2008 Upsetting events in Egypt and four recent films

I have decided that it would be wrong to continue this writing without making mention of the situation which has developed in one of the ancient civilizations on earth, Egypt. It is impossible to come to judgement based on eyewitness reports of media commentators, official statements being made by the present Egyptian regime or from individual participants. All I feel confident about doing is to report on the information and issues that I have noted over the past 12 hours when I have given increasing attention.

The most important aspect is that the revised government appointed by the long standing President is not in control of the capital city of Cairo with its estimated 20 million inhabitants, about a quarter of the total population or in port city of Alexandria with a population 4 million and was to featured in my re-consideration of the four novels of Lawrence Durrell , known as the Alexandrian Quartet. While the army is on the streets it is taking no action to prevent people peacefully protesting and calling for the end of the present regime. The hated police disappeared of the street but are officially said to be returning today to establish some order. However it is not clear if they will be allowed to function as the people have responded to official calls for them to take p arms to protect their lives and their homes from gangs of looters and criminals who escaped from one jail. How far the police will be used to help prevent looting and apprehend the criminals or enforce the curfew and stop the protests should emerged over the next 24 to 48 hours. One elder female was quoted last night as saying that if the troops opened fire on the people it would be the end of the regime and if they did not it would be the end of regime.


It would also appear that the USA which continues to fund the Military at over I billion dollars a year and also other aspects of the government, together with Britain and other Western leaders has been challenged by the development. There is the justified concern that whatever the motives and intentions of those on streets once a repressive regime departs there is a power vacuum and no one can predict the outcome. One has only to look at the varying outcome of the breaking up of the Soviet Union ranging to the positive democratic and economic development of Poland to the anarchy in Albania or the stagnant poverty in others to appreciate that no two situations will change in the same way.

The great concern is the impact of any change on the stability of the Middle East and the development of peaceful relations with the State of Israel. Whatever the shortcomings of the President and his domestic policies, he has recognised Israel and supported the axis of the USA and European nations in seeking a non violent solution to the conflicts and differences. Saudi Arabia and Jordan which also border Israel are not democracies or beacons of individual human rights or in narrowing the gap between the wealthy and middleclass and the rest of population who survive in poverty.

Last night in bed rather than attempting to sleep I listened to several individual accounts of their experiences over the past few days, some in planning to leave the country and others in a dilemma about what to do One could not listen without being moved and wishing that there was an immediate solution which will satisfy them and other interests. I fear this will no be so and as one Egyptian activist said, there is now no going back, it may have to get worse to get better. The British government with is special historical interest in Egypt which remains a major tourist destination has an important role to play, a role it needs to exercise with the greatest of care and sensitivity. The future of the whole Middle East as well as of the Egyptian people in in the balance.

30th January rapidly turned into woe Sunday after three good days and an overall good month as I developed into a good routine of swimming, art working, good television and good food and computer game play. My weight continues to be a problem which requires greater self discipline that has been shown over the past two months. I will leave the causes of the woe until later.

I have viewed several films, four of which I wish to write about, Max Payne, Ronin, Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll and A star is Born.

It is usual for a game version to be created of successful adventure movies. Max Payne is an exception because the award winning video game first appeared in 2001 and it was because of its success that the decision was taken to create the movie which made over 100 million dollars at the box office but was generally disliked by critics and in particular by those disappointed because of the significant differences between film and game.

I have not played or viewed the game but what struck me about the film is that while their are lots of action sequences, shoot outs and explosions the is an underlying serious story as a film noir in which the wife and baby of Max are brutally and horrifically murdered shortly before he arrives home from work as a police detective. Their killing has the appearance of a robbery and while he manages to kill two of the murderers a third escapes and is not caught. Max overcome with grief and anger for revenge takes on back room task of administering the Cold Case records, which could not be brought to prosecution but are stored in the hope that they be solved or the crime admitted to in the future. He has also created his own record store in a large container in self storage which eh has equipped with storage units and filing boxes similar to those I used to transfer my books and papers from my former home, Newland House, to here and where I still have between one and two hundred two sort out as well as using others to store created artwork project sets.

In the game Max is working undercover for a Mafia boss trafficking a designed drug called Valkyr. The drug has hallucinatory effects as well as enhancing abilities. The three individuals who murdered his wife were on this drug. In both forms of media Max is drawn to the Metro underground by a tip off which involves his first shoot out. This is not as good a lead as he hopes.

The video game is said to commence with Max on top of skyscraper building as police units arrive whereas in the film he appears to be drowning, we later learn in icy cold water as the action has taken place in below zero wintry conditions with heavy snow falling and accumulated and which adds to dark and dangerous atmosphere of much of the film.

Because the opening shoot out does not produce anything which progresses his search he calls on the contact who provided the information as he is hosting he is hosting a party at which the drug is being used. He encounters an alluring young woman who then has an argument with another woman to is disclosed as her sister and who appears to be part of armed gang.

In the film he takes the young woman to his home to question her but she offers herself sexually and he tells he to leave. She is then brutally murdered in a grim, stark area between buildings and Max becomes a suspect because his police credential are found among the body remains, having been stolen by the girl. A former work colleagues who investigated the murder of his wife follows up a query from Max asking about a tattoo on the arm of the murdered girl and he finds the same emblem in a photo a photo of the murdered wife.

He contacts Max and arranges to meet him at his home with the information but on arrival Max finds the man also murdered. This alienates Max from the police colleagues and the man’s wife who blames Max because of his obsession to find the third killer of wife and baby. Max is then taken prisoner by the sister of the murdered girl under the impression he is responsible for her death, Max is able to convince her to join forces and search of the killer who he believes also killed his wife..

When Max is in hospital recovering from being knocked senseless as he discovered the death of the investigating detective, he is visited by another former colleague and friend who is now head of security at the pharmaceutical firm where the murdered wife worked and which has given a scholarship in her memory by the female chief executive of the organisation.

Max breaks into the office of the murdered officer who was investigating the case and in the file of the girl finds a name which appears to be a lead and together with the sister they go in search of the man who they locate in a derelict building but who appears very frightened and falls to his death in some hallucination although as this point it is not clear if it is a hallucination or some sinister bird like creature which was also evident before the death of the sister. Max is always being watched by a man from the roof tops thus giving the possibility that the man can change himself into some form of flying terror. Max and the girl visit a Tattoo parlour to make enquiries about the design found on the two murdered girl. It is explained as a protection emblem in Norse mythology but this is a red herring or sorts because later we learn that the emblem is that of the company where she worked. I discovered the full explanation for the reference to Norse mythology in the Wikipedia article on the game.

The Valkyries in Norse mythology are warrior women who looked over the battlefield and took those who died in valour. In both film and game the drug Valkrie was secretly developed by the firm under contract with the US military because of its fighting enhancing energy and confidence. In Norse mythology those taken by the Valkyries would fight for the Gods in their wars.

In the film the contract was ended following test uses made in the 1991 Gulf War but its production is continued to be sold as a recreational drug and used by some of the former soldiers who are in the pay of those running the continuing Valhalla enterprise. The computer network at the Valhalla centre is called Yggdrasil which is the name of the tree which connected the nine world in Norse Cosmology. The firm where the wife worked uses the same motif as the Tattoo for its corporate logo and is called Aesir and this is the name of the primary pantheon of Nordic Gods. The chief Executive of the firm has the surname Horn with a horn used in the myths to announce the start of the apocalypse, the Ragnarok and the Gothic nightclub in the game is called the Ragna Rock. The great snowstorm in which the events take place is a reference to an epic Winter which precedes the Ragnarok. In the game there is also a character called Wooden whose surname refers to Woden a version of Odin, the Norse God and there are also other references. These are not referred to in the film which concentrates on the relationship between his former friend as the Security Chief who has become the responsible for the Valhalla drug manufacture and distribution and which the Chief Executive also appears to have knowledge if not direct responsibility.

When Max goes to the firm to try and find out the link between his wife and emerging discoveries he learns from an executive of company about the drug and its uses and that his wife had found out and expressed concerned. This is the major fault with the storyline because given that Max was a detective and his reported closeness to his wife, she would have immediately shared any concerns with her husband so he would have known about the involvement of the firm and made known the murder was intentional.

In the film he then goes in search of the Valhalla enterprise without the help of the sister of the murdered girl and her armed gang. This is the second plot weakness. It enables Max to make the discovery, there is much shooting and a confrontation with the soldier who has been trailing him and is used as a red herring in terms of the identity of the third killer. The soldier is responsible for the death of sister and his detective friend cutting them to pieces with a sword. It is only at this point that Max finds out that the third killer was his former colleague and friend and present head of security at the firm. Max is captured and is about to be thrown into the river weighted down when he breaks free and dives into the water as he appears suspended and dying or dead at the start of the film. However he overcomes the cold to get out and fully armed he makes his way back to the firm where there is the last spectacular gun fight towards the end of which the security chief makes his way to the helicopter pad calling for help to the owner of the firm who ignore his call. The main henchman of the security chief manages to blow up several floors of the building causing a major fire, but nevertheless the police who have realised the criminal nature of the firm’s security organisation manage to get to the top of the building where Max has fought out with the man he now knows killed his wife and baby. There is a moment when it appears that Max who is also shot appears to have died and joins his wife and child in their new dimension. However after the credits here is a scene with him meeting the sister of the murdered girl and she shows him a newspaper article where the stock of the firm is rising accompanied by a photo of the chief executive. Does this suggest the intention to have a sequel?

