The Fringes of Power: 10 Downing Street Diaries, 1939 - 1955

by John Rupert Colville

The diaries of Winston Churchill's private secretary from 1941 to 1945 and from 1951 to 1955 provides a unique view of World War II, of Churchill's wartime activities and those of his personal staff

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics, Biography, World War II, British Literature, War

802 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1985

About the author

Sir John Rupert Colville, CB, CVO, known as Jock Colville, was a British civil servant.

Reviews

[Nooilforpacifists · Rating 5 out of 5]

Typos corrected March 30

Well-written, worms-eye view of 10 Downing Street from just before Churchill’s first spell as PM, and then again in his second. John (Jock) Colville, an incredibly youthful member of the Diplomatic Corps, is Seconded to be junior Private Secretary for Chamberlain just before Munich. Though the youngest of the Private Secretaries, he is the sole diplomatic secretary Churchill kept upon becoming P.M.

Englishmen who read this likely will understand instinctively why, but it took me a bit to catch on. Colville is the youngest son of the son of a titled Lord. He can’t inherit—but he still knows everyone in the “smart set,” plus every member of the Aristocracy. His hobbies are riding and game hunting. And his Mother is best friends with the Queen (George’s wife) who sends Jock trinkets sometimes. Churchill might have heard a Royal “suggestion” to try young Jock out; if not, it surely occurred to Churchill that having someone with the Queen’s ear could be an advantage. It was, at least once.

The book is the mirror image of the Manchester bios. There is nothing about Churchill until 1940–and most of that unfavorable. Jock doesn’t write like Manchester. But, by training (Trinity College, Cambridge), and by spending years around the greatest orator of the 20th Century, he’s no slouch. And by turns after 1941, he becomes a Churchillian.

Jock begins keeping a diary when war breaks out in September 1939. This was highly illegal, as it contained at least hints of state secrets, so Jock locked it up every night, and started new books periodically, so he could give the older volumes to his parents (who, throughout, are called “Father” and “Mother”—and at one point, the author says he couldn’t have chosen finer parents on his own). Did I mention Jock was a devout CofE man?



Some of Jock’s diary entries border on the surreal, such as this from October 23, 1939:


“I walked round the garden, which was a sight of unparalleled beauty with its blaze of autumn red and gold, and talked to Lionel de Rothschild, [footnote: One of the two partners in Rothschild. Creator of the magnificent gardens at Exbury.] He suggested that our war aim should be to give Germany to the Jews, and divide up the Germans among the races of the world: in other words to make the two races change position. But then, I said, the Jews in Germany will complain that the Germans control world finance!”



Jock supports completely the historical line about how Churchill became P.M. in May 1940—by, for once in his life, shutting up:


“Winston told me several times that when Chamberlain summononed Lord Halifax and himself to the Cabinet Room he looked at him sharply and said, ‘Can you see any reason, Winston, why in these days a Peer should not be Prime Minister?’ Winston saw the trap in this question. It would be difficult to say yes without saying frankly that he though he himself should be given the choice. If he said no, or hedged, he felt sure that Mr. Chamberlain would turn to Lord Halifax and say, ‘Well, since Winston agrees I am sure that if the King asked me I should suggest sending for you.’ Therefore Winston turned his head and gazed out on the Horse Guards Parade without giving any reply. There was an awkward pause, after which Halifax himself volunteered the suggestion that if the King were to to ask Mr. Chamberlain’s opinion about the succession, he should propose Mr. Churchill.”




Getting used to Churchill’s style was not easy. In a July, 1940, entry, Jock writes: “Before going to bed, the P.M. rang for me and asked me to take down a telegram to the Duke of Windsor, offering him the Governorship of the Bahamas [the Duke and Duchess of Windsor were then on the French Riviera, in Vichy territory, making occasional near treasonous statements.]. . . When I gave him the dictated telegram he said: What a beautiful handwriting(!!), but, my dear boy, when I say stop you must write stop and not just put a blob. (He is always pedantic about small things.)”



Pedantic, perhaps, but fair. Kingsley Wood suggested, in August 1940, the British were providing the Dutch government vast financial support in reparations for the German nationalizing of Shell Oil. Shell had been owned 40 percent by the British and 60 percent by the government of the Netherlands, and Wood suggested demanding a “fifty-fifty re-organisation. Churchill, who objected to taking advantage of another country’s misfortunes, said that he never again wished to hear such a suggestion.”



