The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz

On weekends Churchill retires to Chequers, the prime ministerial estate in Buckinghamshire, 40 miles northwest of London. He often takes his work there with him, contrary to the expressed intent of the home as a respite. Chequers is the scene of convivial dinners Churchill shares with his family and associates as well as serious planning for the war.

Talking by phone to Joseph Kennedy, America’s ambassador to Britain, Churchill tells him of the role America “could and should play in saving civilization” (84). 

Back at 10 Downing Street, Churchill and his cabinet send a telegram authorizing the French to seek an armistice with Germany but emphasizing that Britain will “fight on” and will not participate in any such negotiation. The Prof and Jones continue their investigation of German navigational beams. Some other officials express doubts about Jones’s theories, but there are rumors that Churchill takes them seriously and plans to convene a meeting to discuss them.

On June 17, France falls to the Germans. Marshall Philippe Petain, the new leader of France, has ordered the French army to stop fighting (88). The British react with shock and confusion, uncertain as to what will now happen to Britain. To many observers, invasion of England seems “not only practical but imminent” (89).

A British naval liner, the Lancastria, is bombed and sunk by the Germans, killing at least 4,000 people and possibly as many as 9,000. Churchill prevents the press from reporting this disaster so as to spare the people one more shock. However, the New York Times breaks the story five weeks later, resulting in adverse criticism of Churchill’s government for withholding an important story.

Better news comes from the Ministry of Aircraft Production: The new output of aircraft is “stunning,” with 363 planes being manufactured each week. However, this new productivity is accompanied by friction between neighboring departments and Beaverbrook, who desires complete control for his department of everything having to do with the aircraft. Beaverbrook’s dissatisfaction with his job grows. 

At a speech in the House of Commons, Churchill declares that Britain will attack Germany with bombers and the navy and emphasizes that the world depends on Britain’s resistance to the German menace. He broadcasts this same speech on radio that night, but his delivery is deemed subpar.

Churchill’s military chiefs of staff send him a note laying out the threat of German invasion in stark terms and warning that “the next three months […] would determine the outcome of the war” (94). The British feel a “mounting drumbeat of suspense” (95).

Churchill holds a meeting in the Cabinet Room about beam navigation. Jones is surprised, in light of his youth, to be invited. Jones presents his theory, to “rapt” attention from Churchill, along with some evidence he has picked up from British intelligence. He argues that the Luftwaffe is establishing itself on bases just minutes from the English coast (97). Some RAF officials greet Jones’s theories with incredulity, and Jones is worried that he has put his career on the line and wasted Churchill’s time. The next day, however, findings come in from the RAF that confirm his ideas, to his great relief. Now the RAF must find “an effective way of countering the beams” (101). 

The French sign an armistice with Hitler. Churchill is worried at the prospect of the French naval fleet falling into German hands since it is crucial to naval balance in the Mediterranean. In Berlin, Joseph Goebbels tells his operatives that England will now be their focus and that the country will not stand for long since “Churchill, of course, can’t hold on” (103).

The new arrangements for occupied France are announced, with German forces in the north and west and a nominally free government based in Vichy administering the rest of the country. Churchill doubts the Germans’ pledge to leave French fleets alone. An air raid sounds in London, the first in many months, but it turns out to be a false alarm triggered by civilian aircraft.

Jones provides Churchill with more intelligence about possible invasion plans of the Germans. Churchill orders trenches to be dug in most fields throughout the country to defend against German tanks and aircraft. Clementine informs Churchill that the stress of the war is taking its toll on his mood and behavior, and she urges him to act with greater calm and patience. 

Churchill spends a weekend at Chequers, where he feels at ease among friends and guests and discusses problems of defense. His son, Randolph, shows his coarse and boorish nature, in contrast to his younger wife, Pamela. The password to get in or out of the estate is “Tofrek,” a reference to an obscure battle.

On June 30, the Germans seize and occupy Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands off the coast of Normandy and a British dependency. Although this is a minor action, it proves troubling. 

Lord Beaverbrook submits his resignation as head of the Ministry of Aircraft Production, citing conflicts with the Air Ministry and emphasizing his accomplishment of boosting production at a “near-inconceivable rate” (115). Churchill rejects the resignation and orders Beaverbrook to continue his “magnificent work.” 

By means of Operation Catapult, the British Royal Navy plans to seize the French fleet to prevent it falling into the hands of the Germans. Vice Admiral J.F. Somerville, who heads the operation, and Churchill himself find the idea of Britain attacking their ally the French “disagreeable” and would like to avoid it. Beaverbrook, however, urges them to proceed with the plan rather than risk having Hitler take control of the Mediterranean Sea. Somerville gives the French admiral, Gensoul, an ultimatum: Either join England or prepare for an attack.

