Harry Hopkins’ first visit with Churchill: Stories told by Dr. Moran and Churchill

I am never tired of writing about Harry Hopkins. On the second entry of Lord Moran’s diary, Churchill’s personal physician, he wrote about Harry Hopkins’ first visit with Churchill in the deep of the winter (Jan. 1941).  Dr. Moran’s diary was published in 1966, a year after Churchill’s passing.

Churchill, having a heavy cold, was going to Scapa Flow (the Fleet base) to send off Lord Halifax to take his job as the Ambassador to America.   Churchill’s wife asked Dr. Moran to stop Churchill from going, Churchill responded, “What damned nonsense! Of course I am going.” It ended up Mrs. Churchill and Dr. Moran went with him.

We read the followings on Lord Moran’s diary of January 1941, nearly one year before the Pearl Harbor.  Listening to Hopkins’ quote of Scripture, Churchill was moved to tears.

The purpose of the visit was ostensibly to bid farewell to Lord Halifax who was about to take up his office as Ambassador in Washington,  But I suspect that the Prime Minister’s real purpose was to have a look at the Fleet at Scapa. . . .

On the return journey, Tom Johnston [Secretary of State for Scotland] dined us at the Station Hotel at Glasgow, and I sat next to Harry Hopkins, an unkempt figure. After a time he [Hopkins] got up and, turning to the P.M., said:

Harry Hopkins standing behind Stalin in Tehran 1943

“I suppose you wish to know what I am going to say to President Roosevelt on my return.  Well, I am going to quote you one verse from the Book of Books in the truth of which Mr. Johnston’s mother and my own Scotish mother were brought up” ‘Whither thou goest, I will go: and where thou lodgest, I will lodge:  thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.’  Then he added very quietly” “Even to the end.”

I was surprised to find the P.M. in tears.  He knew what it meant.  Even to us the words seemed like a rope thrown to a drowning man.

It will be worth your while to read Churchill’s narrative of Hopkins’ first visit with him.  Life is so unfair that Hopkins had an untimely death in January 1946, not able to enjoy the fruits of the victory that he helped greatly to make it happen.  He apparently did not look healthy in early 1941; we read how Churchill described him “a frail and failing body”, “crumbling” and “slim, frail and ill”; Dr. Moran even said he was “an unkempt figure”.

Churchill wrote his wife went with him for the trip to Scapa Flow.  Reading Moran’s diary we know why.  Churchill wrote his wife was ‘nimble” hopping from one destroyer to another and “Hopkins nearly fell into the sea”.

Churchill and Hopkins, I believe, Brendan Bracken is in the center

On January 10 [1941] a gentleman arrived to see me at Downing Street with the highest credentials.  Telegrams had been received from Washington stating he was the closest confident and personal agent of the President.  I therefore arranged that he should be met by Mr. Brendan Bracken o his arrival at Poole Airport and that we should lunch together the next day.  Then I met Harry Hopkins, that extraordinary man, who played, and was to play, a sometimes decisive part in the whole movement of the war.  His was a soul that flamed out of a frail and failing body.  He was a crumbling lighthouse from which there shone the beams that led great fleets to harbour.  He had also a gift of sardonic humor.  I always enjoyed his company, especially when things went ill.  He could also be very disagreeable and say very hard and sour things.  My experiences were teaching me to be able to do this too, if need be.

. . .  This was the height of the London bombing, and many local warries imposed themselves upon us. But it was evident to me that here was an envoy from the President of supreme importance to our life.  With gleaming eye and quiet, constrained passion he said: 'The President is determined that we shall win the war together.  Make no mistake about it.' 'He has sent me here to tell you that at all costs and by all means he will carry you through, no matter what happens to him--there is nothing that he will not do so far as he has human power.

Hopkins was of course jealous about his personal influence with his Chief and did not  encourage American competitors.  He therefore  in some ways bore out the poet Gray's line, "A favorite has no friend".  But this was not my affair.  There he sat, slim, frail, ill, but absolutely glowing with refined comprehension of the Cause.  It was to be the defeat, ruin, and slaughter of Hitler, to the exclusion of all other purposes, loyalties, or aims.  In the history of the U.S. few brighter flames have burned.

