Post-1945 Germany set about a process called Bewältigung der Vergangenheit, overcoming its history, coming to terms with its past – honestly and openly. The latest salvos against Churchill are exactly that (Shadow chancellor: Churchill labelled ‘villain’, 14 February). The Brexit issue has forced many to look at the assumptions, myths and claims about the UK and its past. The recalling of the Dunkirk spirit and other glib half-truths are bringing this reassessment of the past into focus and discussion.
As the European continent gazes in wonder at the antics in the English Commons and its historical procedures carried over into the UK post-1707, it is time for an honest reappraisal of “God, who made thee mighty”.
John Edgar
Kilmaurs, Ayrshire
• Churchill used the military to break the strike at Tonypandy, turning British soldiers on British workers was a scandalous thing to do. He was responsible for the disaster that was Gallipoli. Around 80,000 soldiers died for nothing, decimating a whole generation of Australian men. But then, through his rhetoric and diplomacy, he managed to bring the US into the second world war and was a key figure in defeating Nazism. There is no doubt he was a fascinating individual: a chancer, a self-promoter and a great charmer. To ask anyone to make a choice between villain or hero is ridiculous and the shadow chancellor should have known better than to fall for such a cheap trick.
Neil Burgess
London
• Your report says it “has been long disputed” that Churchill had personally sanctioned using police officers and keeping the army, whom he did not send, in reserve. This is not disputed, as biographers attest. Even at the time, the Times attacked Churchill for not deploying troops, while the Manchester Guardian said that Churchill had shown “courage” in stopping troops already on their way and that his substitution of police had “in all possibility saved many lives”.
Terry Philpot
Limpsfield Chart, Surrey
• My maternal grandfather was an ex-Durham miner who volunteered in 1918 for the first world war and fought throughout in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. In the second world war he was a firewatcher. He never forgave Churchill for what he did to the miners.
David M Smith
Emeritus professor, Middlesex University
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