Darkest Hour

by Anthony McCarten

  I wish to thank, also, my literary agent, Jennifer Joel at ICM Partners, and also Working Title Films, Universal Pictures and Focus Features for their support.

  But lastly, my deepest thanks and deepest debt is owed to Rebecca Cronshey, my heroic researcher, whose sleepless nights and archival sleuthing helped make this book what it is.

  References

  1. A House Divided

  p. 2: You have sat . . . go!: Leo Amery’s speech at Norway Debate: Hansard, Conduct of the War, HC Deb Series 5, 7 May 1940, vol. 360, cc.1140–51.

  p. 3: heart-broken and shrivelled: R. R. James (ed.), Chips: The Diaries of Sir Henry Channon (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 1993), p. 245.

  p. 4: Its heart is troubled . . . apprehensive: Arthur Greenwood: Hansard, Conduct of the War, HC Deb Series 5, 7 May 1940, vol. 360, cc.1171–2.

  p. 4: shocking story of ineptitude: Admiral Sir Roger Keyes: ibid., cc.1127–8.

  pp. 4–5: It is not Norway . . . attack Norway: Clement Attlee: ibid., cc.1093–4.

  p. 5: The P.M. is very depressed . . . ever since: John Colville, The Fringes of Power: Downing Street Diaries 1939–1955 (Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1985), 6 May 1940, p. 91.

  p. 5: indicate whether . . . conduct of affairs: Herbert Morrison: Hansard, Conduct of the War, HC Deb Series 5, 8 May 1940, vol. 360, cc.1265.

  p. 6: all talking about . . . the leadership: Colville, Fringes of Power, p. 93: Sir Samuel Hoare (Minister for Air), Sir John Simon (Chancellor), Sir Kingsley Wood (Lord Privy Seal).

  p. 7: jumped up ‘ . . . in the Lobby’: Hugh Dalton, The Fateful Years: Memoirs 1931–1945 (Frederick Muller, London, 1937), p. 305.

  p. 7: the worst strategic . . . seals of office: David Lloyd George: Hansard, Conduct of the War, HC Deb Series 5, 8 May 1940, vol. 360, c.1283.

  p. 8: I am so glad . . . eye opener: National Library of Wales, Lady Olwen Carey-Evans Papers 122/14a, MLG to Mrs PHG, 15 May 1940.

  p. 8: considerable pain: Neville Chamberlain diary, 16 June 1940 (Neville Chamberlain Papers, University of Birmingham).

  p. 9: I take complete . . . of the burden: Winston S. Churchill: Hansard, Conduct of the War, HC Deb Series 5, 8 May 1940, vol. 360, cc.1251–1366.

  p. 9: The right hon. . . . his colleagues: Lloyd George, HC Deb Series 5, 8 May 1940, vol. 360, c.1283.

  pp. 10–11: We watched . . . best for England: James (ed.), Chips, pp. 246–7.

  p. 11: you utterly . . . last night: Roy Jenkins, Churchill: A Biography (Macmillan, London, 2001).

  p. 11: disgusting . . . Hitler’s next move: Colville, Fringes of Power, p. 93.

  p. 12: rumour and intrigue, plot and counter-plot: James (ed.), Chips, p. 248.

  p. 12: made it clear . . . take over: Andrew Roberts, The Holy Fox: A Biography of Lord Halifax (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 1991), p. 245, based on ‘private information’.

  p. 13: he thought . . . in the Government: Lord Halifax, diary, 9 May 1940, Halifax Papers (Borthwick Institute, York), A7/8/4, p. 113.

  p. 13: if it were . . . House of Commons: Ibid.

  p. 13: The conversation . . . to do it: Ibid., p. 114.

  pp. 13–14: He [Halifax] told me . . . Prime Minister: R. A. Butler, The Art of the Possible: The Memoirs of Lord Butler, K.G., C.H. (Hamish Hamilton, London, 1971), p. 84.

  p. 16: Naturally the only . . . to an end: Colonel Roderick Macleod, DSO, MC, and Denis Kelly (eds.), The Ironside Diaries: 1937–1940 (Constable, London, 1962), p. 293.

  p. 16: an attack . . . the question: Roberts, Holy Fox, p. 274.

