It was shortly after the 7/7 attacks in London — bombings that had killed 52 people and injured more than 700 others, that I found myself in the UK capital..We had booked well ahead of time of course. Despite what had happened, we decided to go anyway: Even if we had wanted it, I doubt Air Canada would have given us a refund. A good friend of ours lent us his flat in West London, a good jumping off spot for touring..While the city was open for business, there was a distinct lack of tourists. For obvious reasons, visitors had given it a wide berth..But I was excited one morning, as I walked briskly into Churchill's famed secret underground War Rooms. They have been preserved beautifully, just as they were during the Second World War. For me, it was a huge dream/bucket list for me, something I had always wanted to see..I arrived early after it had opened. To my shock, I was the only person there!.Yes, I was totally alone! I had the War Rooms all to myself..I paid for the ticket and began my journey... pausing for as long as I wanted at certain locations... sitting down in chairs... just looking around... taking it all in in total silence..But aside from seeing all the cool war stuff, the biggest thrill for me was to stand in the same spot where the great man stood to light his cigar from a thick electric wire attached to a pole. Winston himself must have stood here dozens of times, lighting up his cigars as he pondered the fate of the world — and the UK — against the Nazis..Now that, was cool. And it was something I will never forget..I heard on the tv recently that next year Alberta would be setting up a statue of Sir Winston Churchill in downtown Calgary. As reasons for the commemoration, the commentators explained Churchill's incredible contribution to the war effort and his love for Alberta following a visit to the province. But then, they also referred to racial comments he made which are not acceptable in today's culture..Indeed according to media reports, other statues of Churchill have been defaced. In the UK a Churchill statue was vandalized during the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020. And in Edmonton, someone splattered red paint over a similar monument. Last year Alberta Premier Jason Kenney even offered to take a Sir John A. MacDonald statue from Quebec to Alberta's legislature after it was defaced..While this issue is undoubtedly controversial, these things are a part with similar attempts to rewrite history and deny our historical legacy..And the debt we owe Churchill, cannot be overstated..To begin with, his Second World War contribution is without parallel. Thanks to his tireless efforts and relationship with US president Franklin Delano Roosevelt, America quickly came to Britain's aid following the Pearl Harbor attack..His strong connection with super-spy Sir William Stephenson — The Man Called Intrepid — would also lead to the development of the mysterious Camp X on the shores of Lake Ontario, and the British Security Coordination (BSC) in New York. The top-secret training school was instrumental in schooling covert agents in the methods required for success in clandestine operations on the continent. (One of those naval officers attending Camp X included Ian Fleming, the man who would bring James Bond, Agent 007 to the world of literature and movies.).As for the BSC, its purpose was to investigate enemy activities, prevent sabotage against British interests in the Americas, and mobilize pro-British opinion in the Americas. It is no secret that the BSC influenced news coverage in numerous media outlets, including the Herald Tribune, New York Post, Baltimore Sun and others..No wonder then, that infamous FBI director J. Edgar Hoover wanted the BSC out of the country as soon as the war was over!.Then, on the 21st of October, 1941, Churchill received a letter from a fellow named Allan Turing. He was a leading participant in the breaking of German ciphers at Bletchley Park, including the German naval code, Enigma..The key content of the letter was as follows:.“Dear Prime Minister,.Some weeks ago you paid us the honour of a visit, and we believe that you regard our work as important. You will have seen that (…) we have been well supplied with ’bombes’ for the breaking of the German Enigma codes. We think, however, that you ought to know that this work is being held up, and in some cases is not being done at all, principally because we cannot get sufficient staff to deal with it.".The "bombe" was an electro-mechanical device used by British cryptologists to help decipher German Enigma-machine-encrypted secret messages..It was designed to discover some of the daily settings of the machines on the various German military networks — something very crucial to the efforts at Bletchley..After reading the letter, Churchill made sure that the flow of bombes was speeded up, the staff bottlenecks were relieved, and the team was able to devote themselves uninterruptedly to the business in hand. .Turing and his team were able to decode Enigma which ultimately helped the allies to win the war. Some suggest that decoding the Enigma helped to shorten the war by as much as two years. Churchill would later say that in the war against Nazi