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Churchill: The Finest Half Hour
Series 8: Up Close and Personal Episode 3
Season 8, Ep. 3
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John 'Jock' Colville was a civil servant in 10 Downing Streeet in 1940 - and he viewed Churchill's arrival as Prime Minister with much scepticism.
Professor Richard Toye and Dr. Warren Dockter explain why Colville's doubts about Churchill evaporated - and how he recorded his wartime experiences working at Churchill's side in a diary which is an invaluable resource for historians.
They reveal too how Colville's loyalty continued in Churchill's second premiership, when Colville played a key role in keeping Churchill's health problems from the public. And how Colville became one of the great defenders of Churchill's reputation and builders of his legacy, leading the successful efforts to create Churchill College, Cambridge, as national memorial to the politician he'd served so faithfully.
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