The Churchill Series - Feb. 17, 2009

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

Folks,

Today I want to share some thoughts with those of you who’ve read the just completed six consecutive posts focusing on Churchill’s brother and only sibling, John (Jack) Strange Spencer Churchill (1880-1947).

If you missed any or all of the posts here are links to them: April 24, April 25, April 26, April 27, April 28, and May 1.

I set out to do a three post series. It ended up six; and I struggled to keep it at that. There's so much of interest about Jack in his own right as well as his relationship with his famous brother.

Jack Churchill was a substantial person whose life is extremely interesting. Add to that the fact that he was one of Winston’s closest, if not closest, confidants from the time Winston was a boy until 1947 when Jack died.

Jack Churchill deserves a multi-volume biography by a biographer of the caliber of Martin Gilbert or David McCullough.

I’d planned to just mention Mrs. Everest in passing. What a mistake! How did I think I could talk about the bond between the brothers and just mention in passing the woman who gave them both love and attention of the kind they would later each give to the other?

Goonie came along and had to be part of the brothers’ story. And from 1908 on, you can't leave Clementine out of anything important in Churchill’s life.


So the series certainly didn’t keep a “tight focus” and stick to just three posts.

But I'm not sorry about that and I hope you're not either.