No More Champagne

by David Lough

  45. 5, 7, 11, 22 Aug, 23 Sep 1947 VdaC contracts, CHUR 1/9/248, 256, 258, 261, 262, 269.

  46. 24 Sep 1947 W. Judd ltr to WSC, CHUR 1/23/361.

  47. D. Reynolds, In Command of History, p. 83.

  48. W. Graebner, My Dear Mr. Churchill, pp. 99–102; 22 Oct 1947 D. Longwell memo to W. Graebner, boxes 2, 4 Payments, WSCDL, CURBMSL. Graebner suggested LIFE should fund Rufus’s replacement, but Longwell insisted that he and Graebner meet the cost personally. Rufus II cost $159, but was not a success as he contracted ‘St Vitus’s dance’ after an inoculation against distemper.

  49. 11 Oct 1947 W. Graebner cbl to D. Longwell, box 2, ibid.

  50. 23 Oct 1947 W. Graebner cbl to D. Longwell, box 2, ibid.

  51. 28 Nov 1947 D. Longwell cbl to W. Graebner, box 2, ibid.

  52. 13 Nov 1947 P. Brooks memo to H. Laughlin, Book of the Month Club 1948 and 1949 file, box 318/1 HMCo, HMHU.

  53. 10 Dec 1947 D. Reynolds, In Command of History, p. 86–7.

  54. 24 Nov 1947 T. Cook ltr to WSC, CHUR 1/68/205.

  55. 24 Dec 1947 WSC ltr to CSC, CHUR1/44/33–8.

  56. 7 Jan 1948 N. Sturdee ltr to L. Marston, CHUR 1/18/42.

  57. Dec 1947–Jan 1948 Summary of Mamounia Hotel bills; CHUR 1/69/77, 85, 90–2.

  58. 10 Jan 1948 D. Longwell cbl to W. Graebner, box 2, WSCDL, CURBMSL.

  59. 18 Jan 1948 N. Sturdee ltr to Banque d’État du Maroc, CHUR 1/68/240; WSC cbl to D. Longwell, box 2, WSCDL, CURBMSL.

  60. Jan 1948 Box 4 Vacation Payments to Winston Churchill, WSCDL, CURBMSL.

  61. D. Reynolds, In Command of History, p. 90, 131–2.

  24. Racing to the Finish, 1948–50

  1. 25 Mar 1948 WSC note to Ld Ismay, Ismay papers 2/3/45, cited D. Reynolds In Command of History, p. 68.

  2. 28 Apr 1948 A. Sulzberger ltr to WSC, CHUR 4/17/206; 3 Jun 1948 E. Reves ltr to WSC, 4/12/179. See D. Reynolds, In Command of History, pp. 129–33.

  3. 21 Apr 1948, BMB ltr to WSC, Baruch Papers, MC006 Book 125, PUMM.

  4. Mar 1948 H. Laughlin ltr to ER, WSC ER 1948–51 file, box 318/1, HMCo, HLHU; 28 Jun 1948 ER ltr to WSC, CHUR 4/12/177; U/d HM Co Trade Sales ‘Showings’ 1919–76 file, box 319/7, HMCo, HLHU. The Book of the Month Club accounted for 412,000 sales, Canada 27,700. The Second World War, including the final boxed set and abridged version, grossed Houghton Mifflin $2,240,000 and produced approximately $800,000 contribution to its profits, after it had paid $500,000 profit share to Emery Reves.

  5. 4 Feb 1949 Spectator, p. 141, CHUR 4/24/334, cited D. Reynolds, In Command of History, p. 139. Cassell & Co.’s revenue from the first volume reached £275,000.

  6. 2 May 1948 W. Graebner cbl to D. Longwell, box 3 WSCDL, CURBMSL.

  7. Apr 1948 LlBk statement, CHUR 1/1/35.

  8. 26 Jun 1948 W. Graebner ltr to H. Luce, H. Luce note to D. Longwell, box 2, WSCDL, CURBMSL.

  9. 1, 2 Jul 1948 W. Graebner cbl corresp with D. Longwell, box 2 WSCDL, CURBMSL.