  p. 17: In March 1939 . . . at this juncture: D. R. Thorpe, Eden: The Life and Times of Anthony Eden, First Earl of Avon, 1897–1977 (Pimlico, London, 2004), p. 237.

  p. 17: rehearsed to me . . . must be formed: The Rt Hon. The Earl of Avon, KG, PC, MC, The Eden Memoirs, vol. 2: The Reckoning (Cassell, London, 1965), p. 96.

  p. 17: I will serve . . . the War: A. J. P. Taylor, Beaverbrook (Hamish Hamilton, London, 1972), p. 409.

  pp. 17–18: that if asked . . . I seconded it: Avon, Reckoning, pp. 96–7.

  p. 18: he would happily . . . either man: Lord Halifax, diary, p. 114.

  p. 19: stomach ache continued . . . really mattered: Lord Halifax, diary, p. 115

  p. 19: suitable expression . . . my view: Ibid.

  p. 19: ‘Can you see’ . . . Armistice Day: Winston S. Churchill, The Second World War, vol. 1: The Gathering Storm (The Folio Society, London, 2000), pp. 522–3.

  p. 20: Chief Whip . . . steady Winston: David Dilks (ed.), The Diaries of Sir Alexander Cadogan, O.M. (Cassell, London, 1971), 9 May 1940, p. 280; Roberts, Holy Fox.

  p. 20: nothing in particular: Churchill, Gathering Storm, p. 522.

  p. 20: hoped NC . . . of [the] party: Avon, Eden Memoirs, p. 97.

  p. 21: I felt as if . . . not fail: Churchill, Gathering Storm, pp. 525–6.

  2. The Social Wastrel

  p. 25: fell in love with her at first sight: Winston S. Churchill, My Early Life (Eland, London, 2000), author’s preface.

  p. 25: My mother . . . at a distance: Ibid., p. 13.

  p. 26: My father died . . . his memory: Churchill, My Early Life, p. 70.

  p. 27: After all . . . all lessons: Ibid., pp. 17–18.

  p. 27: a most delightful man . . . into [his] bones: Ibid., p. 24.

  pp. 28–9: 9 August 1893 . . . Randolph S.C.: Randolph S. Churchill (ed.), The Churchill Documents, vol. 1: Youth 1874–1896 (Heinemann, London, 1967), pp. 390–91.

  p. 30: I am all . . . there again: Churchill, My Early Life, p. 47.

  p. 30: exceeded in severity . . . military equitation: Ibid., p. 71

  p. 30: She still knew . . . I had lived: Ibid., p. 80.

  p. 31: the closing decade . . . live my life: Ibid., p. 83.

  p. 32: When first . . . Treasure Island: Ibid., p. 85.

  p. 32: keenest realization . . . our own: Ibid., p. 110.

  p. 33: resolved to read . . . standard works: Ibid., p. 117.

  p. 33: embarked on that . . . strong wind: Ibid., p. 118.

  p. 34: know rest only . . . resist it: Winston S. Churchill, Savrola: A Tale of the Revolution in Laurania (George Newnes, London, 1908), p. 32.

  p. 36: believed in . . . over Oldham: Roy Jenkins, Churchill: A Biography (Macmillan, London, 2001), p. 65.

  p. 36: who was for . . . swore his fealty: Ibid., p. 71.

  p. 37: I was all . . . retrenchment and reform: Churchill, My Early Life, p. 374.

  pp. 37–8: put in an appearance . . . the Liberals: Violet Bonham-Carter, Winston Churchill: An Intimate Portrait (Harcourt, Brace & World, New York, 1965), p. 89.

  pp. 42–3: I thought of the peril . . . next day: Winston S. Churchill, The World Crisis, 1911–1918 (Macmillan, London, 1931), p. 46.

  p. 43: the Germans that . . . build more: Jenkins, Churchill, p. 220.

  p. 44: foremost enemy: Ibid., p. 232.

  p. 44: For many in Britain . . . unthinkable: Michael Shelden, Young Titan: The Making of Winston Churchill (Simon & Schuster, New York, 2013), p. 296.

  p. 44: The lamps . . . in our lifetime: Viscount Grey of Falloden, Twenty-Five Years 1892–1916, vol. II (Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1925), p. 223.