In order to clothe the arrival of our new Ambassador, Lord Halifax, in the U.S. with every circumstance of importance, I arranged that our newest and strongest battleship, the King George V, with a proper escort of destroyers, should carry him and his wife across the ocean.  I accompanied them North in my train and saw them off from Scapa Flow.  I took advantage of the occasion to visit the Admiralty.  This fitted in with my plans for making much closer acquaintance with Harry Hopkins.  we went together to the Fleet inspecting ships and defences.  My wife came with me, and excelled all others in nimbleness skipping and scrambling from one destroyer to another, Hopkins nearly fell into the sea. . . Hopkins was about ten days with me, and in the time he put me into harmonious mental relations with the newly re-chosen Master of the great Republic.

Churchill’s letter to FDR (1/13/1941)

Hopkins and I spent the week-end together, and he is coming along with me on a short tour of Fleet bases, so we shall have plenty of time to cover all points at leisure.  I am most grateful to you for sending so remarkable an envoy, who enjoys so high a measure of your intimacy and confidence.

Harry Hopkins – the man one should know and appreciate

Churchill, Hopkins, his daughter (1/1941)

I always lament Harry Hopkins is not more well known and appreciated.  There is no argument that the intimate friendship and collaboration between FDR and Churchill contributed greatly to the final victory, especially in the European theater.  And Harry Hopkins made it possible.

Joseph Kennedy (JFK’s father, then American Ambassador to Britain) sent FDR depressing reports at the end of 1940, saying the Blitz had cause great damage both to the buildings and morale and the defeat is unavoidable.  FDR sent his own emissary, Harry Hopkins, to England to meet with Churchill on Jan. 10, 1941 during the height of the Blitz (nearly one year before the Pearl Harbor attack).

(The photo shows Hopkins' daughter, Diana, had an eye on FDR's Scotch terrier, Fala, and was oblivious to Churchill being around.)

Churchill wrote in his The Second World War that Hopkins told him on their first meeting that “The President is determined that we shall win the war together.  Make no mistake about it.” and “He has sent me here to tell you that at all costs and by all means he will carry you through, no matter what happens to him--there is nothing that he will not do so far as he has human power.” Of course, this was not a public knowledge then.

Hopkins was the man without a public office and yet he was involved in making decisions of the highest consequence during the war.  He was living in the White House for a while.

We read a Churchill’s telegraph to FDR on 7/25/42, saying he “doubted if success would have been achieved without Hopkins’ invaluable aid.” to which FDR expressed his own happiness at “the successful meeting of minds”.

During their first meeting, Churchill took Hopkins to Scotland to see Lord Halifax off to the United States [as Ambassador].  We read the following from Lord Moran’s [Churchill’s doctor] diary,

“. . . I sat next to Harry Hopkins, an unkempt figure.  After a time he got up and, turning to the PM, said:

‘I suppose you wish to know what I am going to say to President Roosevelt on my return.  Well, I am going to quote you one verse from that Book of Books in the truth of which Mr. Johnston’s [Secretary of State for Scotland Johnston hosted the dinner] mother and my own Scottish mother were brought up:

“Whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.”  Then he added very quietly: ‘Even to the end,'

I was surprised to find the PM in tears.  He knew what it meant.”

Martin Gilbert in his Churchill’s biography (8 huge volumes) wrote, ‘Even to us,’ the doctor added, ‘the words seemed like a rope thrown to a drowning man.’

This is how Hopkins reported to FDR, “. . . people here are amazing from Churchill down, and if courage alone can win—the result will be inevitable.  But they need our help desperately and I am sure you will permit nothing to stand in the way. . . I cannot emphasize too strongly that he is the one and only person over here with whom you need to have a full meeting of mind.”     

Churchill told Attlee, “Hopkins is a godsend” on Jan. 2, 1942.

When Churchill survived a “No Confidence” vote, Hopkins telegraphed him, “Action of the House of Commons delighted me.  These have been some of the bad days.  No doubt there will be others.  Those who run for cover with every reverse, the timid, and the faint of heart, will have no part in winning the war.”

FDR and Hopkins

The Congress passed the Lend-Lease Act in January 1941 providing $50 billion (equivalent to about $650 billion today) military aid to the countries fighting German, Italy and Japan.  Hopkins was the man behind it.  He was also the architect of the New Deal before the war.  I believe he also had a hand on Social Security Act.

