Dear Don, You just beat me to the punch, as I had just finished reviewing my copy of Doug's book. I think this settles the matter. WSC was not above several embellishments in his autobiography "My Early Life'. For example the story he gives of dislocating his shoulder is credible but may not have happened the way he describes. The issue of how badly he was hurt in the fall in 1893. His account does not entirely ring true medically. is problematic. I wonder if anyone has done a very careful and detailed review of "My Early Life" for accuracy and fully consistent with other evidence. The book is a great read and well recommended to those just coming who want something quick and entertaining (ie the text is not boring) but, with WSC's penchant for "self promotion" and 'hyperbole' in his writing this may not be the best book. Can't think of an alternative right now that is as engaging and well written. I wonder if Richard Langworth has a particular perspective on "My Early Life." John H. Mather MD FACPE 240 353 6782 johnmat...@aol.com
In a message dated 12/28/2015 4:33:23 P.M. Central Standard Time, djake...@satx.rr.com writes: Dear Antoine: Please find below the direct quotes from Mr. Russell's book. To be honest, I think Mr. Russell can definitively answer your question, which would be the best course to get the professional's opinion on who was correct, Randolph or Sir Winston. Hopefully that will provide you exactly what you are looking for? Page 68: "This was a good report indeed with improvement in every subject but Tactics where he lost but a percentage point from his intermediate term marks. His exact class standing is a matter of debate among the family historians. Churchill in his autobiography claimed to have passed out of Sandhurst 'with honours' eighth out of 150 saying, 'I mention this because it shows I could learn quickly enough the things that mattered.' In the first volume of the official biography of Churchill which was written by his son Randolph, the class standing is giving as twentieth out of 130. A review of the original records at Sandhurst shows the official biography to be correct as to both the number of cadets in Churchill's intake and his ranking according to the number of final marks." Mr. Russell goes on to explain perhaps Churchill's statement that "he passed out of Sandhurst 'with honours'. The author goes on to state, "We may certainly conclude Churchill passed out of Sandhurst honourably and with very high marks. He had the second highest total of marks for a cavalry cadet trailing Greenley (Senior Corporal, Under Officer Howarth Greenley) by only 74 marks of a possible 3,450 and was twentieth highest overall. Because he (Churchill)did not have cadet rank as an under-officer he was not in the running for the Sword of Honour. It was, nevertheless, the greatest academic achievement of Churchill's school years and deserving of much credit." Best wishes for 2016 and good luck with your research. Sincerely, Don -----Original Message----- From: churchillchat@googlegroups.com [mailto:churchillchat@googlegroups.com] Sent: Monday, December 28, 2015 2:40 PM To: churchillchat@googlegroups.com Cc: airdri...@hotmail.com Subject: [ChurchillChat] Re: Douglas Russell's book and the discrepancy in WSC's rank when he left Sandhurst Dear Don, As I said to Dr Mather, I cannot at the moment lay my hands on my copy of Douglas Russell's book. Could you please tell us the substance of his conclusions ? Who is right - father or son ? Best wishes, A.C. ========== From: Donald Jakeway Sent: Monday, December 28, 2015 8:58 PM To: churchillchat@googlegroups.com Cc: airdri...@hotmail.com Subject: RE: [ChurchillChat] Re: discrepancy in WSC's rank when he left Sandhurst Dear Antoine: Dr. Mather’s recommendation is a very good one as it appears that Douglas Russell does attempt to clarify this issue on page 68 and 69 of his excellent book, “Winston Churchill – SOLDIER – The Military Life of a Gentleman at War.” Hope this helps! Sincerely, Don Donald E. Jakeway Co-Chair Churchill Centre South TX 170 Grassmarket San Antonio, TX 78259 210-845-2405 actionthis...@satx.rr.com From: churchillchat@googlegroups.com [mailto:churchillchat@googlegroups.com] Sent: Monday, December 28, 2015 1:10 PM To: churchillchat@googlegroups.com Cc: airdri...@hotmail.com Subject: Re: [ChurchillChat] Re: discrepancy in WSC's rank when he left Sandhurst Dear Antoine, I bet Doug Russell can clarify this. His book "Churchill SOLDIER" may have the answer. I have copied him on this email. John H. Mather MD FACPE 240 353 6782 johnmat...@aol.com In a message dated 12/28/2015 12:48:43 P.M. Central Standard Time, churchillchat@googlegroups.com writes: Dear All, May I tap your expert knowledge once more ? I am curently writing a Dictionnaire Churchill for a French publisher. Earlier today, I was working on the Sandhurst entry, and found a discrepancy in WSC's rank when he left. In vol 1 of the OB, Randolph writes : He passed out 20th in a class of 130 (Heinemann, first page of Chapter 7, p. 242) WSC himself writes in My Early Years : I passed out with honours eighth out of my batch of a hundred and fifty (Penguin, p. 66) How can that be explained ? With all best wishes for the coming year, A.C. Professor Antoine CAPET, FRHistS Head of British Studies University of Rouen 76821 Mont-Saint-Aignan France antoine.ca...@univ-rouen.fr 'Britain since 1914' Section Editor Royal Historical Society Bibliography Reviews Editor of CERCLES http://www.cercles.com/review/reviews.html ========================================== --- L'absence de virus dans ce courrier électronique a été vérifiée par le logiciel antivirus Avast. https://www.avast.com/antivirus -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "ChurchillChat" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to churchillchat+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to churchillchat@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/churchillchat. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "ChurchillChat" group. 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