One of the more amusing errors Otto English (né Andrew Scott) makes in his essay on Churchill concerns Churchill’s time in Cuba.
Otto is right to describe Churchill as an “observer”, but he drops the ball by saying that Churchill was “fighting for the [Spanish]” and was “awarded his first medal… for helping the Spanish suppress the [Cuban] revolt”. Churchill was, as Otto writes, an observer. That means he was a spectator, not a participant. D'Este outright calls him a “non-combatant” (D’Este, Warlord, p.46). He never even fired a shot at the rebels during his time in Cuba. Churchill did not receive the Cross of the Order of Military Merit for taking part in skirmishes with the Cuban insurgents, he got it as a courtesy (Russell, Soldier, p.130).
The only narrative spoiled is the narrative that English has crafted about himself – that he is a careful and diligent writer who is “toppling fake history from the plinth” and raising up the truth in its place.
No comments:
Post a Comment