Among the American marines killed while assaulting the Japanese-held Marshall Island in mid-February 1944 was Harry Hopkins’ 18-year-old son.  Churchill sent Hopkins a scroll bearing the lines from Macbeth,

Your son, my lord, has paid a soldier’s debt;

He only lived but till he was a man;

The which no sooner had his prowess confirmed

In the unshrinking station where he fought,

But like a man he died.

              Macbeth  Act 5 Scene 8             

What kind of irises used in making Churchill’s wreath?

I had a post using the irises from our garden to pay tribute to George Washington just like Churchill did on the New Year Day of 1942.  Katy said the kind of irises used to make the wreath is not the kind I showed in the post.  The photo of Churchill’s wreath is black and white; it is hard to see the details.  But, I usually take Katy’s words when it comes to the flowering talk.  She said it is usually either Siberian or Japanese irises that are used to make the wreath.  No need to worry, we do also have Siberian or Japanese irises in our garden (see photos).

陳姿蓉 中國 有一種說法, irises在端午節前可以防蛇,過了端午,天氣變熱,驅 蛇作用失效. 但秋天轉涼 ,又有作用. 德國人說把花浸於啤酒桶內 啤酒可放長久. 法國人把花放再酒.裡增加芬芳. 希臘用花來製造香水的固定劑. 英國人把花和衣服.一起洗 使衣服芬芳. purple Iris 代表Our lady in Mourning(悲傷的聖母) iries 代表聖神降臨.(復活節後第49天) 藍色iries代表天主之母.

陳姿蓉 法國以黃色iris (yellow flag) 作為王室的象徵 查理五世(1294-1328)是第一位把它作為旗幟圖騰的國王.

Jer-Yuan Tsai It is of interest to know that “purple Iris 代表Our lady in Mourning(悲傷的聖母)”, thank you. As I mentioned in previous post that the wreath Churchill used in George Washington’s tomb was made of irises and chrysanthemums (菊花). Chrysanthemums are symbolic of death and grief in certain countries and are often used for funerals or on grave. However, in the USA, it is often regarded as “cheerful” or “truth” and Emily Dickinson associated chrysanthemums with her sprightly younger sister. Symbolism of flowers is not an exact science; it varies from region to region

Singing the Battle Hymn of the Republic at Christ Church in Alexandria, Virginia

Diane Lukas said “beautiful thoughts and deeds” on one of my posts of visiting Mt. Vernon; it was very kind of her.  While sitting on the George Washington’s family pews where Churchill, FDR, and Eleanor sat at Christ Church of Alexandria, VA on January 1, 1942, I was indeed thinking about what were on their minds then.  Buoyant and somber Churchill must be.  After standing alone for 17 months while Hitler’s Nazi overran Europe, Britain was now “in the same boat” with America (in a letter to Churchill, FDR said that right after Pearl Harbor attack, and Churchill repeated in his letter of 12/9/1941 to FDR).  After hearing the news of Pearl Harbour attack, Churchill wrote in his Memoir of the Second World War, “Being saturated and satiated with emotion and sensation, I went to bed and slept the sleep of the saved and thankful.”

FDR’s mind might be heavier: the American Navy fleet in Honolulu was almost entirely wiped out.  General MacArthur has retreated from Manila to the island of Corregidor.  FDR began to think how to save the general; he knew the army was unsavable.

On a lighter note, I was also thinking how Eleanor had to slip her husband cash for the collection plate during the service as FDR rarely had cash money with him.  I wonder whether she slipped money to Churchill.

They sang “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” (Churchill liked to call America “that great Republic”.)  The minister read Washington’s prayer for the United States.

This was not the first they met during the War.  FDR and Churchill first met on the Prince of Wales August 10, 1941, almost 4 months before the Pearl Harbour attack (They actually first met in London during WWI, but didn’t hit it off; we have to wait for another twenty some years before the greatest courtship of the century unfolded.)  It was said that Churchill was weeping and took a handkerchief from his pocket when they were singing the hymn of “Onward, Christian Soldiers” (Onward, Christian Soldiers, marching as to war, / With the cross of Jesus going on before. . . .)

Most of those singing and praying with Roosevelt and Churchill would soon die in 3 months.  When the First Sea Lord called Churchill notifying him that both the Prince of Wales and the Repulse have been sunk by the Japanese on their way to Singapore.  Churchill wrote, “I was thankful to be alone.  In all the war I never received a more direct shock.”