  10. 29 Jul 1948, CSC note to WSC, CHUR 1/71/178.

  11. 12 Aug 1948 LlBk statement, CHUR 1/1/58. The payments were of £10,000 each; neither film was ever made.

  12. R. Boothby, Reminiscences of a Rebel, p. 60, 63.

  13. 25, 26 Aug, 1 Sep 1948 NM corresp with WSC, LlBk statements, CHUR 1/18/141, 168; 1/1/61, 62.

  14. 12 Apr 1944 C. Nicholl ltr to WSC, CHUR 1/40/1–6. Churchill’s daughters were only to be entitled to the income, not the capital, from their shares.

  15. 17 Feb 1949 NM ltr to WSC, CHUR 1/40/19–29.

  16. Aug, Sep 1948 Hôtel René-Roy accounts, Snedaker, TIME-LIFE ltrs to L. Marston, CHUR 1/70/8, 96, 114, 130; CHUR 1/70/143–6.

  17. W. Graebner, My Dear Mr Churchill, p. 34.

  18. 11 Dec 1948 W. Graebner cbl to Babington-Smith, TIME, box 3, WSCDL, CURBMSL.

  19. 12 Nov 1948 W. Graebner ltr to D. Longwell, box 2, WSCDL, CURBMSL.

  20. 14 Dec 1948 D. Longwell cbl to W. Graebner, box 3, WSCDL, CURBMSL.

  21. 31 Dec 1948 LlBk statement, CHUR 1/1/82.

  22. 1948 LlBk statements, CHUR 1/1/37, 40, 46, 61, 73, 81; 24 April 1948 WSC note to C. Soames, CHUR 1/32/416.

  23. 30 Nov 1948 A. Moir ltr to H. Boarland, CHUR 4/41/255–6; 5 Nov 1947, 18 Nov, 16 Dec 1948, 24 May 1949 Odhams Press letters, agreement with WSC, 4/40/130, 97, 146–7, 29–30; 12, 22 May 1949 E. Warner ltrs to WSC, 4/40/17, 19; July 1951 CHUR 4/40/85. The £500 payment at issue was small compared with the tax at risk on The Second World War, but Churchill initially refused to accept Charles Graham-Dixon’s view that he should disclose the payment to the Inland Revenue, and offer ‘without prejudice’ to pay tax. Churchill asked Odhams Press to convert his future royalties to a single lump sum: Odhams set the sum at £5,000, provided Churchill’s paintings did not appear elsewhere in book form for five years.

  As confidence in sales grew in the run-up to publication in November 1948, the publishers raised their initial print run to 25,000 copies. These sold out; two more print runs followed in 1949 and sales reached 57,000 copies. McGraw Hill published in the US during May 1950: sales were 20,000 after ten days and still running at 1,000 per week. A Japanese edition followed in 1951.

  24. 10 Dec 1948 A. Moir ltr to WSC, CHUR 4/41/253–4.

  25. 10 Jan–9 Feb 1949 HM Inland Revenue internal correspondence, NA IR 40/12833.

  26. 9 Feb 1949 HM Inland Revenue Board minute, NA IR 40/12833; 24 Feb 1949 A. Moir ltr to WSC, CHUR 4/41/252.

  27. 21 Feb 1949 V. Timbrell memo to H. Boarland, NA IR 40/12833.

  28. 28 Mar 1949 V. Timbrell memo to J. Snellgrove, ibid.

  29. 19 Feb 1949 W. Graebner cbl to D. Longwell, box 2, WSCDL, CURBMSL.

  30. 25 Feb 1949 D. Longwell ltr to W. Graebner, ibid.

  31. 8 Mar 1949 A. Moir ltr to WSC, CHUR 1/28/301.

  32. Mar 1949, WSC ltr to A. Moir (drafted but not sent), CHUR 1/28/298–300.

  33. 21 Apr 1949 H. Boarland ltr to A. Moir, CHUR 4/41/249.

  34. 30 Jun 1949 WSC draft ltr for A. Moir, CHUR 4/41/236–8.