The footnotes themselves are a delight—confirming Jock knew everyone important, drank with them, and belonged to their clubs, They also drop clues as to Jock’s romantic life; whom he found attractive. He never allows a word into the diary, but it is dedicated to Mary (Churchill) Soames, whom he first met at a large party the very day Churchill became PM. Jock, of course, was Chamberlain’s secretary. The two were natural enemies, and bared their teeth at each other throughout the meal and drinks. But after Churchill becomes PM, he takes long walks with at Chartwell. This leaves Jock with ample time with Mrs. Churchill and Mary Churchill, and Jock’s vie of Mary changed.

Her father made little secret of preferring Mary over his other progeny (remember, his first-born was the brash, unstable, neer-do-well Randolf Churchill.). Mary’s husband, Chris Soames, ultimately became a sort of substitute son for Winston. Anyway, footnotes thoughout the book make clear Jock admired, perhaps loved Mary, but knew marriage was impossible—she was “above his station” in those days.



More fun is trying to puzzle out the identity of the author’s romantic interests. Early on, he drinks with and praises Zara Manwaring. He thus is startled and a bit outraged when she decides to marry a man she met only 10 days earlier. Jock goes to their November 1940 wedding:


“There were few people in the church, as the service was at 1:45, but the bride looked radiantly lovely compared with her somewhat morose-looking bridegroom. With astonishing inappropriateness the last hymm chosen was ‘Through the Night of Doubt and Sorrow’ — which before the wedding night seemed a strange choice.”



So, drunk on champagne, he spends the weekend with Audry Paget. He often meets her for dinner, drinks, and speaks highly of Audrey. Back in June, 1940, Jock dined with Lady Wolverton. The footnote explained Wolverton was the daughter of the famous beauty, Georgiana, Countess of Dudley. “She told me to marry Audry Paget, but as far as I know did not consult Audrey. And I had a matrimonial obsession elsewhere.” Yet the timing isn’t right for Jock to be referring to his ultimate bride, for in August of 1940, there appears this delightful paragraph and footnote:


“Dined with Audrey Paget at the Mirabelle (where Lord Kemsley, quite out of the blue, presented me with an enormous cigar), took her to see a satisfactory thriller called ‘Cottage to Let’ and went on to an empty, dull and sordid nightclub called “Slipping.” We flirted more brazingly than ever and at one moment it looked like becoming more than a flirtation; but I feel a little conscience-stricken about committing the crime for which Socrates was condemned.4


4 “Corrupting the youth.” [N.B.: at that time, Jock was 25; Audrey 18.—hardly criminal.]


By the time of their shared weekend in November 1940, Audrey worked for Polish officers in the Military Transport Corps. “‘What it is like?’ I asked her one day. ‘Well,’ she replied, ‘I have to say “Yes, Sir, all day, and No, Sir, all night.”’”



Dorothy Sayers makes an appearance, in early 1941, with an unpublished poem chastising the Irish Free State for its neutrality, and refusal to allow the U.K. use of its naval bases. About half the verses of “The Burden of Ireland”:

“O never trouble Ireland; her lamps are shining bright,
While the wicked cities of England are plunged in fear and night,
For Ireland may go lightly and draw her easy breath,
With the hard heart of England set between her and death. . .


O never trouble Ireland; her fields are green with mirth,
While the sharp share of battle ploughs the cursed Engligh earth,
She may wrap her from the winter in a warm English cloak,
For the naked breast of England is wrapped in fire and smoke.

O never trouble Ireland, for Ireland is free —
It is only the men of other lands that groan for liberty.
It is only cruel England thinks such men worth a stir;
But do not trouble Ireland — it does not trouble her.

Say only of Catholic Ireland that she remained at home
When the Pagan and the apostate set heel on the neck of Rome,
When the Cross lay under the fyflot, bowed down to the axe and rod,
And the dirty English Protestants went out to die for God.”




Like most men of his age, Jock wants to take the war on himself; he is frustrated by remaining behind the lines. Both older brothers are serving. So Jock gets special, reluctant, permission, from Winston, to transfer as A.C.1 (i.e., enlisted man) in the RAF. Jock’s quite proud of turning down a direct commission, so he spends part of the war loading munitions on aircraft, promoted to Aircraftman 1st Class, and—after pilot training—gets a Commission. After only six fighter missions over enemy territory, and no kills, Churchill—a pilot himself—decides Jock’s had enough fun, and recalls him to 10 Downing Street.


