Churchill in Victoria
More than
75 years later, a rare chapter is remembered
By Stan A. Orchard
Volume
18 Issue 1 Spring 2006
Did Winston Churchill visit Victoria, British Columbia in 1929? Well, if
you refer to Martin Gilbert's Volume Five of the Official Biography
(p.345), it explains unambiguously that, "...he spoke again, to the
Vancouver branch of the Canadian Club...[then]...he crossed by boat to
Victoria, where he made the last speech of his Canadian tour."
However, in subsequent books by Gilbert the City of Victoria has been
unaccountably air-brushed out of the story. For example, turn to page 23
of his 1981 book, 'Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years' and you will
find, "From Vancouver the Churchills drove south into the United
States." Really? Well, no. Then on page 493 in Gilbert's 1991
abridgement of the eight volume Official Biography, 'Churchill: A Life',
he writes, "...Churchill reached Vancouver, where he gave two more
speeches before traveling south into the United States...". And
most recently, on page 112 in 'Churchill and America' (2005), Gilbert
again states, "…they entered the United States, crossing by ferry
from Vancouver to Seattle." Perhaps Sir Martin Gilbert doesn't like
Victoria? Or maybe the city's annual flower count put him off? That, I
could understand. So, for the
record, Churchill did come to Victoria in 1929, and his visit is well
worth reporting.
In fact, at least three generations of
Churchills have visited the city, and at important periods of their
lives. Winston's parents were here in 1894, and 35 years later Winston
Churchill and his son Randolph also breezed through town. In 1894, Lord
Randolph Churchill, as Winston wrote: "sailed…for America under a
sentence of death, operative within twelve months." He was
accompanied by his vivacious wife Jennie and a doctor, George Keith.
When the party arrived in New York, a magazine described Randolph as
"…restless, nervous and irritable, and walks feebly, with jerky
steps, like a man uncertain of where he is putting his feet. His whole
manner indicates a painful nervousness and mental irritation, from the
querulous tones of his voice to his compressed lips, which he keeps
drawn over his teeth in an apparent effort to control their
trembling."
Nineteen year old Winston was informed
that his parents were leaving on their round-the-world tour on only one
day's notice while at the Sandhurst military academy. He rushed to bid
them a bon voyage. They arrived in New York, but after a brief stay in
the United States began their rail journey across Canada. With
difficulty, they procured a private rail car from the Pullman Company,
while their letters to the President of the CPR all went unanswered.
What we know of their time in Victoria is
contained in the letters that have been published in various biographies
and memoirs. The best of which is 'The Reminiscences of Lady Randolph
Churchill'. Jennie writes, "[t]wenty-four hours of Vancouver was
enough for us, and we left for Victoria in a small steamer filled with a
motley crowd." She said, "[w]e found Victoria far more
attractive than Vancouver, even though it is possible that it is being
"left behind", as being asserted by the rival city."
While in Victoria, Lord and Lady Churchill kept a very low public
profile. The Daily Colonist reports their arrival from Vancouver on
Wednesday, August 8, 1894 on the Steamer 'Charmer', and their departure
on Sunday, August 12th on the 'Walla Walla' for San Francisco. On
Friday, August 24th they were back in Victoria and the Daily Colonist
reported that, "Lord Randolph's health is said to be very much
improved - so much so that he looks forward to resuming his
parliamentary career on his return to England next year."
Apparently, his physical health did improve, but the deterioration of
his mental state continued unabated.
They came back to Victoria to await the
arrival of the Empress of Japan, on which, they intended to continue
their round-the-world journey on the following Tuesday. In fact, they
were setting sail for Yokohama, Japan - which was a rather fool-hardy
venture since at that moment war was raging between Japan and China. In
fact, Jennie, had written while en route to Victoria, "Randolph
won't take any thought or consideration of the war because it does not
suit him and he 'poohpoohs' any danger or inconvenience. I confess I
think it will all be settled before we get there." Somehow they
survived this leg of the trip without a scratch. Having subsequently
moved on to India, Lord Randolph's health suddenly gave way and the
party made a dash to England. Back in London, on January 23, 1895 he
sank into a coma and died the following day.
Like his father, Winston Churchill
entered politics at age 24. Winston's greatest political crisis occurred
when the disastrously executed plan to storm the Dardanelles in World
War I forced Churchill to resign from the cabinet. He believed that his
political career was over, and the emotional toll on him was enormous.
His wife, Clementine, said years later that she thought he would die of
grief. However, unlike Lord Randolph, Winston was able to weather his
most emotionally wrenching political storm and by 1917 was back in the
Cabinet as Minister of Munitions. Three cabinet posts later he found
himself appointed to the same position that his father had ascended to
38 years before. Winston was now Chancellor of the Exchequer - a
ministerial office that he most coveted and held for over 4 years.