There is one aspect of the film which I have intentionally left out until now in that in the film the sister of the murdered girl is a Russian assassin. In the game She and her sister are the daughters/relatives of the Mafia boss and both are killed. Also in the game Max joins forces for a time with a Russian Mafia gang who are at war with the other Mafia organisation. It is the aspect of the Russian mafia which is the connecting link to my second film of the past three days, called Ronin.

A Rónin was a freelance Samurai, often an outcast because he not committed hara kiri when his master died. The concept of a man apart, a mercenary is the theme of the second action move of recent days directed by John Fankenheimer and distributed in 1998. Robert De Nero plays a main character along with Jean Reno. Sean Bean and Jonathan Pryce also have roles along with Natasha Skarsgárd.

She is a young Irish woman who is a Council member of the Republican Army although this is not disclosed to the special forces and intelligence operatives she hires for an action at the rate £5000 pounds a week for four weeks with a bonus of £20000 which means an expenditure of £160000 plus considerable expenditure on weapons and technical devices. The purpose of the action is to steal a comparatively small hand held metal box which is known to be conveyed in a convoy of vehicles full of armed professional security operatives, although what is in the box, when and where the action is to take place is to be revealed later.

The meeting of the men with Natascha takes place at a small bar on the outskirts of Paris where she works as a bar maid and after the men have been taken to a dormitory type room holding area she goes to meet her boss played by Jonathan Pryce and who we later learn is the a leader in the army and who is on the international wanted list. Sean Bean is exposed as someone without experience when the men go to collect the required arms from a dealer and realise it is a trap to get hold of the cash without giving any arms. He leaves so that there are only three left who complain that they will need at least two others.

This is refused because the IRA chief has told Natascha that the Russian mafia has arranged to purchase the case and they have to act quickly. They move to small hotel above a bar in Nice where they observe the villa where the box is held and plan to ambush the convoy on its way to meet the Russian buyers. How they know this is not disclosed.

There is a good ambush, gun fight and car chase with the usual thrills and spills and then one of the men, a Russian does a nifty switch and hands his colleagues a duplicate looking box filled with explosives intended to destroy the rest of the group and the man makes off with the box for the Russian Mafia who like the IRA sponsored team want the contents without making any payment. This aspect is not clear.

One of the trio of Rónin is shot in leg and is patched up and functions as a driver because of the disability. The trio continue to search for the box but with the objective of catching up with the Russian. Mercenaries used to acting only in their own interests now have a shared cause. They find out that there is a deal to sell the box using the Roman built arena at Arles as its backcloth. There is a gun fight and although the Russian escapes he is captured by the IRA Leader who has killed the already wounded Rónin in the car. Di Nero who has been shot in his body and Reno exit the arena to see Natascha leaving with the Russian and another, and the body of their comrade in arms dumped at the roadside. Now their objective has become revenge. Before this Di Nero is taken to a contact where his would is addressed.

The remaining Rónin then use contacts to successfully locate the whereabouts of the two IRA individuals and the Russian who has mailed the case to himself in Paris. When they locate the trio there is another car chase which ends with the vehicle with the trio falling from a motorway over pass to construction work below. The Russian escapes with the case and the two IRA officials are rescued by the construction workers, alive.

It is at this point that the Rónin works out that the case is similar to that used for ice skates and that a Russian company is performing in the French capital, We the audience already know this is so and that the lead Russian skater and Olympic Champion is the girl friend of the Russian behind the purchase. First the case is exchanged for cash but then the purchaser pulls a gun on the seller who warns that there is a sniper fixed on the ice skating girlfriend who will be killed if he does not signal he has the money and is on his way. He is shot and he skater is shot causing pandemonium in the stadium.

The IRA duo arrive and the man shoots the Russian for the case and then there is a gun fight with the two Rónin one of whom is wounded before killing the Irishman. They tell the girl to get away. There is a radio report of peace in Northern Ireland following the death if the IRA leader in Paris. The two remaining Rónin then are seen back in the cafe with Di Nero hoping to have contact with the IRA woman. When she does not arrive they depart their separate ways wishing each other well, but without knowing the contents of the case or caring. Now did I care about any of this? No. What is the point of the film? Well Rónin are Rónin, Security people are intentional mercenaries and criminals and terrorists lead a precarious life for money or some cause. One wonder how they get on with their parents and what kind of parents they would make!

This was the question I also asked of Ian Drury whose biographical story I also viewed entitled Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll. There is an excellent performance by Andy Serkis(Gollum Lord of the Rings) as the troubled entertainer. However it is difficult to believe that the feel will appeal to anyone other than fans of the performer. The film tries to explain his anarchistic and authority hostile life in which in one instance his son gets hold of drugs used by Ian and his associates. In flashbacks the suggestion is made that he was always a rebel, throwing a fish at a master at school which he did not want to eat resulting in the cane.


According to Wikipedia he had a working class father and mother from a middle class background. His father was a boxer and a bus driver who became a Rolls Royce Chauffer and was an absentee husband for long periods resulting he his wife taking the boy to live with her parents in Cornwall coinciding with World War II. The family as a unit then moved to Switzerland where his father worked for a millionaire. His mother then returned to England to live with her sister and while father made visits the couple did not live together again.

Aged seven he contracted polio, probably at a swimming pool where he lost the lower part of his leg according to film and was disabled with a limp consequentially. His aunt arranged for him to attended the Royal Grammar school Hugh Wycombe where he remained leaving the sixth form at 16 years gaining GCE’s in Englush Language and Literature as well as Art . I also gained the first two plus Mathematics. He then went to the Walthamstow School of Art and the Royal College of Art bur although he did some teaching he never became a professional artist because he realised he would not be good enough.

The past three days have been good ones I have immersed myself in reading the King’s Speech and making my notes in three parts. I stayed home today Friday 28th January rather an go for the early morning swim because I wanted to make progress and with the swim, even returning early for the Australian Tennis Semi Final involving Andy Murray, I would be tired for the morning and not at my best.

I debated the wisdom of the decision as soon as the match started as Murray seemed nervous, lacking the confidence to play his shots from the outset and for the great part of the first two sets they were well matches with both having the opportunity to break service of each other game after game. His opponent, the Spaniard David Ferrer conqueror of Nadal seemed to have the edge and took the first set and was in a point of taking the second. I switched away at that point. During this time he married his first wife and they had to children while in the film he appears to only have a son.

He then embarked on his subsequent life as a performer and song writer. He was a shouter more than a singer and he went in for earthy lyrics which some regard as having a poetic quality while others crude. He appears to have made infrequent visits home and according tot he film met someone on the road who became his mistress and subsequent his second wife although he remained on friendly terms with his first wife.

It was when he formed the Blockheads as a New Wave band that he became popular nationally although his strength was in his theatrical live performances in which he was something of a clown. The most famous number was Hit me with your rhythm stick followed by Sex Drugs and Rock and Roll. The Blockheads lasted five years and then reformed in 1987. His battle with cancer commenced in 1996 lasting for four years dying in March 2000 aged 57 years. He remained a larger than life character on and off the stage. I am not sure the film does him any favours.

As has been mentioned before I am taking the opportunity of HD TV to see again films from the past seven decades and although familiar with A Star is Born and the performance of Judy Harland my attention this occasion was directed to James Mason. She was nominated for the best actress Oscar which was one by Grace Kelly. She was sin hospital giving birth to her son Joey at the time. Mason was also nominated for an Oscar and with Judy won Golden Globes. She took a Bafta also in that year.

Mason plays Norman Maine a matinee idol whose career is in decline and has taken to drinking binges in which he becomes aggressive and difficult to control. He crashes on to the stage of a show where Garland in performing and she behaves as if he part of the act and arouses applause for the appearance. He is grateful and watches her perform in an after hours club and tells her she has talent and should stay rather than go off with the band where she is the soloist. He triggers the ambition within her and she stays although doe snot expect he will follow up his offer to introduce her to his film studios.

He is serious in his intention but is called away to begin location filming and although he tried to get into contact he cannot remember her address. His effort to find her fail until he hears a voice over commercial he is successful this time and arranges an audition at the film studios where she is taken on as a contract artist. This means a weekly pay cheque and access to studio facilities and media but not necessarily a major move part, Knowing that the studio are looking for a lead in a new musical he arranges for the studio head to hear her sing and she gets the part, is given a name change, the film is a success and she becomes internally famous. The relationship between the two develops and she takes the initiative in suggesting marriage which he is hesitant knowing his problems and track record. Te film hen shows them having a wonderfully happy relationship as she becomes an internationally recognised actor and performer and his career comes to an end and he loses himself in alcohol.. The problem reaches a climax when she receives an Oscar and in a drunken state attempts to join her on stage and accidentally hits her in the face, He enters a recovery centre and with her support makes progress.