Germany, Alan Turing made the single biggest contribution to the Allied victory..I could go on and on, I could. But what's the point? We all know what Winston did, what he accomplished during the Second World War and how it helped save the world. But sometimes people forget it was not such a sure thing. It required a Herculean effort and countless lives to defeat the Nazi war machine..Which brings me back to the point of how we treat historical figures who said things, or did things, or constructed things that in the lens of today's culture are just not accceptable..The latter is a fait accompli. It is, what it is..Many will disagree with me but personally I don't support tearing down statues in the US Deep South that commemorate Confederate war heroes. While I certainly do not back what they stood for, I am educated enough to understand their part in history — a history we should be aware of and learn from..To tear down statues is to deny it happened, to sweep it under the rug, which is exactly what we should not do..We must understand that this was the feeling of the time, during that historical timeframe..Today we know better. Or, at least we think we know better. We should know better!.Then again, on some issues, even I am torn. While I do respect the accomplishments of Canada's first prime minister Sir John A. McDonald — the so-called father of Confederation — his actions against the native people in the West were despicable and unforgivable..When told that many in the West were starving on rancid rations, he remarked something to the effect of 'can't they eat buffalo?' — not realizing the buffalo were gone..McDonald's name is on innumerable schools, buildings and landmarks. Do we erase it all and pretend it didn't happen? I honestly don't know..Or do we reconcile our past? Teach our children what did happen. Make it an important part of education. Not to throw paint but to be aware and to know the truth..Years later, I sat at the bar named after Churchill at Havana's stately Nacional Hotel, where the great man stayed in 1946. There, I pondered his photos on the wall, while I enjoyed a nice Cubano cigar and a wonderfully made mojito..To share the same space at the same bar, where Winston may have sat, filled me with wonder and fired my imagination. And I simply cannot imagine how or why anyone would want to harm that amazing historical legacy. The freedom I was enjoying in that bar and to this day are part and parcel due to the Allied victory over Nazi totalitarianism..Install the statue and raise a glass to Winston. He was not perfect, but he was all we had. And thank God for that.
It was shortly after the 7/7 attacks in London — bombings that had killed 52 people and injured more than 700 others, that I found myself in the UK capital..We had booked well ahead of time of course. Despite what had happened, we decided to go anyway: Even if we had wanted it, I doubt Air Canada would have given us a refund. A good friend of ours lent us his flat in West London, a good jumping off spot for touring..While the city was open for business, there was a distinct lack of tourists. For obvious reasons, visitors had given it a wide berth..But I was excited one morning, as I walked briskly into Churchill's famed secret underground War Rooms. They have been preserved beautifully, just as they were during the Second World War. For me, it was a huge dream/bucket list for me, something I had always wanted to see..I arrived early after it had opened. To my shock, I was the only person there!.Yes, I was totally alone! I had the War Rooms all to myself..I paid for the ticket and began my journey... pausing for as long as I wanted at certain locations... sitting down in chairs... just looking around... taking it all in in total silence..But aside from seeing all the cool war stuff, the biggest thrill for me was to stand in the same spot where the great man stood to light his cigar from a thick electric wire attached to a pole. Winston himself must have stood here dozens of times, lighting up his cigars as he pondered the fate of the world — and the UK — against the Nazis..Now that, was cool. And it was something I will never forget..I heard on the tv recently that next year Alberta would be setting up a statue of Sir Winston Churchill in downtown Calgary. As reasons for the commemoration, the commentators explained Churchill's incredible contribution to the war effort and his love for Alberta following a visit to the province. But then, they also referred to racial comments he made which are not acceptable in today's culture..Indeed according to media reports, other statues of Churchill have been defaced. In the UK a Churchill statue was vandalized during the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020. And in Edmonton, someone splattered red paint over a similar monument. Last year Alberta Premier Jason Kenney even offered to take a Sir John A. MacDonald statue from Quebec to Alberta's legislature after it was defaced..While this issue is undoubtedly controversial, these things are a part with similar attempts to rewrite history and deny our historical legacy..And the debt we owe Churchill, cannot be overstated..To begin with, his Second World War contribution is without