Jock, of course, is out of Downing Street about two weeks after Labour’s 1945 landslide, so he returns to the diplomatic corps, where he is sent to Yugoslavia (strange choice for a man whose languages are French and German). But after 18 months, he receives a surprising invitation to become the Private Secretary to the Heiress, Princess Elizabeth (I detect the Queen’s influence again). This put Jock back at the center of action: finding shelter for the homeless, distributing food parcels for the needy, and assisting in Elizabeth’s wedding to Prince Philip.

The 1947 wedding also broght Jock into contact with Elizabeth’s ladies-in-waiting. “I had fallen head over heels in love with one of Princess Elizabeth’s ladies-in-waiting Meg (Lady Margaret) Egerton. As she was strikingly good-looking, and no less strikingly-vivacious, she had many suitors. I had an unfair advantage because my office, on the second floor of Buckingham Palace, was right next to the lady-in-waiting suite of rooms. So she found it hard to escape.”

I take the last line as satire. They were married in October 1948, and moved to Lisbon where Jock was posted Head of Chancery.

Three years later, while Jock and Meg are on a vacation in England and Scotland, the Conservatives win a majority of 16. Jock and Meg are in Newmarket when an official emerges from the Jockey Club. “Are you Mr. Colville?” “Yes.” “The Prime Minister is on the phone.” “Whatever he asks you to do,” says my inately cautious wife, “Say No.”

Jock returned to Number 10 to become co-Principal Private Secretary in Churchill’s second chance as P.M. Most of the remainder of the entries deal with the differences between Churchill and Eisenhower on dealing with the U.S.S.R. (the latter less willing to be aggressive), Churchill’s stroke (and hiding it from press and public), and the question of when Winston would resign and recommend the Queen choose Eden. As it happened, Churchill got out just in time before the Suez cock-up that not only caused Eden to resign, but probably killed Eden psychologically.


In sum, this book is the “People Magazine” version of the Manchester Bios. John Coleville is an engaging writer, and was so close to the center for so long that the book is worth reading even if you’ve read Manchester. It’s a hoot.

BTW, Jock was knighted in 1974. He held the Order of the Bath and the Royal Victorian Order. Nice gongs for the youngest son of a youngest son, eh?

[Nick Pengelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gripping page turner that has the reader standing beside Churchill throughout the war years, then through his post-war term as PM. Those who watched Netflix’s “The Crown,” will have seen Jock Colville in a number of scenes (along with many others who feature in his diaries). As a diarist he puts Pepys to shame; his descriptions of everything he observes are those of a master. That he had a keen sense of humour comes through on every page. He obviously enjoyed life very much too – despite the exigencies of war. I was amused to read, every few pages, of his dining and or going to a movie or play even during the worst days of the Blitz in company with so-and-so, “beautiful daughter of Lord X.” The companion so described was hardly ever the same more than twice. There is a great deal that is serious, too. Like Colville’s hellish voyage to South Africa to train as an RAF fighter pilot when Churchill finally let him go (for a while), hair-raising missions over France, and, while on a visit to Monty’s HQ, nipping off to cross the Rhine with the first wave of troops into Germany. Colville seems to have borne a charmed life. Many of his friends did not; there are numerous footnotes mentioning their deaths.

The focus of the diaries is, of course, Winston Churchill. Colville’s portrayal is “warts and all” – interesting to read, for instance, of how enraptured Churchill was to receive a (highly unusual) complimentary telegram from Stalin; Colville was concerned that Britain’s whole Russia policy might be stood on its head as a result (sound familiar?). That said, what shines through on nearly every page is Churchill’s brilliance, wit and sparkle – even at the end when, over 80, he finally stood down (not without a struggle). I’ve read most of Churchill’s works and many biographies and the portrait Colville paints rings true – in a way John Lithgow’s stooping giant in The Crown - ogerish and maudlin – failed to do.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Colville was a man blessed with good fortune. Born to a well-connected upper-class family, he excelled in school and capped his academic career with a first in history at Trinity College Cambridge. Fascinated by current events, he passed the Foreign Office entrance exam on the first try and was posted to the Middle East before returning home just prior to the outbreak of the Second World War. A little more than a month after the start of hostilities, he was seconded to 10 Downing Street as an assistant private secretary, an assignment that gave him a privileged vantage point from which to witness events.

