Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s Original Handwritten Notes For an Important Speech During One of World War II’s Darkest Hours, Rallying the British Nation To Fight On

A great rarity; the only fully manuscript notes for a wartime Churchill speech we can find having reached the market in at least the last 40 years

World War II was a conflict that could not have been won without one man – Winston Churchill. It was his warnings of impending war that allowed Britain to commence preparations, and his inspiration, perseverance and determination that prevented Britain from joining the rest of Europe in surrendering to Hitler. Churchill became Prime Minister in May 1940, and at that time created for himself the new post of Minister of Defense. He added the post in part in response to previous criticism that there had been no clear single minister in charge of the prosecution of the war, and in part to gain control over both the political and military ends of the war. Soon after, he realized that on its own the best Britain could do was to avoid defeat. Not until the United States could be maneuvered into joining the war could winning be a realistic aspiration. When the U.S. became engaged in World War II on December 7, 1941, Churchill was elated. That night, he wrote in a draft of his memoirs, that “saturated and satiated with emotion and sensation, I went to bed and slept the sleep of the saved and thankful.” Now Britain would have the resources and manpower of the great nation across the Atlantic, and he felt victory certain.

But in the bleak early months of 1942, the Axis was at high tide on all fronts and their conquests stretched around the globe. The Germans held almost all of Europe and were at their deepest point in Russia. They had Leningrad under siege. The Japanese had taken Singapore and Rangoon, and were knocking on the door of Western Australia. Rommel was besieging Tobruk in Africa, which would soon fall. London, and most major British cities, were still reeling from the Blitz, the Luftwaffe bombings that had killed many, left many more homeless and jobless, and crippled industrial production. Meanwhile, America was far from ready to join the battle, and relations with the Soviet Union would remain rocky for a while yet. There was little prospect of victory in sight, and lack of success always breeds critics, and Churchill had his share. A vote of no-confidence in the Prime Minister was even being proposed in Parliament. The argument was that Churchill should not be both Prime Minister and Minister for Defense, or that he should be clearly delegating the responsibly for running the war to a senior military figure, as matters were dire under his leadership. He was determined to fight back against the critics, and to stay the course.

An opportunity to do just that came in late March with the Annual Meeting of the Central Council of the National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations, a body that brought together the rank and file of his own party in a national organization. As leader of the Conservative Party in Parliament (in addition to being Prime Minister), he would address the gathering. He wrote out the draft of a speech, his words flowing as they did in those war years, full of the charismatic language that enabled him to adopt a vision, concentrate on the bigger picture, and inspire hope, faith, and determination in others, regardless of seemingly ominous circumstances. The source of this inspiration was his own character, as he perpetually demonstrated enthusiasm, resolve, and optimism. These traits are the very things for which he is remembered. His speech to the National Union of Conservatives reflected all that.

Autograph draft manuscript, completely in Churchill’s hand, two pages, being a surviving portion of the draft of Churchill’s address to the Central Council of the National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations, Caxton Hall, London, March 26, 1942. It is easy to see these pages, which were not contiguous, as containing the two most important elements of the speech: one has his defense to critics, and the other his characterizations of the war and demand that tyranny be “trampled.” Moreover, in a passage clearly reminiscent of his famed “Finest Hour” speech, he called upon Britons to be “worthy champions” and lead the Allies to victory.

“We are certainly aided by a great volume of criticism and advice from which it will always be our endeavor to profit in the highest degree. Naturally when one is burdened by the very hard labor of the task and its cares, sorrows & responsibilities, there may sometimes steal across the mind a feeling of impatience at the airy & and jaunty detachment of some of those critics who feel so confident of their knowledge & so sure that they would put things right. I can assure you that I always try to repress such a one. If ever I would be pressed to yield to such temptation, I hope you will remember how difficult it is an attitude of proper meekness & humility towards those assailants at home, with those combative & pugnacious qualities, with the spirit of offensive and counterattack, which we are all agreed were never more needful against the common enemy.”

“This is a very hard war. Its worrisome & fearful problems reach down to the very foundations of human society. Its scope is world wide. It involves all nations & every man, woman, & child in them. The latest refinements of science are linked with the qualities of the Stone Age. We must aid each other. We must stand by each other. We must confront all perils & trials with a national unity that cannot be broken, with a national force that is inexhaustible, with resistance and ingenuity which are tireless, and above all with that inflexible will power to endure & yet to dare for which our island has been long renowned. Thus alone shall we be worthy champions of the Grand Alliance of nearly thirty states and which without our resistance would never have come into being, but which now has only to march together till Tyranny is trampled down.”

A search of public sale records going back 40 years shows but three other manuscript notes for a Churchill speech during World War II having reached that market, and but one in the last 20 years. Nor do we recall seeing any others. Yet this is the very matter that brought Churchill his fame and renown, and brought the world salvation.

Churchill felt that this speech was of sufficient importance that he included it in his book, “The End of the Beginning”.