Their finest hour ... was ahead of them
The recent film, Darkest Hour, is one of a number that recounts the pivotal role of Winston Churchill in the Second World War. They include Dunkirk in which the Prime Minister is a background character, and Churchill, which focusses on his personality and role.
Each is historical – but each takes poetic licence with the truth. Perhaps the most egregious example of the latter is the scene in Darkest Hour of Churchill conducting a focus group on the London Underground before defiantly informing Parliament, the nation and the world that ‘we will fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.’
Indeed Churchill is reported to have said, when advised that leaders should ‘keep their ear to the ground’, that the British people would not take kindly to their Prime Minister being found in such an ungainly posture!
Films about historic figures tend to reflect, at least to some extent, the sensitivities of their modern audiences: Darkest Hour is no different in this respect. While historians may quibble with some of the alleged events, if only because most viewers would not know otherwise, and therefore form an inaccurate view of the past, the film does highlight the power of individual courage, perseverance and fortitude.
Sir Winston Churchill is now praised as perhaps the greatest British leader of all time, the man who provided moral leadership at the gravest moment in the centuries-long history of the nation; who withstood the inclination to appease the enemy; and who suffered the lonely plight of misunderstanding, criticism and alienation, especially from his own.
Decades after the Second World War, it is easy to forget that Churchill was widely distrusted prior to becoming Prime Minister. He was blamed, rightly or wrongly, for the Gallipoli disaster of World War I, and other military failures. Yet, he led Britain through its greatest challenge.
Churchill’s story is echoed elsewhere. Australia’s two longest-serving Prime Ministers, Robert Menzies and John Howard, succeeded after having been dismissed as yesterday’s men. Menzies, as United Australia Party leader, lost to Labor, before regrouping and forming the modern Liberal Party. And Howard was dismissed by the critics, including many in his own Party, before winning the 1996 election and governing successfully for over a decade.
Despite the negativity surrounding their earlier roles, their finest hour was ahead of them. We should learn from history. As Churchill said: ‘success is not final; failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts.’
