All language subtitles for Bodyguard.S01E02.DVDRip.English-WWW.MY-SUBS.COM

WWW.MY-SUBS.COM

I am ex-Detective Inspector Walter Henry Thompson

and was Winston Churchill's bodyguard
for a period of nearly 18 years.

In almost any piece of film you'll see
of Britain's great wartime leader

This is the man in the background
anonymous and secret.

Untill now his critical role in saving the life
of Churchill from a series of attacks

has been hidden from the wider public.

He himself intended that he would never be taken alive

and issued direct instruction to me
i was to have his 45 colt, fully loaded

he intended to use every bullet/Nbut one on the enemy

the last one he saved for himself.

After the war Walter Thompson censored book told
just part of the story

his full memoirs were suppressed
even by Churchill himself.

Only now can we can recount the number
of assassination attempts on Churchill's life

many foiled by Walter.

This series, with with unique access
to these incredible memoirs

reveals for the first time,
the story of Walter's life with Winston.

Together they traveled thousands of miles,
on precarious journeys to meet Stalin and Roosevelt,

and other world's leaders.

Together they rode with Lawrence of Arabia

dodged German assassins,
were nearly shot down by enemy aircraft,

lone gunman, U-Boats and IRA hitmen.

This is a story of the political upheavals
of the 20th century

Churchill's constant brushes with death

and the role played by an ex post office messeger
in preventing an early end to hid life.

With this weapon he was a dead shot

anyone that came within range of his weapon
would never survive.

The gunmen of the Irish Republican Army
and the Bolsheviks of the new Soviet regime in Russia

weren't the only people after Winston Churchill
when Walter became his bodyguard, at the beginning of 1921.

Within weeks they would be journeying
through one of the most dangerous places on earth.

A place seething with religious and ethnic hatreds.

Where Winston, as a senior minister
of one of the great powers

would be the target of every fanatic
a grudge to settle.

It was a journey which would test
Walters nerve and skill

and one on which he found an unexpected ally,
Lawrence of Arabia.

When Prime Minister David Lloyd George told the 46 year old Winston Churchill that he was to move from the War Office to become colonial secretary

His bodyguard realized that this would increase the danger of assassination even more

for he would now be dealing with
whole new world of extremists

As Colonial Secretary, Winston would have decide
how to govern the many new colonies

and protectorates which Britain had acquired
at the end of the first world war.

Former German colonies in Africa could be transferred
fairly smoothly to the existing colonial civil service,

but it was all together different matter
in the volatile Middle East.

There the Ottoman Empire which had ruled over the whole vast area between the Turkis border and the Suez canal

and the Iraqi border had been dismembered.

Britain, acting on behalf of the new League of Nations,

was given responsibility for Palestine, Transjordan,

the arabian peninsula, and Mesopotamia
the whole of today's Iraq.

The region was heating with rival groups,

all hoping to achieve power after the collapse
of the Empire which had ruled them for centuries.

80 years later, arguably, nothing has changed.

Prime Minister Lloyd George and his new colonial secretary
swiftly decided to call a conference in Cairo

to which all interested parties would be invited.

With Churchill as chairman, they would work out
arrangements how to govern the new territories.

This Cairo conference would be held from
the 12th to the 20th of March.

This meant that within weeks of joining Winston,
Walter faced the challenge of keeping him safe
in one of the most dangerous places in the wor

The place where a senior British Minister would be
the natural target for anyone with a grudge to settle

as well as for all sorts of terrorists.

An incident just before they set off, showed the complexity
of the problems with which Winston would have to grab

Walter was walking away
from the colonial office with Winston,

when they noticed Lord James Rothschild,
a senior member of a banking dynasty

and a fervent supporter of the idea
of a permanent home for the Jews waiting nearby

Walter noted in his journal,
the confrontation which then ensued.

he approached Winston
and commenced to talk about the trip to Palestine

Winston was not pleased with the tone of his voice,
and when Rothschild raised it,

and demanded that Palestine be for the Jews,
amd that the Arab should be cleared out,

Winston paused, and then said :

"I will not take my orders from you
as to my journey to Palestine.