  35. 2 Mar 1949 WSC ltr to M. Berry, CHUR 4/13/144.

  36. Mar 1949 H. Luce Speech Churchill Dinner 1949 file, box OV2, Clare Booth Luce Papers, LoCW.

  37. 1 Apr 1949 D. Longwell ltr to WSC, box 2, WSCDL, CURBMSL.

  38. 15 Apr 1949 H. Laughlin ltr to D. Longwell, WSC: LIFE magazine 1950 & 1951 file, box 318/1 HMCo, HLHU.

  39. 1 Apr 1949 ER ltr to WSC, M. Gilbert, Winston Churchill and Emery Reves, p. 295.

  40. 2, 3, 31 May 1949 WSC ltr to Ld Camrose, LlBk ltrs to WSC, CHUR 4/13/9;1/12/47, 8.

  41. 21 Jun 1949 Secretaries’ memo to WSC, CHUR 1/21/342.

  42. 3 Jun 1949 C. Soames memo to WSC, CHUR 1/92/128–9.

  43. J. Colville, The Churchilians, p. 27; 30 Jun 1949 J. Sturdee memo to WSC, CHUR 1/92/328.

  44. 23 Jul 1949 C. Soames memo to WSC, CHUR 1/92/125.

  45. 14 Jul, 15, 23 Sep, 12, 26 Oct 1950 Betting records, WSC cbl to Ld Camrose, CHUR 1/92/65, 63, 59, 58, 51. Camrose was part of Churchill’s betting circle.

  46. U/d Schedule, Races won by Colonist II, Prize money 1949–60, CHUR 1//92/115, 1/158/136.

  47. 29 Apr 1950, WSC ltr to CSC, SFT:555.

  48. W. Graebner, My Dear Mr. Churchill, p. 84.; J. Wood, Racing Profit & Loss account, CHUR 1/92/3. Wood’s accounts records show Churchill’s betting between August 1949–June 1950 netted profits of £1,000.

  49. 15 Oct 1950 C. Soames memo to WSC, CHUR 1/92/120–3.

  50. 6 Dec 1951 The Times, 23 Dec 1951 LlBk advice to WSC, CHUR 1/14/16. Churchill netted £6,493 after expenses.

  51. 29 Nov 1951 WSC ltr to R. Millais, CHUR 1/92/69. The artist was Raoul Millais.

  52. 21 Apr, 7, 9 Jul 1949 D. Longwell cbl corresp with W. Graebner, WSC Holiday expenses 1947–9, box 2, WSCDL, CURBMS. The holiday cost $8,300.

  53. 22 Aug 1949 ER ltr to WSC, M. Gilbert, Winston Churchill and Emery Reves, p. 297–300.

  54. The question of whether and how Churchill should pay his physician, Lord Moran, after the war proved sensitive. It was c
ommon ground that Moran’s flights and other expenses should be reimbursed, but Moran himself had refused more direct reward. The tax advantages of a seven-year covenant provided the solution. Churchill began paying Lady Moran £500 a year, officially net of tax, thus allowing her to reclaim the tax notionally deducted before Churchill’s payment, so that she ended up with £900 a year. Churchill was allowed to deduct this notional £900 from his income before calculating his tax, reducing his net cost to just over £100 a year. As an ageing Churchill’s demands on his doctor grew, similar arrangements were established for the Morans’ sons, Geoffrey and John.

  55. 18 Sep 1949 Sir Stafford Cripps announced that the official exchange rate between the pound and the US dollar would fall from $4.03 to $2.80 = £1 (a reduction of 30.5 per cent) with effect from the following day.

  56. 23 Sep 1949 WSC ltr to D. Longwell, box 2, WSCDL, CURBMSL.

  57. 11 Nov 1949 H. Scherman ltr to H. Laughlin, Churchill Book of the Month Club 1948 and 1949 File, box 318/1 HMCo, HLHU. By 11 November 1949, the club had despatched 247,500 of the second volume compared to 366,000 of the first volume.

