George Orwell on Winston Churchill
← Back to George Orwell ProfileWriting during wartime, Orwell acknowledges Churchill's effectiveness in galvanizing England through traditional patriotism, despite their political differences.
“The man who rallied the nation was Churchill, a gifted and courageous man, but a patriot of the limited, traditional kind. In effect Churchill said simply, "We are fighting for England," and the people flocked to follow him... I personally have always admired him as a man and as a writer, little as I like his politics.”
In a 1949 review, Orwell praises Churchill's writing and leadership during Britain's darkest hour, highlighting the public's affection for his perceived toughness and humor.
“[T]he political reminiscences which he has published...have always been a great deal above the average, in frankness as well as literary quality... Churchill's writings are more like those of a human being than of a public figure... Whether or not 1940 was anyone else's finest hour, it was certainly Churchill's... [O]ne has to admire in him not only his courage but also a certain largeness and geniality which comes out even in formal memoirs of this type... The British people have generally rejected his policies, but they have always had a liking for him, as one can see from the tone of the stories told about him... At the time of the Dunkirk evacuation...it was rumoured that what he actually said, when recording the speech for broadcast, was: "We will fight on the beaches, we will fight in the streets... We'll throw bottles at the b—s; it's about all we've got left"—but, of course the BBC's switch-censor pressed his thumb on the key at the right moment. One may assume that this story is untrue, but at the time it was felt that it ought to be true. It was a fitting tribute from ordinary people to the tough and humorous old man whom they would not accept as a peace-time leader but whom in the moment of disaster they felt to be representative of themselves.”