"I am going to do my best to make a fair arrangement between the two peoples. Don't interfere!"

with that he turned and walked away.

For centuries, Jews dispersed all over the world
had dreamt of a return to the homeland of their forefathers,

the fact that this has been under the arab control since the Year 636

except for an interlude under the Crusaders
during the 12th century

has done nothing to slow the growth of a
Zionist movement dedicated to reclaiming it.

During the first world war
Arthur Balfour, the then British Foreign Secretary

had written to Jimmy Rothschilds' brother
Lionel, chairman of the British Zionist federation

indicating in general terms
British support for a national Jewish home in Palestine.

This became known as the Balfour declaration

and was a reason for Jimmy's attempt
to buttonhole Churchill.

His intervention showed that the Zionists have no intention
of letting Britain or her new colonial secretary off the hook.

And their opponent, the Palestinian Arabs

felt that they had a far better claim to the territory
since they had lived there for centuries.

would be watching like hawks
to make sure he didn't favour them.

Walter must obviously be on his guard

he needed all the information
he could get on possible threats.

But nothing he could gather
prepared him for what lay ahead in Egypt.

As they got ready for the journey,
Winston revealed that he had another priority

one which would further complicate
Walter's attempts to guard him.

Before leaving Sussex square Winston sent for me

"Thompson, you are going to be
very useful to me on this trip

'I would like you to take charge
of my painting equipment

'as you alone will be with me when i'm painting."

I did not see any harm in this and said
"I will do my best."

Winston had taken up oil painting
shortly after his traumatic dismissal

from being First Lord of the Admiralty in 1915
following the Gallipoli disaster.

He soon became an accomplished amateur painter
particularly of landscapes

as his friend, Violet Bonham Carter once remarked

it was the only activity which he ever did in complete silence.

There is no doubt that Winston felt that he led
a charmed life and that no harm would come to him.

sometimes this led to behave
as if Walter was just another servant

rather that the protector of his life.

Whatever the reason, acting as his easel
and painting kit carrier

was to be the one of Walter's unpaid and least
favorite jobs for the rest of their time together.

I very soon learned that
painting was no mere enthusiasm

it was a disease and before anytime at all had passed

i had become worn out at the thought of the
menial lugging of his damn boxes.

Winston too had a second responsibility
on this trip

for he had retained the job of Secretary of State
for aviation as well as becoming Colonial Secretary.

As Winston had two roles to consider
in connection with this journey to Egypt and Palestine

he was accompanied by Lord Trenchard
to assist in Air Force matters

and Lawrence of Arabia
to help with the Arab question.

Winston had always been enthusiastic about
the enormous military and civil potential of flight

Before the first world war
he had started to learn to fly

and when appointed to be Secretary of State for Aviation

he returned to this with an enthusiasm
which was unfortunately not matched by his skill.

During 1919 he experienced
two serious crashes during training

But despite this, it took all clementine's
persuasive powers to stop him continuing.

Now he had to decide whether Lord Trenchard's
suggestion that the New Territories could be controlled from the air

a few squadrons of bommers with RAF manned
armored cars and locally recruited troops as policemen
on the ground

would be feasible.

Trenchard's plan would save enormous Garrison of troops

and had obvious attractions
for a cash-strapped government.

This aspect of his ministerial responsibilities
during the trip to Egypt and the middle east

would certainly present Winston with a political
and bureaucratic nightmare.

Metaphorical blood would undoubtedly
be spilt in the Whitehall corridors of power.

But it was the other aspect of Winston's job

trying to find a solution to problems
which had dogged the area for centuries

which carried the very real risk
that real blood would be spilt

and as Walter was about to find,
many people thought that it would be Churchill's.

As Detective Sergeant Walter Thompson prepared to
guard Winston Churchill during his controversial trip to the Middle East

he must have been nervous about his first visit
to such a totally alien part of the world.

