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Originally Posted by Shangas  Hi Divus,
Thanks alot for the very detailed and interesting post regarding the Churchill family. I found it very interesting and fascinating reading! If I remember rightly, Randolph went into politics at some stage in his life, during his 20s, I think. How did Winston react to this? Certainly Randolph wasn't anywhere near as good a politician as his father. I read something of it and apparently he never got very far. |
You're welcome
Randolph ended up dropping out of university and making a tour through the US, before yes, he did end up following his father into politics, although with not nearly as much success. As said in my last post, Randolph's big problem was that he hadinherited all of his father's considerable self-confidence, but none of his brains or his incredible drive. He developed a reputation for arrogance and rudeness. Still, he was an MP for a number of years, consistently backing his father on everything, not unnaturally. He lost his seat in the Labour landslide that followed WWII, but did eventually regain it I believe.
When Winston died, Randolph had set himself the task of writing his father's biography. It was a massive task well beyond Randolph's modest capabilities, and Winston, with brutal honesty and foresight, predicted that he would make no real progress into it. As usual, Winston was dead right - within just a few years of the Grand Old Man's passing away Randolph followed him to the grave, having completed only a few chapters. His death had been hastened by his excessive consumption of alcohol and smoking, in which he had far exceeded his father and in which he had not shared Winston's impressive bodily tolerance.
One might forgive Randolph for being such a mediocre personality. The fact is that it is never easy to live in the shadow of a truly Great Man, and Winston was undeniably that. When the Great Men of history leave behind sons, they have a tendancy to be nonentities.
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