In the past he has used his position to tell the studio publicist what to do and refused to cooperate in planned publicity for their marriage. When they meet up at a race track he his taunted by the publicist about his situation and they fight, goes on a drinking binge and is arrested. He is taken home and goes to bed but overhears his wife saying she plans to give up her career to care for him. He breaks down at the thought of what he has done to himself and his wife and walks into the nearby ocean to drown. She becomes a recluse in her distress and a friend asks her to honour a previous commitment to appear at a Charity show and when she appears she is invited to say a few words to the international audience. She says Hello everybody, This is Mrs Norman Maine and the audience bursts into a standing ovation and the films ends with understanding that she continues in the career which is what her husband wanted.

The back story is that the Director George Cukor wanted Cary Grant in to play Maine but he refused because he did not want to appear with Garland who had become a drug addict and her reputation for unreliability. Humphrey Bogart, Frank Sinatra and Stewart Granger were all considered before the British actor was offered and accepted the role. The film was originally three hours in length and then cut down to two and a half hours. The film manages to combine the best of the Hollywood musical of the era with a drama about a subject which continues to ruin lives at all levels of society.

At the outset of writing on Sunday I mentioned sporting woes in that England who restricted Australia to 250 runs then collapsed in a disgraceful display of batting. This was then followed by another dismal performance of Andrew Murray who had reached his third Grand Slam final, a feat no equalled since Fred Perry over 75 years ago. I far the psychological damage as he was beaten by a close friend who was himself not in the best form. It was a great anti climax. More encouraging was the success of non league Crawley Town who reached the last sixteen of the FA Cup and found they had the dream draw of playing Manchester United at Old Trafford. They are likely to be humiliated but will have the time of their lives and bring the club a great a pay day with their share of TV and gate receipts and only enhance their ambitions to become a league club.

I have been enjoying American Idol without Simon Cowell and Lark Rise. There has also been an excellent new series of Michael Portillo Train Travels with one covering Newcastle and the creation of the first steam trains and railways, the now demolished Marsden Mining community at South Shields and the privately owned railway station at Chester Le Street, before moving to Yorkshire Whitby. York and Leeds. There was then another excellent tour around Kent including Folkestone and the Channel Tunnel and Canterbury. Earlier there were travels around London and the Light Railway to Greenwich and into Norfolk bring back many memories of my visits to the towns and countryside in the past.

I have also enjoyed my food, too much and this week tried the gammon shank which although significant better than the piece of lamb the previous week compared unfavourably with the joint which can be obtained for the same price and provides two to three meals. I should reach the monthly work target later today.

2007 The King's Speech, the book, part three

An so I come to the final of my notes on reading The King’s Speech, the book by the grandson of Lionel Logue, Mark and Peter Conradi, the former deputy foreign editor of the Sunday Times and who is now the editor of Home the paper’s property supplement.

The book, as in the film, continues after King George VI successfully accomplished his responses required at his Coronation and then addressed the Nation and the Empire on the evening of what for all proved to be an exhausting as well as challenging day. Logue needed a period of recuperation suffering from nervous exhaustion and then continued to assist the King with his speech making. An assistant private secretary to the King wrote after seeing article which suggested that the problem often arose in people who had been forced to become right handed when naturally left handed. Logue explained that while this was true it was too late for the King to change back. From the outset he had argued that the problem had become entrenched for too long to be cured, he added that so much depended on the circumstances and age of each individual which was why he had not attempted to write a treatment text book.

Logue also became concerned that the King was being worked too hard for his physical constitution and that unless the workload was controlled there was a risk of physical breakdown with an impact on his speaking ability. The King in turn became anxious about the State Opening of Parliament as well as the live Christmas broadcast, remarking about the confidence with which his father undertook these tasks. Logue reminded that his father had taken years to develop to the position he achieved towards the end of his life.

In 1937 Logue had an experience which was rarely given to someone outside the Royal family. He was invited to the Christmas lunch at Sandringham to be with the King when he made his radio speech. He met Queen Mary for the first occasion who thanked him for the help he had and was giving, and then found himself sitting between Queen Elizabeth and the Duchess of Kent with the King Opposite. After lunch he was presented with a signed photograph of the family in their Coronation robes and a box which contained a pair of gold cuff links in black enamel with the crown and royal coat of arms. The King and the Queen separately expressed their appreciation with the Queen saying she had never known husband so happy. After tea he was invited to witness the Royal present giving from under the tree. The Queen mentioned as he left that she had arranged for him to have a hamper on the journey to London because there would no dining car. He was collected at the station by his son returning home at 10.45 where the family was waiting. Logue was able to describe what for him had been one of the most amazing and wonderful days of his life. Reading of the occasion some seventy years later that was no understatement about which I hope his family remain proud to this day. There was only one aspect which upset him,

His wife although invited was in Australia, escaping from the British Winter recuperating from serious illness including an operation for gall stones. Logue had become very concerned about her ill health. The trip did her the power of good because in addition to the weather she was greeted as an honoured celebrity because of the work of her husband for the king. Among the comments she made to one journalist was that Margaret Rose is more Joyous than her sister who had rather more sense of responsibility. An extraordinary accurate forecast of what was to become to the young Princess and a reversal of the situation which existed between older and younger brothers.

It was good that both men were able to enjoy their respective roles and with their families because of the situation they and the Empire was to face.

The Man which Mrs Simpson and her husband so admired was leading the greater part of the world into prolonged horror, destruction and lifelong misery for million upon million and for which I continue to believe there should never be forgiveness, and for all who gave him willing support. He is not alone but his impact, along that with Stalin. Last might I watch the tale of the man regarded as the British Schindler who arranged for over 600 children to bet brought to the UK to stay with guardian families in the hope that after the war they would be reunited with their parents, none were. The man did not feel it was something to talk about and has not told his wife because the last train with some 200 children had been stopped and the children taken to camps where they perished.

This is not the first time there has been recognition for his work as Ester Ranzen did a programme where unknown to him the studio audience comprised those he had saved and their partners who were still living in the UK and later there was other gathering. Now a widower in his later years the programme featured the subsequent lives of three of children he saved,

With Chamberlain away meeting Hitler, Logue went to the Palace to advise the King on a speech being made at the launching of the ocean liner, the Queen Elizabeth. Logue noted after the meeting that the King was preoccupied with International affairs and commented that he was concerned at the number of people wanting to go to war in the context of his personal experience of what happened during the First. It is questionable whether a great show of force against Hitler would have prevented him from embarking on the course he took, I have always shared the view that important mistakes were made in the years which led to the War and was part of the reason why I supported military intervention in Iraq and in other situations were national dictators appear set on extending their regime to other nations. Having spent two years from the age of sixteen working closely with one man who lost a leg in the trenches of France and five others who served in the second world war, I learnt early in my life the price which is paid by those wounded and the families of those who do not return.

Logue became a frequent visitor at the Palace as in addition to the State Opening of Parliament there was a visit to Canada, during which there was to be an informal over the border meeting with the President of the United States designed to cement relationships as the situation in Europe darkened. During a review of the proposed speech to parliament there was a discussion between secretaries about the wisdom of Court officials accompanying the Monarch on the visit and they asked for the opinion of Logue as a colonial. He said more pageantry the better and his words appear to have tipped the balance in favour of the Lord Chamberlain making the visit with the King.

Then in the autumn of 1939, six months after my birth we were at war. I have no memory of the months my birth mother and I lived with an elder sister and her husband and four children at a house in south Croydon close to the boundary with Waddon and the famous Croydon airport. I have been to see the outside of the local authority property in my later years. The family then moved to the house in Wallington which was then rented and is now owned by the same family when together with four of the other sisters and their two sons we somehow fitted into the eight roomed detached house on two floors. I have vivid memories of those early years of war time before and after we went to stay with another sister in the country at the Catterick military camp near Richmond in Yorkshire. I remember the aunties praying as the German bombers flew overhead. I remember the sight of a rocket bomb in day light and hearing the engines cut out falling between out home and the airport. One of some one hundred and forty that fell in our area, The war is therefore real to me, not some history off the pages of a book.

The anticipation that there was going to be war after weeks of tension meant that Logue was told to be ready to come to the Palace at a moment’s notice on 25th August although the call did not come until September 3rd, thus he became privy to something which few outside the government and the military had knowledge and even fewer of what the King was going to say on the radio to the Empire. The mood of the King and everyone was sad and sombre.

“In this grave hour, perhaps the most fateful in our history, I send to every household of my peoples, both at home and overseas, this message, spoken with the same depth of feeling for each one you as if I were able to cross your threshold and speak to you myself.

