Winston Churchill: the Liberal Phase, Part I
Drawing on letters and diaries written when her husband was a close associate of Sir Winston's, Lucy Masterman offers a portrait of him in his early Parliamentary years.
Early in 1906 Charles Masterman, afterwards my husband, then a new Member of Parliament, was invited to a dinner party by Mrs. Sidney Webb at which Arthur Balfour was present. In making his farewells, Balfour thanked her for introducing him to some of the young Liberals, adding, “The young Conservatives are so dull.”
When Prime Minister, he had had a young Conservative below the gangway who, whatever his shortcomings, was certainly not dull.
As an orator Churchill had disabilities: a stammer at times paralysing, and a lisp. But he had courage, wit, a superb sense of vocabulary and a mind almost too hospitable to ideas. He had seen quite a lot of active service in the wars that the victorious power chose to consider small, on the Indian frontier, in Egypt, Cuba and South Africa, and had written a book about each. He had been taken prisoner and escaped.
To continue reading this article you need to purchase a subscription, available from only £5.
Start my trial subscription now
If you have already purchased access, or are a print & archive subscriber, please ensure you are logged in.
Please email digital@historytoday.com if you have any problems.