Politics being what it is, in June 1929 the Conservatives lost the
general election and Winston lost his ministerial salary, but retained
his parliamentary seat.
Out of cabinet, but not forgotten,
Winston Churchill had some time to spare, and some bills to pay, so he
hastily arranged a North American speaking tour. If Churchill was a
failure at anything, it was as a businessman. He was motivated by ideas,
analyzing problems and championing innovative solutions rather than
studying ledgers and bottom lines. He very much admired the powerful
moguls of his time - like Beaverbrook, Bracken, Hearst, Baruch, Onassis
- and made fast friends with many of them. But his own cash flow very
much depended upon his output as a public speaker, journalist, political
commentator, historian and memoirist. Here was a chance to pick up some
lucrative public speaking engagements, cement some business and
political connections, promote himself and the Empire, and have some fun
along the way. The CPR did not hesitate to provide Winston Churchill's
party of four with a private car, a stenographer, and accommodation at
the CPR's best hotels. His travel companions were his son Randolph, his
brother Major John (Jack) Churchill, and Jack's son Johnnie. His wife,
Clementine, and sister-in-law Goonie would have come along on this trip,
but Clementine became ill and had stay behind recuperating from a too
long delayed tonsillectomy.
Over a period of one month, as the party
moved across Canada, Churchill made 16 public addresses in various
Canadian cities - three of these in British Columbia. Victoria was an
exception because, as son Randolph recorded in his diary, "[h]e
made a different speech from his stock one, which was an almost perfect
example of his oratorical powers." The power must have been
primarily in the performance, because much of the reported content of
his talk reads rather dryly today. He wrote to wife Clementine, "[w]e
reached Victoria in Vancouver Island which is as big as England
[actually, Vancouver Island is almost exactly one quarter the size of
England] by a beautiful voyage in a perfectly appointed ship through an
archipelago of delicious islets. Victoria is English with a splendid
climate thrown in. Sentiment, vegetation, manners, all revive the best
in England."
The Daily Colonist newspaper reports,
"[a]s he brought to a close his discourse with a sweeping
description of the new British Empire, Mr. Churchill carried his [800
plus] audience from one burst of applause to another. He summed up the
new status of Empire as "every Dominion, no matter what its
economic significance, is of equal status in the Empire, and each is
directly responsible to the Crown alone."
"In freedom, good will, sentiment,
tradition, is the constitution of the Empire, and Britons all over the
world are linked together in the golden circle of the Crown, and are
united in common allegiance. That golden circle links us with all the
majestic greatness of the past of our race, the Shakespeares and the
Miltons, the Plantagenets and the Tudors, the Magna Carta, the Habeas
Corpus, the English common law, and all of the grand and massive
stepping stones which the genius of the British race has fashioned and
achieved for the freedom of mankind…Let us have confidence in the
future."
As we know, Churchill did other things
while he was in Victoria, including a drive over the Malahat, a tour of
the Esquimalt drydock, planting a Hawthorne tree in Mayor's Grove in
Beacon Hill Park, which was planned, and laying a stone in the Bishop of
London Tower of Christ Church Cathedral, which was apparently spur of
the moment.
The party sailed for Seattle on Friday,
September 6th. Their reception in the United States was in stark
contrast with Canada. Winston was carrying a special letter of authority
from the American ambassador in London so that Customs formalities could
be waived. However, the lead Customs officer insisted on closely
examining every single item of luggage. The contents were pulled out,
studied and thrust back in again. Johnnie recorded, "[m]y uncle got
so angry I thought he would explode." They were especially
interested in brother Jack's 16mm movie camera and film, and gave
Churchill to understand that ordinarily they would investigate these
more closely to determine whether they were of an obscene nature.
Presumably unknown to the rest of the party was that son Randolph was in
breach of Prohibition by smuggling in a big flask full of whisky and a
small one full of brandy. He also had reserves of both in medicine
bottles. Churchill and son had also arranged a second line of reserves.
Earlier on the trip they had questioned the Chief of Police in Vancouver
as to the best arrangements to be made and he said he would telephone
and have some liquor put on the train at Seattle. Randolph recorded in
his diary, "[w]e asked him who would see it. His reply shows how
graft-stricken the U.S. is: "The Police!" He knows the Chief
of Police at Seattle, and he will readily oblige."
There were no further calamities until
Churchill reached New York City and was there to witness "Black
Thursday", when the New York stock market collapsed. In fact,
Churchill claimed to have witnessed an early example of one of the
fabled financial suicides, a body hurtling down past his window from a
fifteenth floor. Almost in an instant Churchill lost the modern
equivalent of £200,000. Alas, this more than eclipsed any profit gained
from the speaking tour.
This article was excerpted from a speech
given to the Churchill Society of Vancouver Island. The Churchilliad
would like to thank our sister club and the author for this interesting
contribution.