For the second time in the lives of most of us we are war. Over and over again we have tried to find a peaceful way out of the differences between ourselves and those who are now our enemies. But it has been in vain. We have been forced into a conflict. For we are called, with our allies, to meet the challenge of a principle which, if it were to prevail, would be fatal to any civilised order in the world.

It is the principle which permits a state, in the selfish pursuit of power, to disregard its treaties and its solemn pledges; which sanctions the use of force, or threat of force, against the sovereignty and independence of other states. Such a principle, stripped of all its disguise, is surely the mere primitive doctrine that might is right, and if this principle were to be established throughout the world, the freedom of our own country and he whole of the British Commonwealth of Nations would be in danger. But far more than this- the peoples of the world would be kept in the bondage of fear, and all hopes of a settled peace and of the security of justice and liberty among nations would be ended.

This is the ultimate issue which confronts us. For the sake of all that we ourselves hold dear, and of the world’s order and peace, it is unthinkable that we would refuse to meet the challenge.

It is to this high purpose that I now call on my people at home and my peoples across the seas, who will make our cause their own. I ask then to stand calm, firm and united in this time of trail. The task will be hard. There may be dark days ahead, and war can no longer be confined to the battlefield. But we can only do the right as we see it and reverently commit our cause to God. If one and all we keep resolutely faithful to it, ready for whatever the service and the sacrifice it may demand, then with God’s help we shall prevail.

May be bless and keep us all.”

Chapter thirteen covers Dunkirk and the Dark Days. The Ming had opened Parliament wearing his naval uniform and travelling by car and although he had hope to avoid making further Christmas message he decided there was no alternative but to do so. The hope and for some the ambition that he conflict would quickly end, quickly faded. In May 1940 the King had decided to make a speech during Empire Day. Things had not gone well. The expedition to prevent the German invasion of Norway after the fall of Denmark and Sweden had failed. In Parliament Leo Amery uttered those now famous words that Oliver Cromwell had once used : “ You have sat here for too long for any good you have been doing. Depart, I say, and let us have done with you. In the name of God ,go.

Although not immediately, his words led to the resignation of the Prime Minister and his government, to be replaced by a Coalition, the last occasion until last year that a coalition was formed, although the Coalition then covered all three major political parties and some non party figures. Germany marched into Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg that same day.” Queen Wilhelmina telephoned the King seeking help. Later that day they managed to escape and obtained refuge at the Palace. The German armies sweeping through France meant that the expeditionary force to France and Belgium was now in peril and no match for the superior forces assembling against them. This was the backcloth for the Empire Day speech, The evacuation of Dunkirk took place followed by perhaps the most significant speech Churchill made advising that we would fight on the beaches and everywhere. Dunkirk was no victory and many regard as the nation’s greatest defeat.

September 7th 1940 saw the first of the German Bomber raids at the Port of London. Over 400 were killed and 1800 injured but this was the start of 75 consecutive nights of bombing. Buckingham Palace was bombed leading to that famous remark of the Queen, that she could now look the East End in the face. Logue continued to help the King in important broadcasts and speeches, including Christmas once more visiting Windsor Christmas Eve socially and then on Christmas Day for the speech. He was given a gold cigarette case. Dinner was a Boar’s head with prunes.

The following year saw Germany’s decision to abandon plans to invade Britain and attack Russia. Japan made its attack on Pearl Harbour and the United State entered the war. There was then the Victory El Alamein in North Africa, There were problems with the Christmas message because Churchill had included phrases alien to the King’s usual speech style. This occasion was important for the King because it was the first time he lost his fear of the microphone, as he wrote afterwards to Logue. Britain survived the next two years, with the help of the USA and Commonwealth Countries, as preparations were made to take the war back to Europe with first the invasion of Italy starting with Sicily. The King also made a visit to British troops in North Africa and had a stop over in Malta. Logue was 62 when he was made a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, having been made a member in 1939. On June 1st 1944 Logue was asked to visit to prepare for a short speech, more of prayer he was told and which would be given through the radio in due course. This was in fact the address made on the evening of the Allied landings in Northern France on June 6th, a day later than planned because of suitable weather that morning.

“ Four years ago our nation and Empire stood alone against the overwhelming enemy with our backs to the wall, tested as never before in our history, and we survived that test. The spirit of the people, resolute and dedicated burned like a bright flame, surely from those unseen fires which nothing can quench.

Once more the supreme test has to be faced. This time the challenge is not to fight to survive, but to fight to win the final victory for the good cause. Once again, what is demanded from us allies more than courage, more than endurance.

Logue’s youngest son participated as a second Lieutenant in the Scots of Guards. Promoted Captain he participated in the taking of Rome. The book then mentions the start of the rocket bombs which to I referred earlier.

That Christmas The King decided to do the speech on his own enabling Logue to spend the day with his family. The Queen and the two Princesses sat alongside the King. Shortly after the broadcast he telephoned Logue and his family listened on the extension.

On May 8th 1945 thousands of people assembled in the Mall to celebrate the end of the war in Europe. The two Princess made their first public appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, alongside their parents and Sir Winston Churchill.

There is also a description of the King Speech when the family again appeared on the balcony.

“Today we give thanks to Almighty God for a great deliverance. Speaking from our Empire’s oldest capital city, war battered but never for one moment daunted or dismayed, speaking from London, I ask you to join with me in that act of thanks giving.

Germany the enemy who drove all Europe into war, has been finally overcome. In the Far East we have yet to deal with the Japanese, a determined and cruel foe. To this we shall turn with the utmost resolve and with all our resources. But at this hour when the dreadful shadow of war has passed far from our hearths and homes in these islands, we may at last make one pause for thanksgiving and then turn our thoughts to the task all over the world which peace in Europe brings with it.

Noel Coward who was with the crowd said we all shouted ourselves hoarse. Elizabeth and Margaret slipped out of the palace to join the conga line in the Mall. Captain Peter Townsend, the King’s equerry led Logue and his wife through the gardens to the Royal Mews where a car was waiting to take the couple back to their home.

Their joyful participation in one of the great days of British history was shortlived because when Logue was in hospital for an operation on his prostate in mid June his wife had a heart attack and died on June 22nd. The couple had been married for forty years. If there was previous reference to the role of his sons I missed but here we learn that one son was serving as a medical officer in India while the third was in North Africa. The King and Queen were shocked and upset by the tragedy. Logue although in ill health himself emphasised to the King that he was more than willing to continue to assist if needed and contributed support for the State Opening of Parliament which was unique event with a Labour Government with an overwhelming majority. Logue records that the King had reservations about aspects of the Labour programme and had been saddened with the defeat of Churchill with whom he had formed a bond. He however had a good relationship with Anuran Bevan on the left who also had overcome a stammer.

The book records that life remained tough with food rationing continuing until 1954, a year before I left school to go to work. Logue continue to take patients but planned to take his first trip to Australia but because of high blood pressure was warned against flying he did not return before his death. He decided to sell the family home now that the children had grown up and made lives of their own, moving into a flat in the Brompton Road, opposite Harrods. His son Tony who gone to Cambridge to continued medical studies decided to switch to the law but then had a series of operations following one on his appendix. The King agreed to become a patron of the Association of speech therapists, now numbering 350 and recognised by the medical profession. Logue to the concern of his children was so missing his wife that he commenced to attend séances with a view to communicating with her.

There is an interesting note about the Marriage of Princess Elizabeth to Philip who was 18 when she met him aged 13 where the relationship was encouraged by Lord Mountbatten. The Queen in particular had reservations feeling that her daughter had limited contact with your men and therefore arranged a number of balls so she could have opportunity to meet more suitable young men. Queen Elizabeth referred to Philip who became Duke of Edinburgh and then Prince as “the hun“, referring to his more recent German ancestry than her own. His three sisters who had married German aristocracy with Nazi connections were not invited to the wedding.

The health of king also deteriorated as did that of Logue 15 years his senior, At Christmas 1951 the King who was suffering from a heavy cold could not mask his health difficulties. “I myself have every cause for deep thankfulness, not only by the grace of God and through the faithful skill of my doctors, surgeons and nurses- have I come through my illness but I have learned once again that it is in bad times that we value most highly the support and sympathy of our friends. From my peoples in these islands and in the Commonwealth and Empire as well as from many other countries this support and sympathy has reached me and I thank you now from my heart. I trust that you yourselves realise how greatly your prayers and good wishes have helped and am helping me in my recovery.

The broadcast was not live but took two days to record and lasted only six minutes. The communications between the King and Logue also concentrated on their respective health problems

The Kings Health appeared to improved and shortly before Princess Elizabeth and her husband were to set off for the their Tour of East Africa, Australia and New Zealand the family went to Drury Lane to see South Pacific. The King died during the night in February 5th, 1952 from a blood clot thrombosis. The Queen had become the Queen mother at age of 51, a position she was hold for another fifty years. Princes Elizabeth was immediately declared Queen had been staying at the Tree Tops Hotel in Kenya where Prince Phillip was given the task of breaking the news and the couple immediately returned home. Logue sent his condolences apologising that his own ill health had prevented replying to the Kings letter to him ay Christmas. The Queen mother wrote back two days later showing the relationship that had developed between the two families but also the continuing sense of caring duty of the Queen mother.