  p. 45: and undertake command . . . Antwerp: Winston S. Churchill to Herbert Asquith, 5 October 1914, cited in Martin Gilbert, Winston S. Churchill, vol. III: The Challenge of War, 1914–1916 (Minerva, London, 1971), p. 163.

  p. 46: evolving army-based plan: Timothy Travers, Gallipoli 1915 (Tempus, Stroud, 2001), p. 23.

  p. 46: seething cauldron: Jenkins, Churchill, p. 260.

  p. 48: I am finished! . . . Germans: Gilbert, Challenge of War, p. 457.

  p. 48: thought he would die of grief: Ibid., p. 473.

  p. 48: If you throw Winston . . . Government: Ibid., p. 459.

  p. 49: the German shell-fire . . . constant hazard: Martin Gilbert, Churchill: A Life (Heinemann, London, 1991), p. 346.

  pp. 49–50: To be great . . . requires explanation: Mary Soames (ed.), Winst
on and Clementine: The Personal Letters of the Churchills (Houghton Mifflin, Boston, p. 198), p. 198.

  p. 50: belief that will . . . task envisaged: Jenkins, Churchill, p. 351.

  p. 51: I’m forever blowing . . . mortal pain: Mary Soames, Clementine Churchill (Doubleday, London, 2002), p. 202.

  pp. 51–2: did not indulge . . . with life: Ibid.

  p. 52: His ‘life seat’ . . . in his hands: Jenkins, Churchill, p. 375.

  p. 53: This fulfils . . . splendid Office: Gilbert, Churchill: A Life, p. 465.

  p. 56: The Indian issue . . . three years: Jenkins, Churchill, p. 440.

  p. 57: [a]ll these bands . . . the Fatherland: Winston S. Churchill, speech to House of Commons, Hansard, HC Deb Series 5, 23 November 1932, vol. 272, cc.73–92.

  p. 57: Germany got off lightly . . . Great War: Ibid., 13 April 1933, vol. 276, cc.2786–800.

  pp. 57–8: that she [Germany] . . . their birth: Ibid.

  p. 58: Hitler himself claimed . . . communism: Martin Gilbert, The Roots of Appeasement (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 1966), p. 143.

  p. 61: My heart sank . . . vision of Death: Winston S. Churchill, The Second World War, vol. 1: The Gathering Storm (The Folio Society, London, 2000), p. 231.

  p. 61: I predict that . . . stand alone: Winston S. Churchill, speech to House of Commons, Hansard, HC Deb Series 5, 22 February 1938, vol. 332, cc.235–48.

  p. 62: Hitler angry that . . . the proposal: Gilbert, Roots of Appeasement, p. 175.

  p. 62: tell Germany . . . war with her: Lord Halifax, referring to a conversation between himself, Churchill and Neville Chamberlain, CAB 23/95/5.

  p. 62: symbolic of the desire . . . war again: Chamberlain returns from Munich with Anglo-German agreement, 30 September 1938, BBC National Programme 1938-09-30 (BBC Archive Recording, Feston Airport, Hounslow, West London).

  pp. 63–4: I will . . . begin . . . olden time: Winston S. Churchill, speech to House of Commons, Hansard, HC Deb Series 5, 5 October 1938, vol. 339, cc.359–74.

  3. A Leader Falls

  p. 67: I think I shall . . . tomorrow: Randolph S. Churchill recollection, dictated at Stour, East Bergholt, 13 February 1963, cited in Martin Gilbert, The Churchill War Papers, vol. 1: At the Admiralty: September 1939–May 1940 (Heinemann, London, 1993), p. 1266.

  p. 67: Boxes with telegrams . . . Foreign Office: Winston S. Churchill, The Second World War, vol. I, The Gathering Storm (The Folio Society, London, 2000), p. 523.

  pp. 67–8: spirit, so far from . . . morning ride: Samuel Hoare, Nine Troubled Years (Collins, London, 1954), pp. 431–2.

  p. 68: could not get out . . . for security: Colonel Roderick Macleod, DSO, MC, and Denis Kelly (eds.), The Ironside Diaries: 1937–1940 (Constable, London, 1962), 10 May 1940, p. 301.

