Ronald Elliott
The Valiant Man
The Valiant Man
The State Funeral
of
Sir Winston S. Churchill, k.g., o.m., c.h.
On Saturday, January 30, 1965, at 08.30, Independent Television
went on the air to cover the State Funeral of Sir Winston
Churchill. For the next five hours, the Independent Television
companies combined to mount the biggest programme yet of its
kind in this country. The aim of the programme was not simply
to produce a giant outside broadcast but to add the highlights of
Churchill’s life and achievements to the event. The aim of this
booklet is to recapture the flavour of that programme and to
commemorate a valiant man.
Published by the Independent Television Companies
And so the day that had to come has come
These words were used to introduce the I.T.V. programme and on the following pages are the words of Winston Churchill that were broadcast during the funeral procession.
‘And so the day that had to come has come. We begin it now. This is the day of Winston Churchill’s funeral, a notable and memorable morning in the chronicle of our country. It is a strange thing to say, at the opening of a new day, that we must liken it to the setting of the sun. That is to say something that has much of sadness and everything of inevitability, yet, like the setting of the sun, can resound with dramatic glory… It is not a day of sorrow, though London is heavy with mourning. We begin a day of salutation… a day in which his own words shall make his own memorial.’
I would say to this House
‘I would say to this House, as I said to those who have joined this Government: “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.” We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many, many long months of struggle and of suffering. You ask what is our policy? I will say: It is to wage war by sea, land and air, with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us: to wage war against a monstrous tyranny, never surpassed in the dark, lamentable catalogue of human crime. This is our policy. You ask: What is our aim? I can answer in one word: Victory – victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without victory there is no survival.’
‘I have never accepted what many people have kindly said – namely, that I inspired the nation. Their will was resolute and remorseless and it proved unconquerable. It fell to me to express it, and if I found the right word you must remember that I have always earned my living by my pen and my tongue. It was the nation and the race dwelling all round the globe that had the lion’s heart. I had the luck to be called upon to give the roar.’
‘I am perhaps the only man who has passed through both the two supreme cataclysms of recorded history in high executive office… These thirty years of action and advocacy comprise and express my life-effort, and I am content to be judged upon them.’
This is your victory!
‘God bless you all! This is your victory! … Everyone, man or woman, has done their best. Neither the long years, nor the dangers, nor the fierce attacks of the enemy, have in any way weakened the independent resolve of the British nation. God bless you all.’
‘But we have won all our wars. In this most terrible war of all, we not only saved ourselves but kept the flag of freedom flying in the world alone for more than a year. We gave all we had to the common cause. We gave it freely: we coveted no territory; we had no racial hatreds to gratify; we had no vengeance to slake. We were always, being a peaceful nation, backward in preparation. But we always won. In all the long wars I have seen in my life we have always won; and in the last of them our glory and our virtue have been admired by friend and foe.’
‘The gratitude of every home in our island, in our Empire, and indeed throughout the world, except in the abodes of the guilty, goes out to the British airmen who, undaunted by odds, unwearied in their constant challenge and mortal danger, are turning the tide of the world war by their prowess and by their devotion. Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.’
‘Ask what you please, look where you will, you cannot get to the bottom of the resources of Britain. No demand is too novel or too sudden to be met. No need is too unexpected to be supplied. No strain is too prolonged for the patience of our people.
The only guide to a man
‘The only guide to a man is his conscience; the only shield to his memory is the rectitude and sincerity of his actions. It is very imprudent to walk through life without this shield, because we are so often mocked by the failure of our hopes; but with this shield, however the Fates may play, we march always in the ranks of honour.’
The other day, President Roosevelt
‘The other day, President Roosevelt gave his opponent in the late Presidential Election a letter of introduction to me, and in it he wrote out a verse, in his own handwriting, from Longfellow which he said “applies to you people as it does to us.” Here is the verse:
Sail on, O Ship of State!
Sail on, O union, strong and great!
Humanity with all its fears,
With all the hopes of future years,
Is hanging, breathless, on thy fate!
‘What is the answer that I shall give, in your name, to this great man, the thrice-chosen head of a nation of a hundred and thirty millions? Here is the answer which I will give to President Roosevelt. Put your confidence in us. Give us your faith and your blessing, and, under Providence, all will be well. We shall not fail or falter; we shall not weaken or tire. Neither the sudden shock of battle; nor the long-drawn trials of vigilance and exertion will wear us down. Give is the tools, and we will finish the job.’
Face the worst that the tyrants can do
‘And now it has come to us to stand alone in the breach and face the worst that the tyrants’ might and enmity can do. Bearing ourselves humbly before God, but conscious that we serve an unfolding purpose, we are ready to defend our native land against the invasion by which it is threatened. We are fighting by ourselves alone; but we are not fighting for ourselves alone.
‘Here is this strong City of Refuge which enshrines the titledeeds of human progress and it of deep consequence to Christian civilisation; here girt about by the seas and oceans where the Navy reigns; shielded from above by the prowess and devotion of our airmen – we await undismayed the impending assault… But be the ordeal sharp or long, or both, we shall tolerate no parley, we may show mercy – we shall ask none.
