The Churchill Series – Sept. 14, 2007

(One of a series of weekday posts on the life of Winston S. Churchill.)

More responding today to your comments.

Referring to a recent failed terrorist attack in London, an Anon said: “I just spoke to some British friends and they said that the feeling was that this was a pathetic attempt, compared to the IRA.”

The IRA has pulled off many terrorist attacks in London.

Churchill was high on the IRA terrorists' target list. In the early 1920s, the Chief of the Imperial Staff was shot and killed by IRA terrorists as he walked out of his London home.

Churchill, who’d been heavily involved in Anglo-Irish issues, was an obvious “next target.” The government decided to provide him with a bodyguard. That’s how Walter Thompson of Scotland Yard came into his life. Thompson would remain Churchill’s principal bodyguard for most of the years from then through the end of WW II.

Another Anon said: “What a guy - Where is another Churchill when we need him?”

There are many very thoughtful people who say that even if a British child came into the world now with all of Churchill’s natural gifts, the child would not grow up to be another Churchill because he or she would not be educated to believe in the uniqueness and superiority of things like parliamentary government, the English common law, and the enormous contributions Great Britain and the Commonwealth have made to the relative freedoms and economic opportunities now available to billions of people around the world.

I'm inclined to agree with people who say that. How about you?

Another Anon says there’s an interesting discussion going on at the Volokh Conspiracy blog ( If you don’t know VC, it’s the blog of a group of distinguished law professors.).

George Mason Law School Professor Todd Zywicki reviewed Lynne Olson's Troublesome Young Men, her account of a small group of Conservative MPs who stood up to Neville Chamberlain, opposed his appeasement policies, helped bring down Chamberlain’s government and make Churchill PM.

Zywicki's very positive review has drawn some interesting comments. Anon thought you might like to take a look at the review and comments so here’s the link: : http://volokh.com/posts/1189481254.shtml

There are a few more comments I want to respond to on Monday.

In the meantime, I hope you have a nice weekend.

John