parallel. Thanks to his tireless efforts and relationship with US president Franklin Delano Roosevelt, America quickly came to Britain's aid following the Pearl Harbor attack..His strong connection with super-spy Sir William Stephenson — The Man Called Intrepid — would also lead to the development of the mysterious Camp X on the shores of Lake Ontario, and the British Security Coordination (BSC) in New York. The top-secret training school was instrumental in schooling covert agents in the methods required for success in clandestine operations on the continent. (One of those naval officers attending Camp X included Ian Fleming, the man who would bring James Bond, Agent 007 to the world of literature and movies.).As for the BSC, its purpose was to investigate enemy activities, prevent sabotage against British interests in the Americas, and mobilize pro-British opinion in the Americas. It is no secret that the BSC influenced news coverage in numerous media outlets, including the Herald Tribune, New York Post, Baltimore Sun and others..No wonder then, that infamous FBI director J. Edgar Hoover wanted the BSC out of the country as soon as the war was over!.Then, on the 21st of October, 1941, Churchill received a letter from a fellow named Allan Turing. He was a leading participant in the breaking of German ciphers at Bletchley Park, including the German naval code, Enigma..The key content of the letter was as follows:.“Dear Prime Minister,.Some weeks ago you paid us the honour of a visit, and we believe that you regard our work as important. You will have seen that (…) we have been well supplied with ’bombes’ for the breaking of the German Enigma codes. We think, however, that you ought to know that this work is being held up, and in some cases is not being done at all, principally because we cannot get sufficient staff to deal with it.".The "bombe" was an electro-mechanical device used by British cryptologists to help decipher German Enigma-machine-encrypted secret messages..It was designed to discover some of the daily settings of the machines on the various German military networks — something very crucial to the efforts at Bletchley..After reading the letter, Churchill made sure that the flow of bombes was speeded up, the staff bottlenecks were relieved, and the team was able to devote themselves uninterruptedly to the business in hand. .Turing and his team were able to decode Enigma which ultimately helped the allies to win the war. Some suggest that decoding the Enigma helped to shorten the war by as much as two years. Churchill would later say that in the war against Nazi Germany, Alan Turing made the single biggest contribution to the Allied victory..I could go on and on, I could. But what's the point? We all know what Winston did, what he accomplished during the Second World War and how it helped save the world. But sometimes people forget it was not such a sure thing. It required a Herculean effort and countless lives to defeat the Nazi war machine..Which brings me back to the point of how we treat historical figures who said things, or did things, or constructed things that in the lens of today's culture are just not accceptable..The latter is a fait accompli. It is, what it is..Many will disagree with me but personally I don't support tearing down statues in the US Deep South that commemorate Confederate war heroes. While I certainly do not back what they stood for, I am educated enough to understand their part in history — a history we should be aware of and learn from..To tear down statues is to deny it happened, to sweep it under the rug, which is exactly what we should not do..We must understand that this was the feeling of the time, during that historical timeframe..Today we know better. Or, at least we think we know better. We should know better!.Then again, on some issues, even I am torn. While I do respect the accomplishments of Canada's first prime minister Sir John A. McDonald — the so-called father of Confederation — his actions against the native people in the West were despicable and unforgivable..When told that many in the West were starving on rancid rations, he remarked something to the effect of 'can't they eat buffalo?' — not realizing the buffalo were gone..McDonald's name is on innumerable schools, buildings and landmarks. Do we erase it all and pretend it didn't happen? I honestly don't know..Or do we reconcile our past? Teach our children what did happen. Make it an important part of education. Not to throw paint but to be aware and to know the truth..Years later, I sat at the bar named after Churchill at Havana's stately Nacional Hotel, where the great man stayed in 1946. There, I pondered his photos on the wall, while I enjoyed a nice Cubano cigar and a wonderfully made mojito..To share the same space at the same bar, where Winston may have sat, filled me with wonder and fired my imagination. And I simply cannot imagine how or why anyone would want to harm that amazing historical legacy. The freedom I was enjoying in that bar and to this day are part and parcel due to the Allied victory over Nazi totalitarianism..Install the statue and raise a glass to Winston. He was not perfect, but he was all we had. And thank God for that.