On July 3, Somerville’s Force H sails to Oran off the coast of Algeria. Somerville hopes at first to avert the attack by coming to an agreement with Gensoul. However, the latter stalls for time, and at last Somerville orders the attack, which lasts 10 minutes and kills over a thousand French officers and sailors. Although Churchill is “deeply grieved” that the attack had to happen, it has the benefit of showing the world—and especially Germany—that Britain intends to fight on. Parliament and the British public applaud the Battle of Mers el-Kébir, while the navy calls it “an act of sheer treachery” and fears that France will declare war on Britain (124).

Meanwhile, for the first time Hitler seriously explores the possibility of invading England, believing that Churchill will capitulate and sign a peace treaty with Germany. Hitler is uncertain about the plan, however, because of Germany’s relatively small navy. He decides that any invasion must not occur until Germany has achieved “complete air superiority over the RAF” (120). 

Hitler wants to pursue a peace agreement with Britain that will end the war, and he charges his deputy Rudolf Hess with accomplishing this. Meanwhile, Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels makes efforts to stoke hatred of Britain. British leaders are anxious both about the possibility of France declaring war on England and about the possibility of a German attack. 

Colville continues his courtship of Gay Margesson, a 20-year-old student at Oxford. While attending an operetta and discussing politics, his feelings about her are ambivalent, but by the end of the evening he feels in love with her and believes she is beginning to reciprocate his affections. 

London prepares for invasion with sandbags, machine gun nests, and anti-tank trenches in the parks. German bombers strike targets in Scotland and Wales and on the English coast. They are countered by British fighter pilots, who are becoming the “heroes of the age” (131), especially to young women like Mary Churchill and Judy Montagu. The RAF consistently beats the Luftwaffe in these sorties. BBC radio presents a live broadcast of one of these air conflicts, on the Dover cliffs, on July 14. Some listeners find the broadcast distasteful because it seems too similar to a sporting event; others cheer it on.

Beaverbrook ramps up production of fighter planes and sets up a well-publicized donations fund to build new ones. To affect public opinion, he has destroyed German planes displayed around the country (134). Hitler, “[o]utraged by Churchill’s resistance” (134), orders an assault on England from the sea, dubbed Operation Sea Lion, but not until the RAF is weakened and poses no threat.

Churchill’s daughter-in-law Pamela and a female relative squabble over the right to name their newborn babies Winston Spencer Churchill. Churchill decides that the name rightfully belongs to Pamela’s child. 

Hitler gives an address to the Reichstag, Germany’s legislature, in which he threatens Britain with “unending suffering and misery” if the country does not surrender (138). Britain responds by mocking Hitler and declares that it will keep on fighting “until freedom […] is secure” (142).

German fighter aircraft gather at airfields along the French coast, poised to attack England. Among those who gather is Adolf Galland, a talented German pilot who was commissioned with shielding the Reichstag during Hitler’s speech.

At a meeting of Churchill and government and military leaders at Chequers, it transpires that the military is in an inadequate state of readiness; this discovery contradicts misleading reports that Lindemann’s department has been supplying to Churchill. 

Churchill continues to plead with President Roosevelt to provide ships to use in the war. He must walk a fine line of underlining the urgency of the situation yet also expressing confidence in winning. Roosevelt would like to help, but he, too, is hampered by Congress, his reelection bid, and an American public that is deeply divided on the question of getting involved in the war. Churchill makes Beaverbrook a full member of his War Cabinet and defense committee, with long meetings that Beaverbrook finds burdensome.

On leave from his army unit, Randolph Churchill has a drunken bout one night and comes home to Pamela at Downing Street at 6:10 the next morning. Inspector Thompson, Churchill’s security man, discovers secret military maps in his car, a “serious violation of security protocols” (151). Clementine is furious. Randolph vows to quit drinking, but this promise is short-lived. 

Hitler issues Directive No. 17, which calls for an assault on the RAF, destroying flying units and the aircraft industry in Britain. Goring becomes the head of this operation and plans it for August 10. Goring foresees a “mass attack unlike anything history had seen, aimed at delivering an annihilating blow to Britain’s air defenses” (153). He refuses to listen to warnings from the German air force that the RAF is still strong and determined. 

In the midst of urgent war matters, Churchill finds time to teach his cabinet members how to write more concise and effective English prose in their reports. While Churchill and his cabinet are meeting at Chequers, a German plane flies ominously overhead. Colville and Mary’s friendship grows. Churchill is in a very good mood and enjoys joking and reciting silly poetry with his friends. However, Goring and his forces are poised to begin their invasion, which they must postpone several times because of the weather. Although the German air force’s beam navigation technology has made their attacks easier, they still prefer to navigate by the light of a full moon. Fortunately, they will have it in the coming days.