How Stalin Came To Like Mr, Churchill

Wanganui Chronicle, 22 December 1950, Page 5

How Stalin Came To Like Mr, Churchill

LONDON, Dec. 20.—Field-Marshal Lord Alanbrooke, former Chief of the Imperial General Staff, told a London gathering a hitherto unknown story of a wartime meeting in Moscow between Stalin and Mr Churchill when the latter “by an outburst of Churchillian oratory," abruptly checked “insults and sneers" by Stalin. Field-Mai snal Lord Alanbrooke. who was unveiling a portrait of Mr Churchill in the Junior Carlton Club, said the main reason for the Moscow talks was that there was not yet going to be a second front. The first meeting started at 10 p.m. and lasted till 3 a m,

“Stalin,” said the field-marshal, “began to put the heat on and started handing out some insults to Mr Churchill, saying, ‘we’ve been fighting and you’ve been looking on.’ ” Uavloff, who was interpreting Stalin’s words, looked at him and said: ‘You are never going to start fighting.’ "Then Winston brought down his fist with a crash on the table that shook the whole room and started off on one of his marvellous orations.

“After a time Stalin, who was smoking a pipe, got up and a broad grin came over his face. I-Ie stopped Pavlof and said through the interpreter: ‘I don’t understand what you are saying, but by God I like your sentiments.’

“What Stalin was trying to get at was what Mr Churchill was made of,” said Lord Alanbrooke. “From that time on there was a mutual understanding of one another’s toughness.”

Lord Alanbrooke recalled that when he flew to Washington with Mr Churchill at the time of the fall of Tobruk Mr Churchill walked into the plane in a zip-suit and zip-shoes, singing to himself, “We’re going because we’re going because we're Coing.” On the return journey, added Lord Alanbrooke, there was suddenly a touch on his shoulder “and there was Mr Churchill in his lovely blue dressing gown with dragons all over it, a yachting cap on his head and smoking a cigar. Then he looked up at me and said, 'You know, I’m thrilled, I’m absolutely thrilled.' N.Z.P.A. Special.