  58. 3 Nov 1949 WSC note, CHUR 4/13/33.

  59. 12 May 1950 C. Graham-Dixon Opinion, CHUR 4/41/200.

  60. 17 Sep 1949 R. Lewenthal ltr to WSC, CHUR 1/26/34. The royalty rate proposed was 5 per cent.

  61. 18 Nov 1949 A. Moir ltr to N. Sturdee, CHUR 1/26/70.

  62. 10 Jan 1950 E. Gilliatt cbl to A. Moir, CHUR 1/26/106.

  63. 24, 25, 26 Jan 1950 A. Moir ltrs to N. Sturdee, WSC, draft to Odhams, CHUR 1/26/116–7, 118, 120. 8 Jan 1950 (backdated) WSC agreement with Hall Bros, 1/26/97–105. Permitted uses of the paintings included calendars, greeting and playing cards as well as Christmas cards. The Halls’ first cheque for $12,500 arrived on 13 February 1950.

  64. 19 Jul 1950 E. Gilliatt note to WSC, CHUR 1/26/196.

  65. 23 Dec 1950 WSC ltr to A. Moir, CHUR 1/26/235.

  66. 5, 15 Oct 1949 D. Kelly Chartwell Literary Trust Minutes, WSC note, CHUR 4/41/178, 175–7.

  67. 15 Aug 1950 C. Soames note to WSC, CHUR 1/46/301–2. Losses were £8,607 (1948), £8,707 (1949), £8,751 (1950) and £8,414 (1951).

  68. 4 Nov 1949 NM ltr to WSC, CHUR 1/27/103. Papers for the meeting showed £21,063 already gifted: £10,213 to Randolph, £10,000 to Diana and £400 each to Sarah (now married to Anthony Beauchamp) and Mary.

  69. 1 Jan, 31 Dec 1949 LlBk statements, CHUR 1/1/83, LBGA B/1034/b/51. Churchill’s current account finished 1949 with a credit balance of £1,347 but was £307 overdrawn after New Year payments.

  70. LlBk schedules 1949/50 taxation, CHUR 1/7/160, 161–70. £37,000 of the £80,000 was treated as ‘capital receipts’. The potentially taxable £43,000 remaining was reduced to £5,000 when Churchill claimed £38,000 of expenses: £20,000 literary expenses, £8,900 farming losses (and the balance mainly family allowances). The Churchills’ joint investment income was £4,800 (£2,800 of dividends, interest and underwriting fees on Churchill’s account; £900 from Lord Randolph’s will trust and marriage settlements; £336 in Clementine’s name; and £700 from her marriage settlement).

  71. 15, 29 Apr 1950 WSC ltr to CSC, CHUR 1/47/104, 136.

  72. 26 May 1950 D. Longwell ltr to H. Laughlin, WSC: LIFE magazine 1950 and 1951 file box 318/1, HMCo, HLHU.

  73. 15, 20 Jul 1950 ER ltrs to H. Laughlin, WSC; Houghton Mifflin schedule of sales, Churchill: Emery Reves 1948–51, box 318/1, HMCo, HLHU; CHUR 4/12/74.

  74. 5 Jul 1950 ER ltrs to WSC, CHUR 4/12/74–6, 96–9. French sales fell from 85,000 (first volume) to 45,000 (second volume) and then to 28,000 (third volume).

  75. 11 Jul 1950 WSC ltr to ER, CHUR 4/12/86–7.

  76. 2 Aug 1950 D. Flower ltr to WSC, CHUR 4/24/433.

  77. 22 Aug 1950 WSC ltr to O. Frewen, CHUR 2/167 cited 8:548.

  78. 2 Sep 1950 ER ltr to H. Laughlin, WSC: Emery Reves 1949–51 file, box 318/1, HMCo, HLHU.

  79. 10 Oct 1950 New York Times, pp. 1, 22, 30, 33, cited D. Reynolds, In Command of History, p. 349. Houghton Mifflin met its publication date in November 1950; in Britain a strike by printers and shortages of paper forced Cassell & Co. to wait until August 1951 to publish.