  p. 68: It is reported . . . invaded Holland: BBC Home Service, 7 a.m. bulletin, Friday, 10 May 1940.

  p. 69: the German hordes . . . beating the enemy: Randolph S. Churchill, in Gilbert, At the Admiralty, pp. 1269–70.

  p. 70: the whole plan . . . move quickly: CAB 65/7/9.

  p. 70: withhold his resignation . . . was finished: Hoare, Nine Troubled Years, p. 432; Churchill, Gathering Storm, p. 523.

  p. 70: Newspaper headlines, 10 May 1940: Daily Express, Daily Mirror, Daily Mail, Daily Telegraph.

  p. 73: on the contrary . . . confront it: Churchill, Gathering Storm, p. 523.

  p. 73: Ironside informed . . . Albert Canal: CAB 65/7/10.

  pp. 73–4: along the Meuse . . . airmen in trouble: Philip Warner, The Battle of France, 10 May–22 June 1940: Six Weeks Which Changed the World (Cassell, London, 1990), pp. 50–52.

  p. 74: open towns in Belgium: CAB 69/1.

  p. 74: in the event . . . speed into Belgium: Lionel Hastings, Baron Ismay, The Memoirs of General the Lord Ismay K.G., P.C., G.C.B., C.H., D.S.O. (Heinemann, London, 1960), p. 123.

  p. 74: that if the accumulated . . . in Germany: CAB 83/3/12.

  p. 75: psychological effect of . . . 24 hours: CAB 65/7/11.

  pp. 75–6: The Labour Party . . . the nation: Ibid.

  p. 76: in the light . . . that evening: Ibid.

  p. 76: Although [he] . . . last-minute approaches: Andrew Roberts, The Holy Fox: A Biography of Lord Halifax (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 1991), p. 280.

  pp. 76–7: How grossly unfairly . . . to send for: Sir John Wheeler-Bennett, King George VI: His Life and Reign (Macmillan, London, 1958), p. 444.

  p. 77: It is a terrible risk . . . the prospect: John Colville, The Fringes of Power: Downing Street Diaries 1939–1955 (Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1985), p. 96.

  p. 78: During these tense . . . as possible: Mary Soames, Clementine Churchill (Cassell, London, 1979), ch. 19.

  p. 78: the public had not . . . Palace gates: Churchill, Gathering Storm, p. 525.

  pp. 78–9: His majesty received . . . certainly do so: Ibid.

  p. 79: full of fire . . . Prime Minister: Wheeler-Bennett, King George VI, p. 444.

  p. 79: God alone knows . . . do our best: Ex-Detective Inspector W. H. Thompson, I was Churchill’s Shadow (Christopher Johnson, London, 1951), p. 37.

  p. 80: [T]his sudden coup . . . half-breed American: Colville, Fringes of Power, pp. 96–7.

  p. 80: My dear Neville . . . Winston S. Churchill: Winston S. Churchill to Neville Chamberlain, 19 February, cited in Gilbert, At the Admiralty, p. 1285.

  p. 81: It gives me so much . . . the master: Churchill to Lord Halifax, cited in Gilbert, At the Admiralty, p. 1285.

  p. 82: had known both . . . Liberal Oppositions: Churchill, Gathering Storm, p. 526.

  p. 82: Minister of Defence . . . scope and powers: Ibid.

  pp. 83–4: Early this morning . . . and overthrown: Neville Chamberlain, resignation speech, 10 May 1940. BBC broadcast on the British Library’s Sound Server.

  pp. 84–5: During these last . . . than dreams: Churchill, Gathering Storm, pp. 526–7.

  4. The Holy Fox

  p. 87: I don’t understand . . . ‘noblesse oblige’: R. R. James (ed.), Chips: The Diaries of Sir Henry Channon (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 1993), p. 249.

  p. 88: a paragon amongst women: Andrew Roberts, The Holy Fox: A Biography of Lord Halifax (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 1991), p. 12.

  pp. 88–9: I have no desire . . . a gentleman: Ben Pimlott (ed.), The Second World War Diary of Hugh Dalton (Jonathan Cape, London, 1985), 14 November 1940, p. 101.