After the sinking of the Prince of Wales and the Repulse and the fall of Singapore, FDR wrote to Churchill (2/18/1942), “I want you to know that I think of you often and I know you will not hesitate to ask me if there is anything you think I can do. . . (the letter ended with) “Do let me hear from you.”

I believe the hymn of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” was sung again during the memorial service for President Franklin Roosevelt at Westminster Abbey.

Taking Dr. Chung-Cheng Wang to Alexandria and Mt. Vernon rekindled my interest of writing abut FDR and Churchill—the greatest and the most beautiful friendship (call it a love story in politics if you will) of the last century.

If you approach the history the way I do, you’ll see many people and many things and not just a small church in Alexandria, VA.  And I didn’t even mention that you’ll also see the family pew of General Robert Lee, who also grew up in Alexandria and attended the service at Christ Church.

Preseting our irises to George Washington with veneration

While visiting Mt. Vernon with FDR and the First Lady (Eleanor) on 1942 New Year Day, Churchill laid a wreath of chrysanthemums and irises at George Washington’s tomb. As I said our trip to The Christ Church of Alexandria, VA and Mt. Vernon was a re-enactment of their historical trip, I paid meticulous attention to the details; carrying mentally lots of blooming irises from our garden, so that Dr. Chung-Cheng Wang (Churchill, our distinguished guest) could lay a wreath of irises at George Washington’s tomb. It is not the season for chrysanthemums (菊花) here.

It is perfect fitting for these two Comrades-in-Arms facing the menace from Hitler’s Nazi and Imperial Japan to visit “the Mecca of America” or “the Nation’s Shrine” during this trial time.

Lincoln was the American hero of David Lloyd George, who right after stepping down as the British Prime Minister, visited Lincoln’s home at Springfield, Illinois in 1923. He quoted Lincoln in his first speech as the Prime Minister, “We accepted this war [WWI] for an object, and the war will end when that object is attained.” Churchill also echoed this sentiment when England stood alone.

I visited Lincoln’s home and tomb at Springfield, Illinois in the spring of 1972 and visited Mount Vernon several times with the same reverence and admiration of David Lloyd George. I tried to instill a love for history and a sense of awe on Katy and Dr. Wang visiting the homes of the great men and heroes of our Nation.

Lincoln loved to read Washington biography growing up. From Lincoln’s writing and speech we know he tried to emulate and compare with George Washington. In his farewell speech at the railroad depot when he left Springfield for Washington, D.C. we read, “Here my children have been born, and one is buried. I now leave, not knowing when, or whether ever, I may return, with a task before me greater than that which rested upon Washington. . . .”

I post many photos of the blooming irises from our garden, presenting them to George Washington with veneration like Churchill did on 1942 New Year Day.

No estate in the United America is more pleasantly situated than this. — by George Washington

(This is part of the series of posts that is a re-enactment of the historical trip of FDR, Eleanor, and Churchill in the New Year Day of 1942.  Our friend, Dr. Chung-Cheng Wang, gave a brief presentation of his research finding at American Urological Association 2011 Annual Meeting at Washington, D.C. We took him to Mt. Vernon before the meeting.)

If you visit Mount Vernon—America’s First Home—you’ll understand why George Washington was so proud and uttered, “No estate in the United America is more pleasantly situated than this.”  Martha—the first First Lady—stayed behind at Mt. Vernon when Washington took the first Presidency in New York City in 1789 until an accommodation was found.  Living at the two Executive Mansions; one was in the Broadway Street, Martha would say that she felt like a prisoner waiting to be executed.

Passing through in the summer of 1760, an English traveler described, “This place is the property of Colonel Washington, and truly deserving of its owner.  The house is most beautifully situated upon a very high hill on the banks of the Potomac, and commands a noble prospect of water, of cliffs, of woods and plantations.”

The photos of panoramic view taken from the high, majestic back porch of the house captured the grandiose beauty of the authentically inspired gardens and grounds overlooking Potomac River.

We saw “Martha” (see photo) was sitting in a room talking about her life with George and at their beloved home.  Her great-granddaughter married General Robert Lee whose house was in now known as the Arlington National Cemetery when he left for Virginia to take charge of the Confederate Army.  Never did he ever return.  Diane Lukas lives 5 miles from Mt. Vernon, I guess she might have stopped by to have the afternoon tea with Martha every so often.

The picture of Katy taking with a young man and a young lady was taken in Mount Vernon in the summer of 1776.