OLD AGE DEFIED

Auckland Star, Volume LXXVI, Issue 70, 23 March 1945, Page 4

OLD AGE DEFIED

/ , N CHURCHILL'S SPIRIT INFLUENCE ON AUDIENCES LONDON, March 15. "Mr. Churchill seems to be possessed of an almost Peter Pan-ish ability to defy old age," writes Roy Simmons, Melbourne Herald correspondent in London. "It is almost impossible to realise that this man is in his 71st year—he will be 71 on November 30. "Despite what must have been four years crammed with unbelievable worries and difficult problems, Mr. Churchill's brow is unfurrowed and his complexion is as smooth, almost as transparently pink and clear as that of a teenage youth. "To-day at the Conservative party conference in Central Hall, Westminster, men and women rose spontaneously from their seats and cheered and clapped as the slightly stooping black-suited figure stepped on to the platform accompanied by Mrs. Churchill, who received an equally warm welcome. Warm Welcome Acknowledged "He acknowledged the warmth of the reception with a friendly wave • and turned perhaps resignedly, but nevertheless cheerfully, towards the battery of Press cameras and unblinkingly withstood the blinding light of the flash bulbs. During his speech his gold cufflinks now and then flashed under the electric lights of the hall, as he emphasised a point with an expressive movement. "His voice was that of a man in the prime of life, forceful when necessary, unaffected and engaging. The very phrasing and delivery of to-day's speeches seemed not to have lost one-'iota of the force of earlier wartime calls to the nation. "There was fire at times, and at others quiet, impressive passages— doubly impressive because of their very quietness. . . "Even the bitterest political opponent admits the greatness of Mr. Churchill's oratary, and I certainly felt he was able to exercise an indefinable hypnotism over his audience. Superb Choice of Words "Perhaps it is his superb choice of the right word to express the subtlest shades of meaning or emphasise vividly a point he wishes to drive home >4 and it is in the language of the ordinary Englishman, deceptively simple until one tried to write such speeches. "1 could not help feeling what a remarkable culmination this four years as Britain's leader was to his amazingly crowded life. "To-ciay, Mr. Churchill, for almost the first time since the grim and dangerous days of 1940, was .able to talk of 'certain victory before us, certain and perhaps near.' "What a contrast and what a triumph for a man who, in what was undoubtedly the most critical hour of English history was able to arouse the peace-loving 'blind' English and weld them successfully into a most determined and implacable lighting nation."