  25. Post-war Prime Minister, 1951–5

  1. 3, 8 Nov 1950 ER corresp with WSC, M. Gilbert, Winston Churchill and Emery Reves, pp. 311–14, CHUR 4/63C/744–5.

  2. 25 Dec 1950 WSC ltr to CSC, 8:580.

  3. 26 Jan 1951 W. Graebner ltr to D. Longwell, CHUR 4/15/427.

  4. 31 Jan 1951 D. Longwell ltr to J. Adler, New York Times file, box 3, WSCDl, CURBMSL; 6 Mar 1951 LlBk statement, LGBA B/1034/b/51. Churchill paid £1,126.

  5. C. Lysaght, Brendan Bracken, p. 288.

  6. 15 Feb 1951 W. Graebner cbl to E. Thomson, box 2, WSCDL, CURBMSL. Thomson was Daniel Longwell’s assistant; he looked after the Churchill series when Longwell became ill.

  7. 29 Apr 1951 J. Adler Memorandum, box 3, WSCDL, CURBMSL.

  8. 29 Apr 1951 J. Adler Memorandum, box 3, WSCDL, CURBMSL.

  9. 3 May, 30 Mar 1951 D. Longwell cbl, ltr to J. Adler, New York Times file box 3, WSCDL, CURBMSL.

  10. 1, 10 May 1951 D. Longwell cbl to H. Luce, ltr to R. Heiskell, box 3, WSCDL, CURBMSL.

  11. M. Daunton, Just Taxes, p.229.

  12. 3 Aug 1951 WSC ltr to CSC, 8:627–9.

  13. M. Soames, Clementine Churchill, p. 459; 17 Dec 1951, 4 Feb 1952 N. Sturdee note to WSC, A. Moir ltr to N. Sturdee, CHUR 4/41/214, 221, 223. Relieved of the death duty threat, the trustees made the long-term investments for which Churchill had long pressed, committing £128,000 to the purchase of shares in leading British companies, such as Associated Electrical Industries, Babcock & Wilcox, The Distillers Company, Metal Box & Printing Industries, The Peninsular and Oriental Steamship Company (P&O), The ‘Shell’ Transport and Trading Company, and Tube Investments.

  14. 26 Jul 1951 H. Laughlin ltr to WSC, CHUR 4/14/113. The Book of the Month Club accounted for 1,118,750 of 1,491,051 sales.

  15. 3 Aug 1951 WSC ltr to CSC, 8:627–9.

  16. 10 Dec 1952 D. Longwell memo to R. Heiskell, box 3, WSCDL, CURBMSL.

  17. 22 Sep 1953 D. Longwell memo to E. Thompson, box 3, WSCDL, CURBMSL. Longwell estimated excerpts from The Second World War attracted $4 million of advertising revenue to LIFE – see also 22 Sep 1946 D. Longwell memo to E. Thompson, box 4, WSCDL, CURBSML.

  18. 20 Sep 1951 WSC memo to syndicate, CHUR 4/25/38.

  19. Oct 1951 J. Wood schedules, CHUR 1/8/10–11. Churchill’s taxable income between 5 April–5 October 1951 totalled £37,852, nearly all from his books. 5 Oct 1952 J. Wood, Wood, Willey & Co. Financial Statement, 1/8/27–9.

  20. 23 Aug 1950 M. Muggeridge diary, Like It Was, p. 408, cited M. Gilbert, Winston Churchill and Emery Reves, p. 311.

  21. 1952 J. Wood schedule, CHUR 1/8/137.

  22. 25 Oct, 7 Nov 1951, March 1953 Slaughter & May ltrs to A. Moir, WSC contract with The Daily Telegraph, CHUR 1/7/189, 1/28/116, 126. Churchill was to receive [1] £35,000 (or such lesser sum as he chose for his tax-planning purposes) on 1 May 1952; [2] £25,000 (or, again, such lesser amount as he chose) on 1 May 1953; [3] any balance remaining on 1 May 1954. Houghton Mifflin contributed the largest sum of £17,826; The Daily Telegraph £15,000. After adjustments for falls in the pound’s value against the dollar, Churchill finally received £63,726 for the sixth volume.