She ended the letter saying I am sending you this little box which always stood on the King’s table, and which he was rather fond of, as I am sure you would like a personal memento of someone who was so grateful to you for all you did for him. The box was on his writing table, & and I know he would wish you to have it. I do hope that you are feeling better. I Miss the King more & more.

Logue spent the following Christmas, when Queen Elizabeth made gave her first message, with his three sons and their families. Valentine and his wife Anne and their two year older daughter Victoria; Laurie and his wife Jo and their children Alexandra 14, Robert 10; and Antony with his future wife Elizabeth.. After the New Year Logue fell ill and became bed ridden for three months needing the services of a live in nurse. He died after going into a coma on 12 April 1953 of kidney failure. Among his effects was two invitations to the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth, two because he had been too ill to respond to the first. His will amounted to under £9000, about £180000 today, about the same value of the savings` he had brought with him from Australia.

The book concludes with reference to the obituaries which were comparatively slight given the importance of the role he had taken. In summing up why the King had remained with him as a patient and then more as a friend, the grandson concludes that part fo the success was the way Logue treated the King as having a physical rather than a psychological problem in terms of the way of conquering the problems he had, but the wife of one of sons made the point that whereas the King’s father had been horrid to his younger son, her father in law had been kind, patient always supportive and loyal.

The past three days have reminded me of my childhood years and brought out the enormous changes that have taken place during my life time, although not as significant as were the changes during the lives of my birth and care mothers and their brothers and sisters. I have gained new insights and widened my perspective. The next read which I will start to tackle sometime next week will be a book about the political role of King George. Tomorrow there is cricket and the Australian tennis Final. I have a general writing to undertake and finishing off some artwork as the end of the month approaches.

2006 The Kings Speech, the book part two

I continue my inquiry how far the film, The King’s Speech, reflects the actual events and the personalities of those involved. Hollywood is notorious for discounting major facts and I understand that Madonna is to play Mrs Wallis Simpson in a film which is said to portray Queen Elizabeth as a scheming woman plotting to put her husband on the throne. There is no doubt that Queen Elizabeth had reservations about elder brother in law David, given his behaviour towards his younger brother, his inclination to bed married women and his rejection of inherited duty and responsibility. It is also true she could not stand Mrs Simpson, for who she was, and her impact on the British Monarchy, her husband and family. It will be interesting to see how Hollywood repackages Mrs Simpson.

I ended my first piece of writing on page 64 of the book written by Logue’s grandson Mark with Peter Conradi as Logue was introduced to the future King either through an Australian contact who met an equerry of the then Duke or the actress Evelyn Laye who had been treated by Logue and who knew both the Duke and his wife who she met and mentioned Logue after learning the royal couple were to make a state visit to Australia.

The book also contains a client assessment card which although is headed the Royal Highness the Duke of York, there is the name and two addresses of a Major, both crossed out, who I assume may have made the original appointment. The first appointment is known to have taken place at 3pm 19th October 1926 and according to the book it emerged during that first meeting that the problem had been affected by his unsympathetic father and tutors, suggesting that he went further than indicated in the film, but still was unwilling to talk feely about his childhood memories and experiences.

The next part does bear out what happens in the film in that Logue insisted that the Duke was treated at the consulting rooms or at his home, although in the film his wife and children appear not to know the identity of the patient until much later. That the Duke was required to undertake exercises daily which included standing at an open window and have frequent contact was also brought out. That the Duke agreed is an indication of his desperation and immediate confidence that Logue could be the one to help him.

We have a detailed account, literally, of the course of treatment over that first year with 82 appointments. Averaging more than once a week costing £172.4 shilling with lessons re Australian visit making the total 197 and 3 shillings said to be worth £9000 to day. Thus the £2000 savings which brought him from Australia was in fact worth about £180000, indicating something of the social class and means of Logue and which would make it easier for the Duke to accept the requirement that he was to be treated as an equal under treatment without the usual formality required and afforded to royalty.

The Australian trip was the reason behind the making of the visit and the effort which the Duke put into his task, which was renewed with each small steps of progress he made. His brother had made a highly successful tour in 1920 and his father decided that Bertie should have the opportunity not only to make a similar visit but to open the new Australian Parliament building, an event which some in the Establishment regarded as likely to prove as significant as when Queen Victoria was proclaimed the Empress of India. The first great test before the trip came with an invitation to address the Pilgrim Society, a high powered Anglo USA association where everyone including the media expected the Duke just to make a few short words of thanks and good wishes. Instead he gave a longer speech which made everyone sit up at the improvement and confident and relaxed approach, masking the hours of work that had been undertaken.
The film does communicate that progress was slow and hard fought. The film brings out that Logue encouraged the future King to use swear words to work off his frustration about his condition, something which is not mentioned in the book, or at least if it does I missed it.

Away from his tutor for six months must have been an ordeal and I query why Logue did not accompany his patient. The book explains that the Duke asked him and pressed him but Logue declined saying that self reliance was the key to his continued improvement and self confidence. I wonder if this was entirely accurate or tells us the full story. It would have brought considerable kudos to have returned to his homeland as a confidante assistant to the Duke. I will not speculate because the book is deficient on what made Logue tick, but there is something missing although I also accept that this is the story of his working relationship with the future King. Perhaps more will be revealed about the man as the story progresses?

As the books comments the refusal to participate in the trip was not held against Logue who communicated by letter his confidence and success, carrying out the practice schedule daily despite the tropical heat as they visited Jamaica and Panama, en route making three official speeches and engaging in conversation with welcoming dignitaries.

The Duke had particular trouble with k and the word King, many will say understandable given the treatment by his father as a child and in a hand written letter he reported to Logue that he had no problem giving the Royal Toast every evening at dinner. The letter is signed Yours very sincerely Albert. The ability to give the Royal toast was also reflected in relations with his father and the Duke told Logue by letter on a visit to Balmoral that he had been able to talk at length and confidently with his father, able to make him listen to him and without having to repeat himself. This aspect is not covered in the film and the relationship before the death of the King misrepresented.

The Duke’s account of his progress was to be confirmed in a separate note from his private secretary to Logue. At the opening of the Parliament the Duke took the initiative and spoke to the assembled crowd outside the building a gesture which was greatly appreciated and commented on as it had not been requested and therefore planned. There were various reports of his speaking and speeches and on return he addressed a welcome home lunch at the City Mansion House for half an hour. However the Duke was aware of his continuing underlying problems and reinstated the sessions with Logue when he returned to London. The chapter ends with a mention of the importance which the support and encouragement of his wife contributed to his progress with the story that at one after lunch address when he appeared to find it difficult to start the duchess had squeezed his hand and this was the spur for the Duke to compete the task without further anxiety.

The next Chapter -Court Dress with Feathers reveals a practice which I wonder if it still continues in some from, that is he presentation of individuals to the monarch, in this instance King George and Queen Mary, in court dress and regalia. On 12th June 1928, Myrtle wife of Logue attended one of two Courts that month and was presented by the wife of the Minister of the Dominions. The invitation stated that ladies had to wear court dress feathers! Apparently having arrived at the Palace you queue in an anti room and then moved forward as your name is announced and curtsy to the King and then the Queen who look on you without smiling but giving a nod. Afterwards you go off to the supper rooms for chicken and champagne. This personal note of achievement which included invitation to them both to attend one of he Summer Garden parties also mentioned that they had been spending a month in Europe a year on holiday and had then bought a holiday bungalow at Thames Ditton Island on the Thames and consequently decided to stay in England that year. I assume his professional practice was thriving with the referrals from the wealthiest and socially highest sections of society.

What also impresses me is that while Logue’s role would have been known and appreciated, perhaps resented by some, within court circles and the government, it was kept out of the newspapers. Given that his ability to speak in public had become such an issue, such a situation would be impossible to day, especially as there would be no grounds for justifying silence on grounds of state security. The position lasted until 2nd October 1928 when the London correspondent of the American Press Association wrote to Logue requesting a meeting so he had opportunity to give the facts before the story was published, Logue attempted to contact the Duke and was therefore left to come to a decision, replying in writing that it was impossible for him to give any information on the matter. In my judgement this was a good reply because he was not denying his involvement but indicated that he could not make a statement. However his response should have been agreed with Duke who in turn should have consulted his father and Court Advisers before any response was made. It is unclear if this was so.

The story did appear in the US press two months after the Association had made contact. The story did not appear directly in the UK and the article admitted that almost no one in the UK was prepared to talk about how the transformation had taken place. There was reference to Logue confirming the Duke was his patient and his inability to comment further. The story was however too good for the British press to remain silent and an article appeared in the Sunday Express and then spread throughout the Empire especially in Australia where there was pride that one of their countrymen had played such an important role. The other positive aspect of the news story was the broader discussion about the problem, its causes and treatment and the differences between men and women.

