Finest Hour – July 2019

Roddy MacKenzie is a retired Canadian lawyer and son of

a Bomber Command pilot. This article is based on his

29 January 2019 address to the

Churchill Society of British Columbia.

Endnotes

1. Richard Overy, “World War II: How the Allies Won,” BBC.
   co.uk, 17 February 2011.


2. Patrick Bishop, Air Force Blue: The RAF in World War Two
   (London: HarperCollins, 2018), p. 35.


3. Ibid., p. 180.


4. David Cannadine, ed., Blood, Toil, Tears, and Sweat:
   The Speeches of Winston Churchill (Boston: Houghton Mifflin,
   1989), p. 188.


5. Patrick Bishop, Bomber Boys: Fighting Back 1940–1945
   (London: Harper, 2008), p. 347.


6. Roy Jenkins, Churchill: A Biography (London: Macmillan
   2001), p. 777.


7. Henry Probert, Bomber Harris (London: Greenhill, 2011),
   p. 321.


8. Alan Cooper, Target Dresden (London: Independent, 1995),
   p. 196.


9. http://www.veterans.gc.ca


10. Cooper, pp. 217–32.


11. CHAR 20/229, Churchill Archives Centre, Cambridge.


12. Winston S. Churchill, Closing the Ring (New York:
    Houghton Mifflin, 1951), pp. 468–69.

Eisenhower and Churchill—The Last Words

S

upreme Allied Commander General Dwight D. Ei-

senhower wrote to reassure his superior General

Marshall that return of control of Bomber Com-

mand to the British in September 1944 would work well.

Eisenhower said he had come to regard British Bomber

Command as one of the most effective parts of his entire

organization, always seeking and finding and using new

ways for their particular type of aircraft to be of assistance

in forwarding the progress of the Armies on the ground.

Churchill’s famously failed to mention Bomber Com-

mand in his victory speech praising the Armed Forces.

But a copy of the following telegram from Churchill to

Harris, dated 15 May 1945—just one week after the Ger-

man surrender—is to be found in the Churchill archives:

Now that Nazi Germany is defeated, I wish to express

to you on behalf of His Majesty’s Government the

deep sense of gratitude which is felt by all the Nation

for the glorious part which has been played by Bomb-

er Command in forging the Victory.

For over two years, Bomber Command alone carried

the war to the heart of Germany, bringing hope to the

peoples of occupied Europe, and to the enemy a fore-

taste of the mighty power which was rising against

him. As the Command expended [sic], in partner-

ship with the Air Forces of our American Ally, the

weight of the attacks was increased, dealing destruc-

tion on an unparalleled scale to the German Military,

Industrial and Economic System. Your Command

also gave powerful support to the Allied Armies in

Europe and made a vital contribution to the war at

sea. You destroyed or damaged many of the enemy’s

ships of war and much of his U-Boat organization. By

a prolonged series of mining operations you sank or

damaged large quantities of his merchant shipping.

All your operations were planned with great care and

skill; they were executed in the face of desperate op-

position and appalling hazards; they made a decisive

contribution to Germany’s final defeat.

The conduct of these operations demonstrated the

fiery gallant spirit which animated your aircrews and

the high sense of duty of all ranks under your Com-

mand.

I believe that the massive achievements of Bomber

Command will long be remembered as an example of

duty nobly done.

WINSTON S. CHURCHILL^11

(^) This telegram is the clearest statement I have seen by
any British official regarding what Bomber Command
accomplished. In addition, Churchill declared in his war
memoirs:
But it would be wrong to end without paying our
tribute of respect and admiration to the officers
and men who fought and died in this fearful battle
of the air, the like of which had never before been
known, or even with any precision imagined. The
moral tests to which the crew of a bomber were
subjected reached the extreme limits of human
valour and sacrifice. Here chance was carried to
its most extreme and violent degree above all else.
They never flinched or failed. It is to their devotion
that in no small measure we owe our victory. Let us
give them our salute.^12
Let us indeed! Bomber Command was Churchill’s great-
est triumph. ,
BOMBER COMMAND
RoddyMacKenzieis a retiredCanadianlawyerandsonof
a BomberCommandpilot.Thisarticleis basedonhis
29 January 2019 addresstothe
ChurchillSocietyofBritishColumbia.
Endnotes

