltr to Ld Camrose, C. Henderson advice, C. Nicholl ltr to K. Hill, CHAR 8/713/68–70, 65, 81–3, 84–6, 72, 71.

  48. 24 Nov 1944 WSC ltr to N. Flower, CHAR 8/713/97–99. The second letter is ibid./100.

  49. 30 Nov 1944 ACB ltr to K. Hill, CHAR 8/715/12; Lord Southwood’s letter of 23 November is at CHAR 8/715/13.

  50. 21, 22 Dec 1944 C. Henderson draft for K. Hill ltr to ACB, amended by WSC, signed version, CHAR 8/715/17, 19.

  51. 5 Dec 1944, 13 Mar 1945 K. Hill notes to BRB, CHAR 8/713/105, 8/720/8.

  52. 14, 26 Mar, 6 Apr 1945 K. Hill note to WSC, C. Nicholl ltr to K. Hill, K. Hill note CHAR 8/720/10, 11, 14.

  53. 1 Dec 1944 LlBk statement, CHUR 1/1/33; 2, 17, 19 Nov 1945 LlBk ltrs to WSC, 1/11/23, 25, 29; 1 Jan 1946 8:25; Scribner Archives C0101, Author files III, box 12, folder 9, PUFL. Churchill’s 1945 bank statements do not survive, but these receipts, taken together with Korda’s £50,000 April 1945 payment for History’s film rights added at least £86,450 to Churchill’s last known balance (December 1944) of £52,000. Churchill’s major outlay during the first half of 1945 was £24,696 for the purchase of 28 Hyde Park Gate. In August 1945, he told Lord Camrose that he had ‘between £110,00 and £120,000 in the bank’.