An Australian writer had gained Royal permission to accompany the Duke throughout the Australian visit and then to publish in effect an official biography which included the story of his impediment and its successful treatment by Logue. Logue did then respond to media inquiries after publication and throughout emphasised that the problem had been a physical one, thus avoiding any reference to his care as a child and relationships, especially with the King.

These developments coincided with the deterioration in the health of the King and the book mentions that the elder son who was away at the time had to be pressed to return home. There is letter from Albert to David in which he jokes that that his brother should return quickly “less if anything happens to Papa I am going to bag the throne in your absence!!! Just like the middle ages.

The next Chapter, the Calm before the Storm, covers the first half of the 1930’s during which time the role of the Duke was increased, his second daughter was born and he and his family were allocated a country home in Windsor Great Park. The future King is reported to have been contented with life. Logue’s role effectively came to an end although he kept in written contact, receiving progress reports from time to time written by the Duke by hand. In 1929 he reported that his youngest daughter had a good pair of lungs. In May 1930 the Duke’s private secretary asked Logue if he would encourage the Duke to initiate more conversations on visits as because of his shyness he tended to hold back. Direct contact was limited with one meeting in 1932. This often happens in relationship where one individual has a helping role for another, when the patient makes sufficient progress to feel confident they can find an ongoing relationship difficult

In the film this period is portrayed as an actual break in the relationship with the condition only marginally improved and the Duke breaking off contact because Logue had attempted to delve into the psychological and emotional upbringing. The Duke arrives at Logue’s former home while his wife and son are out to make peace because he needs help arising from the abdication of his older brother.

It also has to be remembered that this was a time of economic depression with the number of unemployed rising to one fifth of the workforce from 1 million to 2 ½ m million. The King had cut back significantly on the Civil List and the Duke had stopped hunting, selling his loved horses. Logue had received 100 letters from individuals throughout the world seeking treatment following the publicity of his service to the Duke. And he planned to start up a new clinic, but was also affected by the economic conditions, something with all engaged privately in the professions also found.

Overall the family fortunes improved as they moved from their small flat into a 25 room Victorian property with five acres of gardens and woodland, Beechgrove at 111 Sydenham Hill close to the Crystal Palace which had been moved from it original construction in Hyde Park for the 1851 Great Exhibition. They therefore were able to watch its destruction in the fire of 1936. The eldest son was learning the catering business in Nottingham with Joe Lyons and co. The second was studying to be a doctor and the third attending the famous Dulwich College.

Logue’s standing in the profession was also enhanced and in 1935 he established the British Society of Speech therapists. The Society formed a two year training course which led members to become recognised medical auxiliaries. Those without knowledge of the medical and hospital services before and since the creation of the National Health Service may not appreciate that power was divided between the doctors and the administrators who had their separate hierarchical structures and control system with nurses regarded as forming a second class and all others, very much a lower class, if they were recognised at all. The society attempted to take action against those who practiced without their qualification.

The Kings death at 11.55 on January 20thh 1936 came comparatively suddenly at the age of 70 after taking to his bed, with what he thought was a cold five days before and within two months of the death of his younger sister, Princess Victoria on December 3rd. Those of my generation although still not alive remember hearing that Bulletin issued at the time, The King’s life is moving peacefully to its close. His older brother was declared King and Albert as the heir presumptive was also required to change his role.

Again it is likely that only those of my generation or older will know or much care that David‘s reign as George 6th lasted less than one year.

The chapter in this book on the period is excellent and more direct than the film. David like his brother had been shy. It was as late as the age of 22 that through two equerries introduced the future King to a prostitute in Amiens and which appears to have been the catalyst for his subsequent relationships with mature, usually married women disregarding the effort of his parents that he should marry an appropriate young woman as his young brother. He had a 16 year relationship with the wife of a Liberal Member of Parliament, breaking off the relationship for a brief affair with the married twin sister of Gloria Vanderbilt. It was Thelma Lady Furness who is said to have introduced the then Prince to Mrs Wallis Simpson then aged 35 years and whose birth name was Bessie Wallis (Warfield).

There is incontestable evidence that Wallace Simpson was an admirer of Hitler and the fascist extermination of communists, and that she was close to Von Ribbentrop, most likely his lover and that she disclosed information which came her way from the Duke to the enemy. There is no doubt to my mind that had she not become the wife of the former King she should have been prosecuted for treason, had the evidence been available at the time. Her sexual power over the future King and other men is also legendry but the way he capitulated to her charms sacrificing his position, neglecting his inherited duty does also reflect his limitations alongside his many positive features which included a genuine concern for the less fortunate in society. Although even in this respect there were contradictions, making economies cutting salaries to balance the Royal books while seeming great amounts on jewellery for his then mistress, and which raised some £45 million when sold at auction after her death.

His approach to his role as Monarch also left a lot to be desired being late of arrangement meetings or cancelling at the last moment and failing to return his state boxes, or doing so with items unread or stained from the whisky glasses he used to comfort him during the required tasks His father’s concern that his son would ruin himself within a year appeared a self fulfilling prophecy. Although the King did not have much support, Winston Churchill spoke in his favour in the House of Commons, once the story had broken in the British press, a point not brought out in the film. Very quickly when the King made his intention to marry the now divorced Mrs Simpson, he was told plainly that he could keep her as his mistress which was the approach of his grandfather who was a notorious womanizer, or abdicate, or marry her and face the consequences, that is the Government would resign creating a constitutional crisis perhaps a general election on the issue, forcing the King out, threatening a civil war. The then King declaring his love and wish to marry Mrs Simpson and abdicated.

Logue was an outsider to these matters and heard the first broadcast statement of the new King from his home, noting the hesitation and immediately writing to offer his services if they would help. The prevailing view within the media was to welcome the new King without referring to his speech difficulties. It was the Archbishop of Canterbury, Cosmo Lang, who upset the apparent ease of transition. Only two days after the abdication he admonished the former King for surrendering his high and sacred trust for his self admitted craving for private happiness. He went in that it was even more strange that he had sought happiness inconsistent with the Christian faith. The King after all had been head of the Church of England and the archbishop went on to add that the King was moving in a social circle whose ways if life were alien to the British people. The book reports that the Duke who heard the address was distressed to which I comment good, and so he should have been, for their can be no excuse or mitigation for his behaviour in terms of the peril in which his actions put the British Empire. There are those of us who will not forget that he subsequently visited Hitler giving him the Nazi salute and also after the war commented that he did not regard Hitler as being such a bad chap, and that had Hitler conquered the UK he would have turned the couple into British quislings, by putting him back on the throne with Mrs Simpson the Queen

Unfortunately he then, no doubt from the best of intentions, in comparing the new King to his brother referred to his hesitations in speaking but commended him for his approach which he then substantiated the following day in the House of Lords by speaking of his simplicity, his straightforwardness and assiduous devotion to duty. There were 300 members of the Privy Council at that time and they were approached by the media directly and directly as to whether the new King still had a stutter and one paper reported that none could be found as saying, “His Majesty does not still stutter” This seemed to fuel a whispering campaign against King George that he was not up to task, despite the experience and behaviour of his elder brother.

The book then deals with the controversy that developed in Australia whether the King had been successfully treated by Logue, given that others claimed responsibility for the progress he had made. This to my mind sums up the problems and risks of trying to keep some matters restricted from the public buy refusing to provide the objective facts and leaving the issue to be investigated and interpreted by the media. It is difficult to generalise especially when the media is also culpable of ignoring the objective facts at times in order to present an issue in a favourable or unfavourable light according to the inclinations of a proprietor and or editor.

On 15th April 1937 Logue was summoned to see the King at Windsor Castle without being advised of the purpose. The reason was made immediately clear. The King had become extremely nervous about the Coronation and although Archbishop Lang wanted a different voice coach (brought out in the film) this was rejected in favour of calling on Logue to re-establish his former role after a gap of several years. In addition to the wish to speak without stuttering during the Coronation service there was more concern about the speech the King was to make on radio to the Empire that evening. There was such anxiety that Lord Reith suggested they create a good recording of the various recordings made during rehearsals to be used if necessary to be presented as one live speech if the problems continued. Two days before the Coronation Logue was advised he was awarded the Royal Victorian Order for his services which thrilled him greatly celebrating with champagne. A new era for both men had commenced.

2005 The Kings Speech , the book part one

The Golden Globe, Bafta and Oscar nominated film, the King’s speech is also the title of a book written by the grandson of Lionel Logue with Peter Conradi. Quercus Paperback 2010. The book has the benefit of a family archive of letters, diaries and case notes of the man, who as the book is subtitled, effectively saved the monarchy, after Edward VIII abdicated for marriage to Mrs Wallis Simpson and his young brother Albert (Bertie) became King George VI.

