The Desecration of Winston Churchill Statues in London and Paris
As statues were toppled, beheaded, desecrated and dunked across the U.S. and around the world in early June, not even Winston Churchill was spared.
As many news outlets reported, the defamatory phrase “was a racist” was scrawled in black paint beneath Churchill’s chiseled name on the pedestal of his statue in Parliament Square in London.
The International Churchill Society condemned this action with an even-handed statement that acknowledged: “Churchill was a man with the scars and blemishes of his age.” The ICS’ statement concluded “Taken in the broad context of his life-long achievements in facing down fascism, keeping hope in Europe alive and helping to lay the foundations for the free society in which many of us are now fortunate to live, we continue to uphold his life and memory in the highest regard.”
A more fiery response was issued on Twitter by Andrew Roberts, author of Winston Churchill: Walking with Destiny, which many regard as the definitive Churchill biography.
I’m proud to stand with the International Churchill Society and Andrew Roberts.
There is a statue of Winston Churchill in Paris. As far as I know, that statue was left unmarred during the recent protests … but it was attacked twice in the past, and those two desecrations happen to have some relevance to my book.
That ten-foot tall statue watches over Avenue Winston Churchill, one block from the Champs-Elysees and one block from the River Seine. When my wife Barbara & I visited Paris, of course I had to get a picture.
This bronze likeness of France’s most resolute ally leans forward in confident stride, walking stick in hand, lips pursed, a hint of triumph in his narrowed eyes. This was Winston Churchill as he marched down France’s most sacred boulevard alongside General Charles de Gaulle just three months after the Allies liberated Paris from the Nazis. The £250,000 cost of the statue was generously funded by contributions from the French public.
The statue was desecrated during the night of November 2, 1999 and again ten years later on May 19, 2009. On both occasions the statue’s hands were daubed in blood red paint. In the first attack, the words “Mers-el-Kebir, 1300 killed” were scrawled on the statue, and 'L'assassin de Mers-el-Kebir' was painted in red across Churchill's face.
My book tells the story of the Royal Navy’s attack on the French fleet at Mers-el-Kebir on the coast of Algeria on July 3, 1940, shortly after France signed its armistice agreement with Nazi Germany. Although Churchill’s resolve eventually led to the liberation of France, and although 80 years have now passed since that deadly clash, some in France still hold firmly to their anti-British and anti-Churchill sentiments. There’s a lot to this story, and I look forward to sharing the entire tale with you.
Bill