Colville’s decision to keep a diary predated his posting, reflecting his desire to capture his impressions about the war that he experienced. His transfer to the office of the Prime Minister, however, transformed it into a priceless firsthand account of British politics during the war. It is the first part of the diary, covering Colville’s observations from September 1939 until his transfer to the RAF in October 1941, that is the highlight of the book, yet the later sections covering his return to Downing Street in 1943-5 and again in Churchill’s postwar ministry are also enjoyable for their insights. Winston Churchill is naturally at the heart of these diaries, and though Colville edited his diaries for publication he let stand many of his comments from that time no matter how inaccurate and embarrassing they must have seemed later. This only enhances their value, allowing the reader to see Colville’s evolving attitude towards him, which begins with concerns for Churchill’s “ineffective, and indeed harmful” (p.108) efforts as First Lord before coming to respect and admire him as Prime Minister. It is from these pages that we get some of our best assessments of Churchill and the war, as well as a generous collection of his bon mots about his political contemporaries (supplemented by a few from Colville himself).

All of this makes Colville’s diary an indispensable resource for anyone interested in Churchill and Britain during the Second World War. It is valuable not just for the moments he captures involving the decision makers but for its portrait of upper-class life during the war as well, a life of dinners and diversions not too constrained by wartime deprivations. Together they make for an enduring work, one that will continue to shed light while the works which draw from it collect dust on the bookshelves.

[Conrad Wesselhoeft · Rating 5 out of 5]

This diary is so thick with the day to day, even hour to hour, that, at times, I felt I was squelching through an English fen in heavy Wellington boots. Won’t this book ever end? (Spoiler alert: no.) However, at other times, Colville injects so much presence, insight and awe at being in the eye of historic events that sticky fen dries into racetrack.

The young diplomat-turned-private secretary to Prime Minister Winston Churchill does what few biographers have done so fully and engagingly, he portrays Churchill as a man a-twitch with quirks, crotchets, tantrums, epiphanies and surprises, some befitting a genius and others befitting a spoiled child. However, the child could also be lovely and charming.

"Tuesday, October 8th 1940: (Churchill), dressed in his blue 'siren suit,' dined with (Anthony) Eden in his new dining room at No. 10—formerly the typists’ room in the basement and now redecorated and reinforced. (Winston) was in great form—as always after a speech has been successfully achieved—and amused Eden and me very much by his conversation with Nelson, the black cat, whom he chided for being afraid of the guns and unworthy of the name he bore. 'Try and Remember,' he said to Nelson reprovingly, 'what those boys in the R.A.F are doing.'”

Here is Colville’s personal observation of the terrible beauty that war can unveil:

"Sunday, September 22, 1940: Before going to my uneasy couch I . . . knelt by the window. The night was cloudless and starry, with the moon rising over Westminster. Nothing could have been more beautiful and the searchlights interlaced at certain points on the horizon, star-like flashes in the sky where shells were bursting, the light of distant fires, all added to the scene. It was magnificent and terrible: the spasmodic drone of enemy aircraft overhead, the thunder of gunfire, sometimes close sometimes in the distance, the illumination, like that of electric trains in peace-time, as the guns fired, and the myriad stars, real and artificial, in the firmament. Never was there such a contrast of natural splendour and human vileness. Later thick palls of smoke rose from the Embankment where bombs had fallen on Dolphin Square—and it went on all night long. "

Note: Eric Larson tapped into Colville’s diaries liberally to write his best-selling account of wartime England, “The Splendid and the Vile,” a title he took from the above passage.

Colville was twenty-four at the outbreak of WWII. Initially hired to assist Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, he was one of the few staffers asked to stay on when Churchill took over in 1940. The reasons for his selection are clear: like his new boss, he was a voracious student of history, a gifted writer and a tireless worker. He was also a quick wit. Before reporting for duty in the Royal Air Force, Colville traded quips with his boss:

“How old are you?'' asked Winston when I was about to leave 10 Downing Street.
“Twenty-six,'' I replied.
“At twenty-six Napoleon commanded the armies of Italy.''
“Pitt was Prime Minister at twenty-four.''
“On that round you win,'' admitted the sixty-six-year-old Prime Minister.