The book opens with the Coronation Day and the recorded evidence from the diary of the King that he was awoken at 3am because the loudspeakers were being tested on Constitution Hill. The grandson then records that Lionel Logue was also getting up at that time in Sydenham Hill for a day which was going to be the culmination of a decade of working with the Duke of York to overcome his paralysing stutter. Logue with his wife Myrtle had been given a seat in part of the Royal box which had two tiers with three rows at the first level and four at the second. The date for the Coronation had been set by his brother and with arrangements so far in hand it was agreed the event should continue, but with a different individual crowned. To the normal anxiety which King George had towards live public speaking engagements, was added the knowledge of a campaign, primarily by supporters of the elder brother, highlighting the health and speaking problems of the former Duke of York and questioning his suitability to become Emperor of India and the Empire.

Logue and his wife were driven by a chauffeured car with the driver sleeping overnight to be sure they would be in their placed before the required time, leaving their home at 6.40 but reaching the Tate Gallery on the embankment they encountered a traffic jam of other vehicles on their the way to the Abbey following the prescribed route and alighting on reaching Parliament Square and gaining admission at 7.30 rather the 7 requested, still several hours before the start of the service. Large crowds already lined the streets of the processional route and a special underground train ran from Kensington High Street to Westminster for Members of the House of Commons and the Lords.

The two men had been rehearsing the responses the King would give for over a month according to the system they had developed over many years but this time they could not change the words to suit the King as the script was fixed. Logue and the majority of those present had to then wait for three hours before visiting and domestic Royalty arrived (presumably with other invited heads of State) and then the Queen. Logue later writes that he thought the King looked pale but regal. Logue became emotional as the moment approached when the individual he had served for ten years was crowned. At that moment Britain remained in control of a third of the planet land mass and one of the most powerful and wealthy empires throughout history. It was a very different country in social and political attitudes and in its culture and self aware importance than seventy five years later.

Logue and his wife together with the majority of those present remained in the Abbey and the couple eat sandwiches and chocolate brought with them until they were allowed to leave to find their cars at 3.30pm. It took half an hour for their car to arrive and another half an hour to get home by which time Logue had developed a headache and a tooth ache had become worse. He went to bed to recover. His day was not over because at eight the King was to make a live broadcast to the Empire. A Palace car called at his home at 7. Before rehearsing yet again he enjoyed a whisky and soda with the King’s private Secretary and the Chairman of the Governors of BBC, the famous Lord Reith. After a run through they returned to the waiting room where they were joined by the Queen who is said to have looked tired but happy. She called out “Good Luck Bertie” as he walked to the microphone. At the end of the successful broadcast the King and then the Queen thanked Logue for his help. He had another whisky before leaving which he regretted because on an empty stomach together with the emotions of the day he felt the world spinning and his speech slurring. He then spent the next day in bed leaving his wife to take all the messages of congratulations he received for his contribution. The press, ( the media was yet to be created), was also positive, with one comment saying that the King sounded strong like his father.

The book then goes back to how Lionel Logue became the mainstay support for the public speaking of the King. The paternal family were from Ireland and his grandfather went to Australia to open and run a brewery in what many agree is the best city in Australia. (By coincidence the crucial fourth one day cricket match between Australia and England is being played at this moment in the City of Adelaide so I have been able to compare the description of a modern city created in 1826 and planned on the grid system with wide boulevards, large public squares and surrounded by parkland in which the cricket ground was built with pictures today - Australia Day which ended with fireworks over the City and a good England won.)

Not that Lionel knew his grandfather who died before his birth with the brewery being run by his widow before becoming part of the South Australian Brewing Company, after the widow sold her interest. Although Logue’s father commenced working after school at the brewery he decided to use his inheritance to buy and run a hotel and which Logue records as providing a happy childhood home.

Logue was good at sports but did not otherwise excel not finding any subject of interest until in detention he read Longfellow’s Song of Hiawatha and became fascinated with words and rhythm.

Then (and continuing until at least the years of my education in the UK) attention was paid in good schools to speak well, reading aloud “ articulation, enunciation and pronunciation” including public speaking and debate and Logue found something at which he was interested and good at. However when the attention of most young men is engaged in other interests, at the age of sixteen he went to study elocution with a man who professionally took pupils during the day and gave recitals to packed audiences in the evenings. In 1902 aged 22 Logue became secretary to Edward Reeve and an assistant teacher of elocution while also continuing an interest in music at the local Conservatoire. Like his mentor he also commenced to give recitals and to also participate in amateur dramatics.

The grandson describes the childhood and teenage years as having been happy as part of a family of four children, but in 1902 there was tragedy when his father died from cirrhosis of the liver. The book does not state the cause of the fatal disorder. I have commented from time to time that the death of a parent, particularly a mother, often proves to be a major event in the lives of their children, sometimes for good, and sometimes not. Whether this was so or not with Logue is not stated although still a young man and single, he set up on his own as an elocution teacher. It takes courage and self confidence to undertake such a challenge although it is easier to do so the younger one is and without the responsibilities of a family. There is newspaper record that in 1904 Logue described himself as born an Englishman and become a common colonial, a way of describing himself which he continued. It is evident from the rest of his story that common he was not.

Surprisingly, and the grandson gives no explanation, Logue, then made a major move across Australia to work under contract with an electrical engineering firm working in Gold mines. He then moves to Perth where he set up his own school and establishes a public speaking club. He had met his future wife a year before, some five years his junior, and taller by several inches, who shard his interest in amateur dramatics and who also had lost her father in his late 40’s. In the film The Kings Speech, his wife Myrtle is represented as a strong individualist, who provided a loving and stable home supporting her husband, caring for their children but also having her own life. Logue is reported to have described her as someone who fenced, boxed, swam, played golf and was a good actress as well as his good wife and separately as his “ spur to greater things”, thus confirming that often great men and women owe their greatness to their partners, whose greatness is demonstrated through their love and support rather than in public achievement and recognition.

She is said to have originated the idea that they should undertake a world tour going to the USA and Canada to Britain and Europe, leaving their two year old son in the care of the maternal grandmother. Again to take such an initiative required courage as well as self confidence and the financial help of a relative. This was not the typical trip of exploration by young back packers, but a well planned journey in which they had introductions or developed contacts along the way which enabled them to socialise with the influential and undertake his main objective was to study the and develop his knowledge and skills. Whereas Chicago had the reputation as a dangerous city it was New York that they found more general lawlessness and are said to have carried a revolver with them at all times. To indicate the level of society with which they mingled Logue met a future President of the United States, Woodrow Wilson then head of Princetown University.

They are said to have left the USA with regret and his wife in particular reacted negatively to London but having been invited to Oxford for Eights week, they are said to have been reluctant to leave thus confirming that feeling which I quickly found and which has never left me that the university city is a magical place where the great minds of my and any generation live, and not in cold water flats(Howl)

Back in London they were able to gain good places among the crowds for the coronation celebrations and pageantry of King George 5th, a man who like his father loved public display, unlike Queen Victoria. This again demonstrated their connections. My belief that Logue may have been one of the psychological creatives is reinforced by the information that they decided to cut short their adventure without going across the channel into Europe proper because of a failure of a stock exchange investment in which he had placed a substantial portion of his savings. They returned home and to their child who they had left behind for six months. The book suggests that following the trip the couple considered making a life for themselves outside of Australia, and in London in particular, but their plan was put on hold first by a pregnancy and birth of a second son and then by the commencement of the World War. He volunteered for military service but was rejected on health grounds.

Working in various ways to support his country and countrymen on active service Logue commenced to try and help those with speech problems following injury using a combination of his knowledge and the ability to inspire confidence and self belief. Unknown to him at the time it was this combination which was to bring him and his family a special life.

Several years went by which are not covered in the book until in 1924 a family holiday with another couple and their family was abandoned because of illness, Myrtle encouraged her husband that they should make a trip on their own and he decided they should travel to England which upon initial inquiry seemed out of the question because this was also the year of the Great Exhibition at Wembley attended by millions of people throughout the Commonwealth so that passage via ships was booked up months in advance, a situation even with air travel packages is unlikely to occur to day, as for example the Millennium Dome exhibition. By good fortunate on contacting a friend there was a two cabin cancellation to hand which was immediately taken.

The grandson records that it is not clear if the couple considered emigrating for good as they had previously discussed but by then they had lost their mothers and they had lost their father‘s previously so there were not parental ties or responsibilities to keep them. Compared with today’s 24-48 hour journey if there is a stop over, their vessel took six weeks. The Britain they came too was not dissimilar to that of today because the country was in major debt leading to the severe reduction in public expenditure, mass unemployment and social unrest. Although they had savings some £2000, worth significant more in terms of purchasing power, it would not indefinitely support an ambitious middle class family of five. They had one social introduction to a then sub editor of the Daily Express and subsequent Editor of the Sunday Express who is said to have remained an ongoing friend after their initial contact. Settling the family in accommodation in Maida Vale he gained work offering his services to children with speech defects in local schools with success but producing only modest income until, and we are not why or how, he came to make the decision, to hire a consulting room in Harley Street (146), then as now the heart of private medicine and health care in the United Kingdom. He then built up a practice charging top fees to patients from the Australian Community who could afford to pay subsidizing others in less fortunate financial positions. The family moved to a different part of London.
The chapter then provides a brief history of the growth in knowledge about the cause and treatment of those with the stammering speech impediment and where the emphasis was some physical cause even in situations where the stammer had developed after a child appeared to be saying words normally and with confidence. As with many branches of medicine especially mental health, the cure was worse than the disability, resulting death in some instances. Logue had the advantage of working without a medical background and its structure of what was regarded as good medical practice. This is not to imply that the cause of stammering is some individual traumatic event, or negative early upbringing and it is my understanding that the evidence points to issues of breathing and dysfunction between brain and diaphragm and in terms of the behaviourist school of psychology, not learning to speak the right way especially the transition switching between vowels and consonants.

