Went to see the King's Speech last night.  It is an enjoyable film. However, I think some of the praise for it is, at least in part, do to the current dearth of enjoyable adult movies.  Coling Firth was very good.

Last edited by g- (2010-12-28 11:33:09)

Without a doubt, Churchill was an important factor in Allied victory in WWII. Under Chamberlain, British morale had been  low:  just one indicator of this is the  25% of young men who applied  for conscientious objector status in parts of Scotland. And very importantly, Churchill's ability to make the right tactical decision of dealing with and then  supplying the Russians  -- who won the war as much as anyone  did --against what must have been his class instincts, also cannot be underestimated.

However, let's not get carried away here and start to bad mouth India's leaders. Under Churchill's watch, some three million British subjects in India starved to death in the Bengal Famine of 1943 so that there was no chance of the Japanese being supplied.

BTW, NJS, I too remember that Observer issue, and also being forced to watch the funeral and being told by left wing parents how important Churchill was.

Last edited by Sammy Ambrose (2010-12-28 18:55:30)

Last edited by Sammy Ambrose (2010-12-29 08:14:40)

I'll make this my last contribution on Churchill and the Bengal Famine and let folk get  back to  discussing the movie. In the words of Nobel Economics prize winner,  Amartya Sen:

" There was the general sense of callousness. Churchill permitted himself to make the remark that the Indian population bring it onto itself by breeding like rabbits. And there was another statement of his when he said that he was well aware that the Indian people were the beastliest in the world, next to the Germans. " (from the BBC/ OU discussion with Michael Portillo http://www.open2.net/thingsweforgot/bengalfamine_programme.html)

In other words, there was unfortunatly more to Churchill's anti-Indianism than a dislike of bolshie troublemakers in wartime.

NJS: Yes, on Churchill's overall importance in winning the war we are very much in agreement.

Last edited by NJS (2011-01-04 04:21:32)