  23. 16, 28 Nov 1951 N. Brook memo to WSC, ‘Note for the Record’, CAB 21/2181 (NA), cited D. Reynolds, In Command of History, p. 432.

  24. J. Colville diary 23 March 1952, The Fringes of Power, pp. 643–4.

  25. 31 Oct 1951, A. Moir letter to N. Sturdee, CHUR 1/7/187. Camrose asked for a gentleman’s agreement that The Daily Telegraph should be able to ask Churchill to pay the tax reclaim it had expected, if the amount was not allowed to be deducted against the newspaper’s tax bill.

  26. 1 May 1952 Secretary ltr to Ld Camrose secretary, CHUR 4/13/70.

  27. 28 May 1952 D. Longwell memo to W. Graebner, box 2, WSCDL CURBMSL.

  28. Sep 1952 Wood,
Willey & Co. schedule, CHUR 1/8/21–2.

  29. 8 Sep 1952 Ld Camrose note, Political memoranda, Dinner with WSC, Camrose Papers.

  30. Sep 1952 LlBk statement, LBGA B/1034/b/5.1.

  31. 12, 20 Sep 1952 The Daily Telegraph ltr to WSC, LlBk statement, CHUR 1/14/86, 1/2/232. £10,000 of the loan was repaid on 5 December 1952.

  32. Ibid.; 25 Oct 1952 WSC ltrs to G. Allen, W. Deakin, H. Pownall CHUR 4/24/24, 25, 281–2, 4/25/374–5.

  33. 6 Jan 1953 H. Laughlin corresp with WSC, CHUR 4/14/25, 26–7.

  34. 24 Feb 1953 Ld Moran WSC, Struggle for Survival, p. 401.

  35. 30 Sep 1952 Wood, Willey & Co. Farm Accounts, CHUR 1/8/2. £5,000 was invested in machinery and £12,250 in live and dead stock. Losses during the year to 30 September 1952 were £10,860.

  36. 29 Nov 1952 WSC letter to Ld Camrose, Camrose papers; 3 Dec 1952, 24 Nov 1953 E. Carden ltr to A. Moir, A. Moir letter to WSC, CHUR 1/28/18, 96. The professional valuation of the farmland was £37,500 (Chartwell farm £20,000; Parkside farm and market garden £9,780; Bardogs £7,050; woodlands £3,060; less allowances for tithe and land tax £1,850). The loan was completed in March 1953; its interest rate was 5 per cent.

  37. 30 Nov, 22 Dec 1953 A. Moir ltrs to WSC, CHUR 1/28/34,293. Parkside’s price was £10,000 plus £2,035 for its livestock. Its sale to Lord Cromer released £5,286 cash to Churchill and reduced his loan by £6,750. Sir Arthur Garret, a friend of Korda, originally agreed to pay £10,250 for Bardogs.

  38. 14 Jan 1955 J. Wood Farm & Stud accounts, CHUR 1/8/118.

  39. 15 Jun 1952, 8 Mar 1953 C. Soames notes to WSC, CHUR 1/92/56–7, 1/94/283. The five racehorses with which Churchill started the 1952 season were: Pol Roger, Non-Stop, Gibraltar, Prince Arthur and Loving Cup.

  40. 15 Feb 1953, J. Wood ltr to WSC, CHUR 1/8/30–2.

  41. 7 May 1953, Ld Camrose note, The Other Club file, Camrose papers; u/d May 1953 Supplemental Agreement, WSC and The Daily Telegraph, CHUR 1/28/119–20. Churchill was to receive payments of £15,000 in each of May 1954 and 1955.

  42. 25 Jun 1953 J. Colville ltr to Ld Camrose, Camrose Papers.

  43. 29 Jun 1953 Ld Camrose note, Political Memoranda, Camrose papers.

  44. 22 Jul 1953 Ld Camrose note, Lunch at Chartwell – Wednesday 22 July 1953, Camrose Papers.