The Works of WSC
A guide to the Churchill canon
The CanonThe Unwritten Alliance is, in many ways, a sad book. During the period covered (1953-1959) Churchill declined from being an ageing and increasingly ineffective Prime Minister to being an historical artifact, a progressively withdrawn figure rolled out for periodic token utterances. This decline is pitilessly reflected in the content and only Churchill's name could have had the book published. It emerged in a single English edition of 5000 copies. There was no American issue and there were no translations. Even the Swedes, who had remained faithful through so many volumes, declined this one.
But this is a Churchill volume and there is always a high spot; and in this case it's a major one.
On March 1st 1955, barely five weeks before his resignation as Prime Minister and thus his effective retirement from both the domestic and world stages, Churchill rose to his feet in the House of Commons to deliver the final major set-piece speech of his career.
The 80-year old man who, as a young lieutenant in Queen Victoria's army, had charged with the cavalry at the Battle of Omdurman now gave a bravura performance, reviewing at length the defence of Britain in the age of the hydrogen bomb. Encapsulated in his peroration was the glittering heart of the political philosophy which had guided him for more than half a century and which he now offered as his legacy.
"The day may dawn when fair play, love for one's fellow men, respect for justice and freedom, will enable tormented generations to march forth serene and triumphant from the hideous epoch in which we have to dwell. Meanwhile, never flinch, never weary, never despair".