  p. 89: aloof, serious, devout, . . . ‘Holy Fox’: Andrew Muldoon, Empire, Politics and the Creation of the 1935 India Act: Last Act of the Raj (Routledge, London, 2016), p. 44. Also cited in Roberts, Holy Fox, p. 6.

  p. 90: to affect your judgement: Roberts, Holy Fox, p. 51.

  p. 90: catalogue of errors and disasters: Ibid., p. 53.

  p. 90: carried himself . . . wasn’t one: Ibid., p. 63.

  p. 91: that our policy . . . of acceptance: CAB 23/83, 10 March 1936.

  p. 92: improve our contacts . . . criticism of Germany: CAB 23/87/3, 13 January 1937.

  p. 93: confine himself . . . and Czechoslovakia: The Rt Hon. The Earl of Avon KG, PC, MC, The Eden Memoirs, vol. 1: Facing the Dictators (Cassell, London, 1965), p. 509.

  p. 93: possible alterations . . . and Czechoslovakia: Ibid., p. 515. Also cited in Halifax Papers (Borthwick Institute, York), A4 410 3 3.

  p. 94: both personally and . . . feel the same!: Halifax to Baldwin, 15 November 1937, Baldwin Papers, 173/61.

  p. 94: there was much . . . fully informed: Halifax Papers, A4 410 3 3.

  p. 95: struck me as . . . everything he said: Ibid.

  p. 95: His personality . . . at Chatsworth: Ibid.

  p. 95: The Germans had . . . their country: CAB 23/90/43, 24 November 1937.

  p. 96: the British people . . . to merge: Alan Bullock (ed.), The Ribbentrop Memoirs (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 1954), p. 84.

  p. 96: a man of uncertain . . . opinions: Martin Gilbert, The Roots of Appeasement (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 1966), p. 182.

  p. 97: in the poss
ibility . . . been swept: Ibid.

  pp. 97–8: [Halifax] made the . . . catastrophic: Roberts, Holy Fox, p. 66.

  pp. 98–9: I spent an hour . . . for himself: Ambassador Joseph Kennedy to Cordell Hull, US Secretary of State, FRUS, 1938, 1:722, 12 October 1938.

  p. 99: The happenings in . . . very difficult: CAB 27/624/32, 14 November 1938.

  p. 99: ultimate end . . . be uncertain: CAB 23/96/59 (38), 15 December 1938.

  p. 100: for some time: Keir Papers, cited in Roberts, Holy Fox, p. 191.

  pp. 100–101: On our way home . . . being raped: The Earl of Halifax, Fulness of Days (Collins, London, 1957), p. 215.

  p. 101: that there was a rational . . . solutions: Roberts, Holy Fox, p. 157.

  5. The Great ‘Dictator’

  p. 105: you and Edward . . . directing the war: Winston S. Churchill to Neville Chamberlain, 11 May 1940, Churchill Papers, 20/11, and Chamberlain’s reply. Cited in Martin Gilbert, The Churchill War Papers, vol. 2: Never Surrender: May 1940–December 1940 (William Heinemann, London, 1993).

  pp. 105–6: long interview . . . Winston considerably: Kevin Jefferys, War and Reform: British Politics during the Second World War (Manchester University Press, Manchester, 1994), p. 42.

  p. 107: the Labour People . . . House of Commons: Lord Halifax, diary, 11 May 1940, Halifax Papers (Borthwick Institute, York), A7/8/4, p. 119.

  p. 107: About one o’clock . . . were announced: R. R. James (ed.), Chips: The Diaries of Sir Henry Channon (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 1993), 11 May 1940, p. 251.

  pp. 107–8: always [being] particularly . . . indiscretions: Ruth Ive, The Woman Who Censored Churchill (History Press, Stroud, 2008), p 56.

  p. 108: [w]e want all . . . pull us through: Colonel Roderick Macleod, DSO, MC, and Denis Kelly (eds.), The Ironside Diaries: 1937–1940 (Constable, London, 1962), 11 May 1940, p. 303.

  p. 108: Attlee and Greenwood . . . on intellect: Lord Halifax, diary, 11 May 1940, p. 119.

  p. 108: [i]t is the personalities . . . much else: Neville Chamberlain to Winston S. Churchill, 11 May 1940, Churchill Papers, 20/11, cited in Gilbert, Never Surrender.