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Winston, Churchill, and Me: Childhood Memories of Summers with the Churchills
A touching portrait of Winston Churchill, seen through the eyes of a young boy.
Four years after the end of the Second World War, eight-year-old Jonathan Dudley finds himself sharing a desk with another boy, Winston, at his London school. Winston invites Jonathan to spend the holidays at the Kent home of his beloved grandfather—none other than the great Sir Winston Churchill.
Over sixty years later, Jonathan recalls, through the eyes of a child, the two glorious summers he spent as the guest of the former prime minister and war leader, meeting great personages, becoming accustomed to a different set of manners and conventions and developing a friendship with both young Winston and his grandparents.
The result is a touching memoir—funny, sad, exuberant and poignant—that paints an evocative and original sketch of Winston and Clementine Churchill as they’ve never been seen before.
Revised edition: Previously published as Winston, Churchill, and Me: Childhood Memories of Summers with the Churchills, this edition of Churchill and Me includes editorial revisions.
90 pages, Paperback
Published June 8, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
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January 23, 2019The author's young friend, Winston, was the grandson of Winston Churchill. This is the rest of the story of the grandson...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winston...
the grandson's mother, originally Pamela Churchill, was a world-renowned courtesan....
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_...
I was once the historian for the Churchill Club in Silicon Valley and wrote many articles on Churchill for its publication, as well as for The International Churchill Society.
I only mention this to indicate that reading this memoir added nothing to my knowledge of Churchill.
And the writer's account of his own childhood is rather pedestrian.
Memoirs are tricky things. It seems likely that some of the more famous incidents re: Churchill, such as his escape from the Boer prison camp---that the writer claims to have learned at the time---came from later reading, and were imported into his story to give it a bit more flavor.
What the book did remind me of was how both grandson Winston and his father, Lord Randolph Churchill, were horrible failures in their own right, not necessarily relative to the famous Winston Churchill, a standard that would be impossible to replicate.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winston...
the grandson's mother, originally Pamela Churchill, was a world-renowned courtesan....
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_...
I was once the historian for the Churchill Club in Silicon Valley and wrote many articles on Churchill for its publication, as well as for The International Churchill Society.
I only mention this to indicate that reading this memoir added nothing to my knowledge of Churchill.
And the writer's account of his own childhood is rather pedestrian.
Memoirs are tricky things. It seems likely that some of the more famous incidents re: Churchill, such as his escape from the Boer prison camp---that the writer claims to have learned at the time---came from later reading, and were imported into his story to give it a bit more flavor.
What the book did remind me of was how both grandson Winston and his father, Lord Randolph Churchill, were horrible failures in their own right, not necessarily relative to the famous Winston Churchill, a standard that would be impossible to replicate.
February 5, 2018
Fodder for the Aging Anglophile
This rendition of the childhood adventures Sir Winston Churchill’s grandson (who comes off a something of a pill) and the author at Chartwell, the Churchill estate, in a couple summers in the author’s young life, will appeal to anyone interested in the Churchill clan, and in post-war Great Britain more generally. A good, if short, read, I recommend it to anglophiles and anybody looking for a mildly heartstring pulling story.
This rendition of the childhood adventures Sir Winston Churchill’s grandson (who comes off a something of a pill) and the author at Chartwell, the Churchill estate, in a couple summers in the author’s young life, will appeal to anyone interested in the Churchill clan, and in post-war Great Britain more generally. A good, if short, read, I recommend it to anglophiles and anybody looking for a mildly heartstring pulling story.
August 24, 2017
Very enjoyable reading
A wonderfully rendered memoir of a child's impressions of a very famous family and a beautiful house and gardens.
I would recommend this small book to anyone to read who has an interest in the Churchill family or an interest in the lives of children post war.
A wonderfully rendered memoir of a child's impressions of a very famous family and a beautiful house and gardens.
I would recommend this small book to anyone to read who has an interest in the Churchill family or an interest in the lives of children post war.
November 12, 2017
Nice bit of history from a child's perspective.
I quite enjoyed this glimpse into post-war Winston Churchill as told through the late-in-life memories of the young boy he was when he spent two summer vacations at Chartwell with the Churchills, accompanying grandson Winston on his visits to his famous grandfather and his wife Clemmie.
I quite enjoyed this glimpse into post-war Winston Churchill as told through the late-in-life memories of the young boy he was when he spent two summer vacations at Chartwell with the Churchills, accompanying grandson Winston on his visits to his famous grandfather and his wife Clemmie.
September 25, 2017
Good read
Good book did not want to put it down. Will always like a book of this kind. More of the same please.
Good book did not want to put it down. Will always like a book of this kind. More of the same please.
January 17, 2018
Recommend
Very interesting read.
And short read.
Would recommend to any who like the background stories of history and historical people.
Very interesting read.
And short read.
Would recommend to any who like the background stories of history and historical people.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews