Winston's Bandits

"""Winston Churchill had a rare capacity for friendship, and Adrian Phillips has unerringly homed in on the close friends who helped him achieve victory in the Second World War. In this well-researched, closely argued and occasionally revisionist book, Phillips goes beyond most conventional accounts by forensically focusing on the relationships between the friends, too, and especially their feuds. This work is an important addition to the Churchillian canon."" Andrew Roberts, author of Churchill: Walking with Destiny ""This is a valuable book, well written and a pleasure to read. It sheds light on aspects of Winston Churchill's career that are overlooked by those who see him simply as the man who delivered victory in 1945."" Walter Reid, author of Fighting Retreat: Churchill and India ""A well-researched and lively foray into the curious cast of colourful characters spanning Churchill's remarkable career. Phillips's enjoyable account of friendship, feuds and Whitehall machinations helps us see Churchill in a new light."" Professor Rory Cormac, University of Nottingham ""A fascinating insight into an unfamiliar facet of Churchill's character. Adrian Phillips has written an important book."" Adrian Tinniswood, author of Noble Ambitions ""Adrian Phillips's new book examines Churchill through his circle of friends - some of them members of the so-called Order of the Bath, who enjoyed the doubtful privilege of conferring with their master in his tub. For the grandson of a duke, Winston's coterie was anything but predictable: none of its members was drawn from school or army friends but rather formed of a motley crew, some of whom were rewarded with high office during the Second World War. It included the Canadian newspaper tycoon Lord Beaverbrook, the Irish fantasist Brendan Bracken, the half-German boffin Frederick Lindemann, Churchill's son-in-law Duncan Sandys and, for a while at least, his hapless son Randolph. Phillips brings this world to life with considerable panache."" Giles MacDonogh, author of After the Reich ""A fast-paced, masterfully written tale of fascinating political intrigue and cunning activity woven by Churchill's 'bathroom group' of confidants, who helped shape the course and outcome of the Second World War. In particular, the behind-the-scenes roles of businessman Brendan Bracken and scientist Frederick Lindemann are highlighted, along with other leading characters such as press baron Lord Beaverbrook, politician Duncan Sandys and Churchill's son Randolph."" Mungo Melvin, author of Manstein: Hitler's Greatest General ""A magnificent new account of Churchill told through the lens of his closest friends."" Helen Fry, author of Women in Intelligence ""Adrian Phillips provides fascinating new material about Churchill's strange bunch of outside advisers and how they took on Britain's inner establishment."" David Lough, author of No More Champagne: Churchill and His Money ""Adrian Phillips offers a riveting analysis of an area of Churchill's life that, until now, has not received enough scholarly attention: the great friendships, personal and political, that sustained him through the towering highs and infamous lows of the 1930s and '40s."" Ed Owens, author of After Elizabeth: Can the Monarchy Save Itself? ""In Winston's Bandits, Adrian Phillips achieves no small feat, drawing our attention to a blank page in the otherwise well-thumbed tome that is the life of Sir Winston Churchill: his friendships. Churchill gathered his courtiers based on a complex interplay of privilege, political ambition and professional respect - but, above all, character. Weaker leaders have leaned on sycophants; Churchill was enhanced by surrounding himself with those confident in speaking truth to power. This would have national, if not international, implications once Churchill entered No. 10 in May 1940 and positioned his 'bandits' at the heart of power during Britain's darkest hour. Ruthless towards those who fell from favour and magnanimous towards former enemies, Churchill remains the most human of our great historical figures. Phillips expertly navigates the bonds of loyalty as well as the infighting and ambitions that shaped the court of Churchill."" Jenny Grant, historian of Polish-British relations in the Second World War ""An absorbing and illuminating account of the loyal and unpredictable mavericks of Winston Churchill's inner circle. Drawing on new material, Adrian Phillips sheds much-needed light on an important aspect of Churchill's story: friendship."" Claire Hubbard-Hall, author of The Real Miss Moneypenny: The Forgotten Women of British Intelligence"