Colville was also an avid socialite. During the darkest days of the Blitz, it’s not unusual to find him bent under a Churchillian-size workload by day and escorting debutantes to galas by night, only to return to Number 10 amid falling flak and bombs. On one such night, he recounts his first impression of Churchill’s 17-year-old daughter, Mary:

“Thursday, May 9, 1940 . . . went to a dance at the Savoy. Sat between Mrs. H. and Mary Churchill (Winston’s youngest progeny) . . . I thought the Churchill girl rather supercilious: she has (her sister) Sarah’s emphatic way of talking, and is better looking, but she seemed to me to have a much less sympathetic personality.”

Forty-five years after this first impression—and long after they had become good friends—he dedicated his diary to her under her married name:

“Dedicated to Mary Soames with affection and with penitence for some of the less complimentary references to her in the early part of this diary.”

On another night of intense bombing, Churchill and Colville grab torches (i.e. flashlights) and head to the sub-basement of Number 10 to check for structural damage. Churchill hoists himself onto a centuries-old wooden beam and proceeds to leap deftly from one beam to the next as he goes about his inspection. Colville marvels at the nimbleness of the pudgy prime minister.

"Friday, October 11th 1940: There are two unexploded bombs on the Horse Guards Parade. 'Will they do us any damage when they explode?' asked (Winston) lying in bed. 'I shouldn’t think so, Sir,' I said. 'Is that just your opinion,' he replied, 'because if so it’s worth nothing. You have never seen an unexploded bomb go off. Go and ask for an official report.' Such is the result of hazarding opinions to the P.M. if one has nothing with which to back them. But I was vindicated by the experts."

Though it was forbidden by wartime regulations, Colville packed his diary with confidential official content on a host of topics, most notably Churchill’s private thoughts and plans regarding the unfolding crisis. In enemy hands, this information might have been lethal to the British people. Every night, he locked the diary in his desk at Number 10, which strikes me as a rather easy place for an enemy to break into.

We meet a huge cast of characters from a wide swath of British life—politicians, military officers, scientists, tycoons, bureaucrats, commoners, rogues, fools and heroes. Whether flattering or not, Colville portrays each in a crisp, vivid light.

The diary ranges far beyond WWII, encompassing Colville’s service as Clement Attlee’s private secretary, his role as Princess Elizabeth’s private secretary and, finally, his second stint with Churchill, from 1951 to 1955. Because of its size and scope, I needed to take several vacations from this epic diary. But I kept coming back.

To readers drawn to mid-20th Century British history, but especially to Churchill’s seminal role in the dark early days of WWII, Colville offers a brilliant fly-on-the-wall look at the gargantuan task of waging war and rallying a nation. Of his boss, he concludes:

“Few public figures in all history have assumed so many mantles, displayed such an unlikely mixture of talents, experienced over so wide a span of years such a variety of triumphs and disasters, and been successively so suspected and so trusted, so disliked and so admired by his fellow countrymen.”

[Nigel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really interesting book. John Colville was Churchill's (and briefly Chamberlain's before him) Private Secretary during his periods as Prime Minister, so these diaries provide some insight into how government was run and strategy was developed during the second world war. Specific points stand out in the book:
- he was breaking all the rules by keeping this diary during the war years as it contained a good deal of information that would have been useful to the enemy. Colville's justification for disobeying these rules was simply that he kept it in a locked drawer so it would be secure. How times have changed.
- Colville was certainly a product of the establishment (Harrow & Cambridge) and his mother was on very close terms with Queen Mary (widow of King George V) and they would often stay with her. This however also showed itself in other ways. He had a very strong sense of duty and felt that he was not doing his bit by not serving in the armed forces. He eventually persuaded Churchill to release him from his job and he was then sent to South Africa to be trained as a pilot. The training lasted 2 years and when he got back to the UK he only flew 4 times in anger before he had to return to his job in Downing Street. What a waste of money. However he did later manage to persuade Churchill to let him do reconnaisance flights over France in support of the D-Day landings.
- In the early part of the war Churchill liked to spend time at Chequers, the PM's country residence. The only problem was there was only one telephone there and that was in a cubby hole under the stairs. Again very different times.
- Churchill worked odd times, usually till the early hours of the morning but also often had an afternoon nap. One entry describes Churchill in his bedroom in Downing Street dressed in his pyjamas and dressing gown and wearing a tin hat dictating a memo during an air raid!
As I say a really interesting read.