In a radio broadcast in 1925, the year after his arrival, he explained his views that the problem arose from defective breathing, defective voice production and incorrect pronunciation and enunciation. (This is the point to disclose my own experience where I was embarrassed when asked to read out loud because I had no bench mark how to pronounces words as those who provided my upbringing were not articulate people and for the greater part of the time spoke in Gibraltarian Spanish which they did not teach me because they wanted to be able to talk among themselves in private from me. I had to teach myself by trial and mostly error and has resulted in a lack of good instant vocabulary. The inability to remember a knowledge of grammar remains part of a separate problem). As I have argued in some respects it does not matter how a problem has been caused, or if the doctor, counsellor, social worker is able to accurately diagnose the cause of the problem, but because of and through the relationship between the helper and the sufferer, they believe that the proposed cure will overcome the disability and they then make sufficient progress to continue with the treatment.

The second scene setting is then to look at the early life of the future King. I love learning about facts which appear to have influence. The future King was born on the same day of the same month that Queen Victoria lost her husband and then one of her daughters, December 14th. However Victoria is said to have regarded this fact, the birth of new life on such a fateful day as a good omen. It is also said that the parents had hoped for a girl as there was already a male heir while others were delighted at he insurance of a second male heir given that the King had only come to the throne because of the death of his elder brother.

It was custom at that time for the children of the aristocratic and the wealthy to be almost exclusively cared for by nannies and nurses and only seen by their parents if available at tea time where there were presented in their best clothes, washed and respectful. In the film the future King was not able to immediately disclose to Logue that as a baby he had abused by his carer who appears to have been something of a sadist in order to limit his contact with his parents, causing him sufficient physically pain before meetings with them so he cried and was returned to be taken away by the nurses. Revealing this in the motion picture is one of its key moments. Some parents bring up their children as they had been themselves while others take a contrasting approach. Victoria and Albert had been strict with their children and eldest son who in his own life and in the care of his children had been easy going. Son George became the opposite following the conventions, kept distant from his children and critical of those who lacked self discipline. In addition the nurse badly fed the future King which some believe directly caused the stomach problems he went on to experience.

The nurse had a breakdown and reinforces the ongoing need for the careful selection and close monitoring of all those who take on the case of babies and preschool children in general, even for a matter of hours without direct parental supervision.

The nature of the relationship between father and son is rightly demonstrated in the book by mentioning that aged five years he was given a letter from his father telling him to be a good boy and immediately do what he was told without question. If they misbehaved they were summoned to a room called the library but without books(stamp albums on of his father‘s hobbies) where if not told off they were put over the knee.

Until the death of Queen Victoria the family had lived a modest house on the Sandringham Estate but after her death as the heir their father was allocated Marlborough House in London, Frogmore House Windsor a home on the River Dee at Balmoral. He was then sent on an eight month tour of the Empire on behalf of his father and mother who took control of the children who recorded having a grand time at the Royal Palaces with their indulgent grandparents.

Their father was also one of those ignorant people who believed that because they got by due to their inherited position without any formal education, this would do for his sons and they were placed in the hands of an incompetent teacher more at home of the cricket and football field than the class room. At least he is said to have recognised his inadequacy and recommended they be sent to a boarding preparatory school, and while their mother agreed their father said no.

The boys became close although the relationship is said to have been unequal with the older brother telling the younger what to do and as they got older leading his brother into trouble. However one was being prepared to be King while the other was forced to wear splints to cure knock knees and to write with and use his right hand when naturally left. It is not surprising that a stammer developed or that his elder bother ridiculed and teased him about the impediment and his father continued to behave in an ignorant and insensitive way and his mother appears to have supported the position taken by her husband. Can you imagine the impact of being asked to learn and recite a poem, not just in English. but in German and in French to invited guests on the occasion of a birthday or anniversary?

There was to be no respite for the either brother in that first the elder and then the younger were sent to the naval officer training establishment which had been set up at Osborn House when it had been given over to the nation. Albert was only 13 years of age. The other boys were well used to the Spartan conditions, bad food and rituals and singled out the Royals for the worst of treatments, presumably assuming they had been given a more comfortable and privileged life than their own. David was put through brutal re-enactments of the beheading of Charles 1st while the younger was trussed up in a hammock and left pleading for help. Both boys had not been allowed friends of their own age or played team games which is given priority in the fee paying school system. What reinforces my view that his stammer was more psychological than physical is that it disappeared when he was with friends reappearing in class, where in mathematics he was bottom or close to bottom. In the final set of examinations for the first year he came 68th out of 68 having become overexcited about going home during the examination period.

During his time at the training centre, the King died to be replaced by their father. The boys then progressed to a two year naval training course at Dartmouth with Albert only overlapping his brother by one term, as he then went on to an Oxford College. It was during these years that Albert came more into his own without the controlling influence of his brother and having been encouraged to devote time to individual sports that he had some ability -riding tennis and cross country running.

Only 17, for six months before commissioning, he had direct experience on a naval cruiser and because of his royal position was asked to attend social functions at which he sometimes sent a colleague pretending to be himself and also had to make a speech or two which he dreaded. Although enthusiastic about the Navy and its role, Albert did not like the sea and during his first appointment had several illnesses which made him appear semi invalid and was given a desk job at the admiralty for a time still aged under 20. Having said all this he was on board his appointed ship to take part in the battle of Jutland in the first world war. It is also recorded that due to ill health he spent time with his father at Sandringham where he would have noted what it was like to be the monarch in a time of war, albeit a very different war home that he and his family were to experience a generation later.

Periods of service and illness followed until after eight years of trying to establish and make a naval career for himself he resigned his commission and had an operation to try and sort out his stomach ulcer before going to study economics, history and civics at the University of Cambridge for a year.

His brother had commenced on a course of conflict with his traditionalist and disciplinarian father which was ultimately to lead to abdication. He became popular with the public undertaking many tours and visits and like his grandfather developed an interest in married women. Father and son clashed on anything and everything. In contrast the relationship between the King and his young son continued to improve with father sending him visits to factories, mines and rail yards and making him the Duke of York with a special investiture. Albert’s standing improved further with his marriage to Elizabeth Bowes Lyons, despite the fact that she was a Commoner albeit from the highest levels of the rest of society. His bride had been a star of the London season with many after her hand in marriage. As I found elsewhere she did not rush to accept his marriage proposal opposed to becoming a member of the Royal Family and all its duties, obligations and constraints. Convention meant that he could not declare his love and propose marriage direct so her sent an emissary and was refused. When he spoke of what happened to a friend he was advise to forget convention and tell her directly how he felt direct. Three decades later after she became a widow, the then Queen mother wrote to the friend to thank him for his timely advice. The marriage took place in Westminster Abbey, used for the first time for a Royal Marriage. His eldest daughter was subsequently married there as his great grandson will be this year.

Of interest to me is that the couple first lived at the White Lodge in middle of Richmond Park. They then moved to a House at one end of Piccadilly, overlooking Green Park towards the Palace. Although happier in the relationship with his father and with life in general his speech impediment continued. The worst public experience occurred when he was asked to speak on radio at the closure of the Wembley Exhibition in 1925. His brother had opened the event the previous year. He became so nervous that although he tried to speak the prepared words, none emerged from his. He managed to complete the task but his difficulties were then noted not only through the UK because of the radio broadcast but throughout the Empire.

Logue was by this time in England with his wife and family and commented that though the man was too old to have a complete cure he thought he could be helped to achieve a great improvement.

I now come to the two versions in the book about how Logue came to have the then Duke of York as his patient and both are different from what is in the film. The first that an Australian who knew of Logue met a royal equerry who was going to the United States in search of someone to help the then Duke of York after nine British doctors had been consulted and failed. Because the King was due to visit Australia he was interested in the information about Logue and went to see him at Harley Street, who insisted that he see the King in the surgery rather at the King’s residence.

The second version is that Logue had successfully treated the actress Evelyn Laye who was already a long standing friend of the Duke and his wife. So when she met the Duchess who mentioned the trip to Australia and concern at the number of speeches he would be required to make, Evelyn mentioned her positive experience with the Australian Logue. At the request of the Duchess she provided the Duke’s private secretary with Logue telephone number and address. Encouraged by Logue she was later to give the King singing lessons. Because of his experience todate the Duke was reluctant to try anyone else but agreed only to please his wife. The meeting was successful and the course both men’s lives changed.