‘Should the invader come to Britain, there will be no placid lying down of the people in submission before him as we have seen, alas, in other countries. We shall defend every village, every town, and every city. The vast mass of London itself fought street by street, could easily devour an entire hostile army, and we would rather see London laid in ruins and ashes than that it should be tamely and abjectly enslaved… This is no war of chieftans or of princes, of dynasties or national ambition; it is a war of peoples and of causes. There are vast numbers not only in this island but in every land, who will render faithful service in this war, but whose names will never be known, whose deeds will never be recorded. This is a war of unknown warriors but let all strive without failing in faith or in duty, and the dark curse of Hitler will be lifted from our age.’
Having received His Majesty’s commission
‘Having received His Majesty’s commission, I have formed an administration of men and women of every party and of almost every point of view. We have differed and quarrelled in the past; but now one bond unites us – to wage war until victory is won, and never to surrender ourselves to servitude and shame, whatever the cost and the agony may be. This is one of the most awe-striking periods in the long history of France and Britain. It is also beyond doubt the most sublime. Side by side, unaided except by their kith and kin in the great Dominions and by the wide Empires which rest beneath their shield – side by side, the British and French peoples have advanced to rescue not only Europe, but mankind from the foulest and most soul-destroying tyranny which has ever darkened and stained the pages of history. Behind them – behind us – behind the armies and fleets of Britain and France – gather a group of shattered States and bludgeoned races: the Czechs, the Poles, the Norwegians, the Danes, the Dutch, the Belgians – upon all of whom the long night of barbarism will descend, unbroken even by a star of hope, unless we conquer, as conquer we must; as conquer we shall.’
Alexander the Great
‘Alexander the Great remarked that the peoples of Asia were slaves because they had not learned to pronounce the word “No.” Let that not be the epitaph of the English speaking peoples or of parliamentary democracy, or of France, or of the many surviving liberal states of Europe… The preponderant world forces are upon our side; they have but to be combined to be obeyed. We must arm, Britain must arm, America must arm, we shall no doubt arm… People say, many people, we ought not to allow ourselves to be drawn into a theoretical antagonism between Nazidom and democracy. But the antagonism is here, now. If only we realise what is afoot and make up our minds in good time. Is this a call to war? Does anyone pretend that preparations for resistance against aggression amounts to the unleashing of war? I declare it to be the sole guarantee of peace, the finest and surest prospect of peace.’
The fate of Poland
‘Although the fate of Poland stares everyone in the face there are thoughtless dilettanti or purblind wordlings who sometimes ask us “what is it that Britain and France are fighting for?” To this I make the answer – if we let off fighting, you would soon find out… Few there are tonight who, looking back on these last seven months, would doubt that the British and French peoples were right to draw the sword of justice and of retribution. Fewer still there are who would wish to sheathe it till sombre righteous work is done.’
‘All the world that is still free marvels at the composure and fortitude with which the citizens of London are facing and surmounting the great ordeal to which they are subjected, the end of which or the severity of which cannot yet be foreseen. It is a message of good cheer to our fighting forces on the seas, in the air, and in our waiting armies in all their posts and stations, that we send them from this capital city. They know that they have behind them a people who will not flinch or weary of the struggle – hard and protracted though it will be; but that we shall rather draw from the heart of suffering itself the means of inspiration and survival, and of a victory won not only for our own time, but for the long and better days that are to come.’
‘My heart bled for London and Londoners… The courage, the unconquerable grit and stamina of the Londonders showed itself from the very outset…. If the storm is to be renewed London will be ready, London will not flinch, London can take it again.’
Life after death
‘Only faith in a life after death – in a brighter world where dear ones will meet again – only that and the measured tramp of time can give consolation.’
Transmission end
Independent Television’s transmission ended with these words written by Joseph Hall in the 17th century….
‘His power is limited by his will; and he holds it the noblest revenge, that he might hurt and doth not. He commands, without tyranny and imperiousness; obeys, without servility: and changes not his mind with his estate. The height of his spirits overlooks all casualties; and his boldness proceeds neither from ignorance nor senselessness: but, first, he values evils and despises them. He is so balanced with wisdom, that he floats steadily in the midst of all tempests. Deliberate in his purposes; firm in resolution; bold in enterprising; unwearied in achieving; and, howsoever, happy in success; and, if ever he be overcome, his heart yields last – The Valiant Man.’
Independent Television
The full resources of the Independent Television companies were mobilised and hundreds of the staff were relieved of normal duties to prepare the transmission and take part in it. Meanwhile other members were called upon to absorb the duties of those working on the funeral so that normal services were continued.
Commentator
Narrators
Executive Producer
Brian Connell
Sir Laurence Olivier
Paul Scofield
Joseph C. Harsch
Ray Dicks
Producer
Senior director
Engineer-in-charge
Senior outside broadcast engineer
Administration
Peter Morley
Graham Watts
Basil Bultitude
Roger Appleton
Robert Everett
ITV units which took part
IN WAR RESOLUTION
IN DEFEAT DEFIANCE
IN VICTORY MAGNANIMITY
IN PEACE GOODWILL
‘Almighty Father, we thank Thee for the gift to the world of Winston Churchill and for all that he did for our country and many others.’ – Dr. Ramsey, Archbishop of Canterbury.