[David Hamilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Colville was the a Private Secretary to Chamberlain and then PS and PPS to Winston S.Churchill during the Second World War. He continued to serve with WSC until Churchill left office in 1956. The book provides extraordinary insights into the life in London in the years leading up to, during and after the Second World War. It is interesting to compare and contrast some Colville's observations with those of Churchill in The Second World War. While Churchill paints himself in a somewhat more favorable light, overall Colville's observations provide positive confirmation of many of the decisions Churchill made and the motivations for making those decisions. Colville provides a unique view of the "behind-the-scenes" activities that informed the decisions that guided the war effort. Very poignant profile of Churchill in the post war era as Churchill faced the reality of his political decline.

[Eileen · Rating 3 out of 5]

In a manner I assume is characteristic of his echelon, John Colville has strongly peppered this book with names and dates and societal relationships, peerages and posts, all with a heavy reliance on footnotes, asides, and other sidebars, which can make it hard to read without distraction.

However.

If you can get through that, this first-hand account of one man's perspective as a secretary to Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, and then Winston Churchill, and then in the employ of the Royal Family of England, may be worth your time. Especially for the glimpses into the months and moments at the beginning of WWII, when England thought they could negotiate with Hitler, and Göring was on the list of 'reasonable' people who might help them bring the war to a close before it started. It's a bit like watching a horror movie -- one regularly reads Colville's notes and wants to shout, "My god, man. Look out! Over there! Behind Belgium!!"

[Chris Cook · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating insight into how the government (and particularly Churchill) ran the politics of WW2. However, it really paints a depressing picture of 'the haves' and 'the have nots', with endless descriptions of quaffing champagne & oysters, dining at a myriad of private clubs around the city, and playing tennis/croquet, whilst London and other UK cities burned, and men were sacrificing their lives all over the globe. The glib references to the fighting men (e.g. just throwaway lines, after long accounts of the author's dining arrangements - such as " The ..th Airborne division wiped out at Arnhem today." - do him no credit at all).

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read a lot about John Colville, but it was so good to read history thru his perspective. He started his term as attachment from the Foreign Service to the Prime Minister's office when Neville Chamberlain was Prime Minister. He worked side by side thru the war with Winston Churchill, with a small break for military training. Colville is to the point, fast entries, valuable insights and from a person who could see the details as well as the big picture. Notes of interests: Churchill named his cat Jock after Jack (Jock was his nickname). Churchill allowed Colville to participate in the D-Day fight as long he took no more holidays for the rest of the year...so generous :)

[Keith Johnstone · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the interesting books I have read in a long time. One of the best insight's into government and the ruling classes from the late 1930s to the mid 1950s. Jock Colville's commentary is honest, clever and sometimes brutal. It is quite refreshing to read the autobiography of the civil servant rather than the politician of the time as it is perhaps less bias and full of ego. I always thought the decisions around Britiain fighting in WWII were linear and insighfully acted on - this book shows us that wasn't at all the case and the Conservative and Coalition Governments in the 30s and 40s were no less disorganised and riven by party and individual politics than they are today - in someways it seems a miracle that Britain didn't lose WWII (in the same way it might be a miracle for us to survive post Brexit or the Covid pandemic). The book also gives insight into the rascism, imperialism and misogyny that was commonplace at the time. Jock left his wife and newborn baby two days after she was born to go shooting at some friends country estate, and as recently as the 1950s there was outrage at three black people being invited to a dinner with the UK PM in Bermuda! Thank goodness times have changed, at least in part, perhaps the 'old boy' network is stiall aline and well and blocks many of us from ever holidng the job Jock Colville had.

[Lib DM · Rating 3 out of 5]

Took me an inordinate amount of time to finish this but in the end I'm glad I made it through. To start, Colville is an astonishingly gifted writer. His vocabulary and grammar is pristinely well chosen, especially for an informal, personal diary. His talent alone urges me to read his other books.

In terms of the journal itself, I found it well done. What stood out to me was how life (or rather, his life) went on while war was raging. Sure, there were harrowing descriptions of close shaves with blitz bombs, but life went on. And for Colville - life was undeniably privileged. As mentioned in other reviews, the juxtaposition is startling. Common citizens struggling to stay alive much less provide their next meal to their family while Colville and company savor champagne, munch caviar and watch films.

All in all, a comprehensive read. When I have time, I would like to cross reference Colville's diary with Lord Alan Brooke's supreme version. It would be fascinating to read their opinions and impressions of a meeting, dinner, etc. in which they both attended!