1. Richard Overy, “World War II: How the Allies Won,” BBC.
   co.uk, 17 February 2011.


2. Patrick Bishop, Air Force Blue: The RAF in World War Two
   (London: HarperCollins, 2018), p. 35.


3. Ibid., p. 180.


4. David Cannadine, ed., Blood, Toil, Tears, and Sweat:
   The Speeches of Winston Churchill (Boston: Houghton Mifflin,
   1989), p. 188.


5. Patrick Bishop, Bomber Boys: Fighting Back 1940–1945
   (London: Harper, 2008), p. 347.


6. Roy Jenkins, Churchill: A Biography (London: Macmillan
   2001), p. 777.


7. Henry Probert, Bomber Harris (London: Greenhill, 2011),
   p. 321.


8. Alan Cooper, Target Dresden (London: Independent, 1995),
   p. 196.


9. http://www.veterans.gc.ca


10. Cooper, pp. 217–32.


11. CHAR 20/229, Churchill Archives Centre, Cambridge.


12. Winston S. Churchill, Closing the Ring (New York:
    Houghton Mifflin, 1951), pp. 468–69.

Eisenhower and Churchill—The LastWords

S

upreme Allied Commander General DwightD.Ei-

senhower wrote to reassure his superior General

Marshall that return of control of Bomber Com-

mand to the British in September 1944 wouldworkwell.

Eisenhower said he had come to regard BritishBomber

Command as one of the most effective partsofhisentire

organization, always seeking and finding andusingnew

ways for their particular type of aircraft to beofassistance

inforwardingtheprogressoftheArmiesontheground.

Churchill’s famously failed to mention BomberCom-

mand in his victory speech praising the ArmedForces.

But a copy of the following telegram fromChurchillto

Harris, dated 15 May 1945—just one week aftertheGer-

man surrender—is to be found in the Churchillarchives:

Now that Nazi Germany is defeated, I wishtoexpress

to you on behalf of His Majesty’s Government the

deep sense of gratitude which is felt by all theNation

for the glorious part which has been playedbyBomb-

er Command in forging the Victory.

For over two years, Bomber Command alone carried

the war to the heart of Germany, bringing hope to the

peoples of occupied Europe, and to the enemy a fore-

taste of the mighty power which was rising against

him. As the Command expended [sic], in partner-

ship with the Air Forces of our American Ally, the

weight of the attacks was increased, dealing destruc-

tion on an unparalleled scale to the German Military,

Industrial and Economic System. Your Command

also gave powerful support to the Allied Armies in

Europe and made a vital contribution to the war at

sea. You destroyed or damaged many of the enemy’s

ships of war and much of his U-Boat organization. By

a prolonged series of mining operations you sank or

damaged large quantities of his merchant shipping.

All your operations were planned with great care and

skill; they were executed in the face of desperate op-

position and appalling hazards; they made a decisive

contribution to Germany’s final defeat.

The conduct of these operations demonstrated the

fiery gallant spirit which animated your aircrews and

the high sense of duty of all ranks under your Com-

mand.

I believe that the massive achievements of Bomber

Command will long be remembered as an example of

dutynoblydone.

WINSTON S. CHURCHILL^11

This telegram is the clearest statement I have seen by

any British official regarding what Bomber Command

accomplished. In addition, Churchill declared in his war

memoirs:

But it would be wrong to end without paying our

tribute of respect and admiration to the officers

and men who fought and died in this fearful battle

of the air, the like of which had never before been

known, or even with any precision imagined. The

moral tests to which the crew of a bomber were

subjected reached the extreme limits of human

valour and sacrifice. Here chance was carried to

its most extreme and violent degree above all else.

They never flinched or failed. It is to their devotion

that in no small measure we owe our victory. Let us

give them our salute.^12

Let us indeed! Bomber Command was Churchill’s great-

est triumph. ,

BOMBER COMMAND