At this stage, Walter's experience
of travel was very limited

a couple of cross-channel trips to Northern France
while he had been guarding Prime Minister Lloyd George

Now he was to be thrown into
one of the world's most dangerous places

the regions boiling with religious and ethnic hatreds.

And one in which a British politician
might well proven irresistible target to a fanatic.

Walter's nerve cannot have been improved
by the advice he got from TE Lawrence

who would be acting as
Winston's personal advisor on Arab matters.

He told me that Churchill's life would be at risk
from the instant we were on Arab soil.

We would get excellent help from the Egyptian police
but the Arab masses were dangerous and inflammable.

Walter knew that the man who gave him this advice
was not one who would be easily frightened,

but he had trouble initially linking the modest figure he was introduced to

with the Lawrence of Arabia
who had become a legend during the first world war

and one of the most enigmatic and romantic
figures of the early 20th century.

He was a simple, untidy, slight and even awkward man

and at first i had difficulty in believing that
here was indeed the uncrowned King of Arabia.

I was deeply impressed by the sincerity and earnestness
with which he talked to his adopted people.

His regard for them could only have been equalled
by their worship of him.

Very shortly Walter was to be thankful for the extraordinary
relationship between Lawrence and his adopted people

it was to get him and Winston out of several
of the most threatening incidents of their trip.

Lawrence's involvement with the Arabs
had begun in 1911

when he worked in Mesopotamia as an archaeologist

he admired them and learnt their language fluently

During 1915 he was chosen as the man who might persuade
the Arabs to revolt against the Turks.

Lawrence started by making secret journeys to contact
the leading tribal chieftains in the Arabian Peninsula.

He picked on one, Syeikh Faisal
as the most likely leader to unite the Arabs

and worked with him to cause a revolt
against Turkish rule in 1916.

Lawrence proved a natural guerrilla leader

as the Arabs sabotage the railways
to cut off Turkish Garrison's and reinforcements.

He then led the Arabs to capture all the major cities of the area.

He wasn't a man to lead from the rear

and personally led the Arabs north to attack the Turks
in Palestine in collaboration with general Allenby

the British commander in Egypt.

This offensive climaxed with the capture of
Jerusalem on the 9th of December 1917.

In the autumn of 1918
when Allenby's advance was resumed

Lawrence led the Arab forces to capture Damascus

Throughout the war Lawrence had believed that
the Arabs were fighting for their independence

and that this had been promised at least tacitly
by the British government.

So when the Arabs were fobbed off with
vague promises during the Paris conferences
at the end of the war

Lawrence was deeply disillusioned.

Nevertheless the Cairo conference
to which Churchill took him as his main advisor

seemed another opportunity to do the right thing.

Before the development of long-range passenger aircraft
the speed of travel was much more leisurely than today.

Even when a senior government minister was eager
to get to a major conference

But it wasn't always comfortable
Churchill and his party traveled by train to Paris

from there they had to endure what Walter reckoned
was one of the worst journeys he had ever.

The train from Paris to Marseilles via Lyon.

It was impossible to talk, eat, sleep, shaved
stand or even think

all one could do was somehow survive
the inexplicable discomfort to the journey's end
and then forget it all

Churchill's wife Clementine was holidaying
in camp on the French Riviera

so she met Walter and Winston at Marseilles

there they took a liner across the mediteranian to Alexandria.

It was Walter's first trip
to anywhere but Northen France

and the testing and potentially disastrous
baptism of fire as Winston's bodyguard.

Lawrence had already increased
his sense of of foreboding

but at least he now gave Walter some advice
about what to do when things got sticky.

I must never use my revolver
except in great emergencies

a show of force by fists would be highly respected.

And I might make friends for Churchill
by beating off such attackers as got near him

whereas I would make enemies by firing.

Lawrence knew well that the British
were deeply unpopular in Egypt.

Nominally a part of the Ottoman Empire,

the country had been under effective British control
since the building of the Suez Canal in 1869

and demands for real independence
had increased rapidly since the end of the first world war.