[Don Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are interested in Britain in the 20th century and profiles in leadership and can commit to 750+ pages you will enjoy this book. The author, John Colville, seems to have known everyone of consequence and worked directly for many of them including three prime ministers and the Queen. Mostly though, it is a portrait of Churchill, who came to view Colville as not just his personal secretary but as a surrogate son and was with him throughout every pivotal moment of the War. The book is a diary and not a memoir, so Colville’s accounts - primarily of WWII - are contemporaneous and frank and not softened by the passage of time. The diary format also makes this an easy read to pick up, put down, and pick up again.

[Mark Pearson · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a fascinating book with great insights into how the government operated during wartime and an assessment of Churchill’s great strengths and weaknesses. It shows how the country was run by a set of people who broadly shared the same aristocratic background. They naturally ran the country for the benefit of their class, but with much integrity as well. What a contrast with the unprincipled chancers of today. There is quite a lot of contemporary gossip to, which is fun. I knock off a star because there are too many entries involving playing cards with Lady Churchill, visiting various country houses et cetera.

[Margaret Conmey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative and entertaining guide to behind the scenes look at World War 2 and Churchill as wartime PM
The last section briefly covering Churchill’s return to power in the 50s was more boring- a lot of lists of names at the various transatlantic meetings
The most interesting of the 3 appendices was the one describing the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth, especially in comparison with the recent rather dull and muted celebrations for King Charles
Very much a glimpse into a bygone world, which even the author admits but sounds a lot more fun - always providing you were rich enough or at least well-connected

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Could have been so much better than it was. You do get some sense of Churchill's personality and thoughts, but the whole thing was mired down with countless name-dropping, and random people's thoughts (most of which seemed not very insightful). I get the sense that Churchill worked during all his waking hours, but his staff had plenty of time for long lunches and dinners.

[John Geddes]

"I walked round the garden, which was a sight of unparalleled beauty with its blaze of autumn red and gold, and talked to Lionel de Rothschild, who was at his most agreeable. He suggested that our war aim should be to give Germany to the Jews, and divide up the Germans among the races of the world"
- p.44

[John Frankham · Rating 3 out of 5]

A reasonably insightful diary of a junior, then senior, civil servant in Churchill’s entourage from the 1930s to the 1950s, with some gaps.

The GR blurb:

‘ An intimate and unvarnished view of Winston Churchill at his best.’

[Terry Feix · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding personal view of the inner workings of Britain's government during and after the war.

[Adam Gossman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. Jock knew what was up!

[Paul R · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great stories

[Rob]

I have had this book sitting on my bookshelves for some time now and had never opened it up, in fact I am not even sure where I purchased this book, perhaps in a garage sale that I walked through one day. I was looking for something to float through till I found the next great book to read. I was pleasantly surprised and am throughly enjoying the book.This is a fascinating insight by an individual that was there every step of the way, into the workings of the British government during WW2 and the aftermath' There is much more to this book though, it provides a glimpse into a world where class, birth and status was very important. Where your title was of primary importance and even in the most difficult times the lords and ladies would get together for a lunch and some engaging conversation.

[Tom Ford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hard to find but well worth the effort. Illegally kept, this is the diary of one of Churchill`s private secretaries during the war. Being a diary, rather then an account written after the war, it contains detail and opinion that isn't slanted by the wars eventual outcome. A must read for anybody with an interest in the politics of WW2

[Ipswichblade · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent diaries from someone very close to Winston Churchill especially during the second world war. Clearly Mr Colville was very upper class (the current Queen is a a godparent to one of his children) so some of the entries can sound a bit pompous however it is well written.

[Adam DeVille, Ph.D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

These diaries (whose keeping was technically illegal under wartime regulations, especially for one so highly placed in such a sensitive role) are utterly invaluable for their insights into wartime Britain and her government, especially in the person of Winston Churchill.

[Arnold · Rating 5 out of 5]

REad my review of Foorprints in Time and everything equally applies to this book

[Bap · Rating 4 out of 5]

Churchill's personal secretary's diaries. Great for Churchill goupies.

[Soren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Out of print, but worth the search. One of the best books of leadership by example I have ever read.

[Jonnie Enloe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of insight into Churchill for a very important period. Easy read but is a diary so narrative is limited but events are clearly protrayed.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful behind the scenes book with lots of great anecdotes. Highly recommended.

[Edward · Rating 4 out of 5]

first read: sept 21 - june 9 2013 ****
second readL sept 26 - dec 10, 2016 ****