the times | Monday May 23 2022 19
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from Dunkirk, saving them from death
or capture after a calamitous early
campaign. Churchill had been prime
minister for less than two weeks when
he set about organising the operation.
On June 4, at the conclusion of the
evacuation, Churchill made his “WeAfter Dunkirk, Winston Churchill
declared that we would fight them on
the landing grounds. Today a painting
he accepted to commemorate the
evacuation is heading to the upstairs
landing at his old home.
The depiction of the retreat from the
French town in 1940 was created by
Ernest Townsend and listed as having
been in Churchill’s studio when the
former prime minister died in 1965. It
somehow suffered a 10cm tear in the
canvas and was also clouded by yellow-
ing varnish. One hundred hours of
work have now restored it to its
original glory and it is going on display
from today at Chartwell near Wester-
ham in Kent.
“We are delighted that we have been
able to conserve and finally display
such an important symbol of his legacy
at his former home,” Katherine Carter,
the curator at Chartwell, said. “It must
have been poignant for him to be given
this beautifully painted reminder of
such a significant event of the Second
World War, just at the time he was
writing about Dunkirk for his history
of the war.”
From May 26, 1940, more than
330,000 Allied troops were evacuated
Churchill had to
turn down many
gifts but made
an exception for
the paintingJack Blackburn History Correspondent
shall fight on the beaches” speech. The
painting depicts a small line of men
hobbling along the beach, possibly
from a medical facility. Townsend
would have taken the image from
photographs or footage of the
evacuation. However, it seems thatChurchill accepted the gift because of
the artist as well as the subject. In 1915
Townsend had painted a portrait of
Churchill, then first lord of the Admi-
ralty, that now hangs in the National
Liberal Club in central London. The
artist had died aged 64 in 1944 and his
son offered the painting to Churchill.
At the time Churchill, a keen artist
himself, was so inundated by gifts that
he had to decline many of them on
account of not having enough space. In
this case he made an exception, telling
the younger Townsend that he would
be “honoured to accept” the painting.
It is hoped that further research will
reveal where it was hung in the house.
There is also no account of how it came
to be torn, though it is likely that this
was caused by atmospheric factors
such as fluctuations in humidity. It has
been mended using medical-style
techniques, such as Gore-Tex.
The team at Chartwell, a National
Trust property, have a renewed focus
on detailing the history of Churchill
and the Second World
War as older genera-
tions die and new ones
arrive.
“I started at Chart-
well in 2013 and I’ve
been able to see a
noticeable shift in the
people coming through
our doors,” Carter said.
“When I started, we
had D-Day veterans
among our volunteers
and sadly a subject
moves from living
memory into history.”LAURENCE PORDESErnest Townsend’s depiction of the evacuation was given to Winston Churchill by
the artist’s son. It has been cleaned and repaired and is now on show at ChartwellW
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mDunkirk painting returns to Churchill home