Although Winston was not directly
responsible for the government

which was controlled through the foreign office

there was widespread suspicion that Britain
was aiming to increase rather than relax it's grip.

And Winston was bound to be
a target for demonstrators.

As the liner docked in Alexandria, Walter must have felt that his worst fears were coming true.

Heat and a swarm of flies hit us as we tied up

a huge crowd at our boost Egyptians and Arabs
collected on the dock

and the sight of Winston and his party coming down
the gangway made them yell with fury

He seemed quite unperturbed
by the first blast of of booing and jeering

but the expressions on the faces of the crowd
as we were hastily welcomed by the local officials
and hustled into the cars were distinctly men

And as they got into the car and Walter
took his place beside the driver a voice said :

"Never let Mr. Churchill out of your sight!"

it was Walters first encounter with
the legendary Russel Pasha,

Thomas Russell, who was head of the Egyptian
police force and had made his name as Walter put it

as scourge of the drugs fields.

Walther must have had some anxious moments
as they drove off through the menacing crowd

at any moment things might turn ugly,
at any moment an assassin might dash foward.

But to his relief they got to their hotel safely

and were hustled inside to another howling mob.

Immediately after lunch the official business began
and Winston being taken to inspect an RAF camp.

Walter accompanied him
and on their return the two men were in the dining room.

Mrs. Churchill who had had a tiring day had gone to her room

suddenly she appeared at the door in an agitated state.

"quick" she said as I hastened over to her.
"There's someone in the room next to mine .....".

I made a dash for it without waiting to hear anymore

the door had been locked from the inside
but I could hear someone moving about

As I could not open door I stepped back and
charged, and after two attempts it broke down

as it broke away I went headlong into the room
to see an Arab clambering through the window
and at once out of sight.

Fortunately none of the official boxes
had been tampered with

beyond that there was nothing of value in the room.

While someone kept watch over the room,
I made my way towards a dining room to inform Winston

but he was already on his way to see me
and seemed a bit disappointed
he had missed the show.

He said "Thompson you had better sleep in
that room whilst we're here."

So i lost my comfortable bed and had to sleep
on a camp bed with my revolver under my pillow.

The next day another large and hostile crowd
had gathered outside the hotel.

Anticipating this, Walter had arranged
for the party to leave by a side door

and be driven to the station through the back streets.

The Royal train had been sent to meet them
and as they were boarding it a threatening crowd
began to gather.

Stones were soon being thrown
and the situation seemed to be getting out of control

At last the train began to move
but far too slowly for Walter's like.

I remain standing in the compartment doorway

and was not going to move till the train had picked up
enough speed so she could not be boarded
or effectively stoned or fired.

It was as well he did, for the train soon slowed
right down for a level crossing.

Waiting was a large and menacing crowd
which had obviously anticipated this.

It was soon swarming around the train,
rocks were being thrown

and the most daring of the crowd were trying to climb
up the running boards and forced open the door.

Walter knew that soon,
matters were going to turn really ugly.

For the crowd was now working itself up into a frenzy
and at any moment it would go critical.

There was was a sudden sound of splintering glass

Two windows had been smashed,
one ahead of churchill's compartment and one behind.

Lawrence, with the quiet wave of the hand,
caution me to hold my position,

he went to the end of the car.

As the train came to a halt, it must have seen that the lives of his boss Winston Churchill and the rest of his party was seriously at risk.

The Egyptian crowd was working itself up into a frenzy

if it managed to break into the train,
then Walter's first experience of guarding Winston

would likely to end in disaster.

A huge mass of ugly-looking Egyptians,
some fighting for a hold on the outside window ledges,
was choking this stretch of the crossing

stones began to rain against the sides of the carriages

and window after window smashed into the corridors, spilling glass over the mulberry carpeting.

For the first time Walter realized,
how calm Winston was when his life was in danger.

All the while Winston sat totally unperturbed
in the corner of the royal saloon, calmly smoking a cigar.

I was close behind holding his despatch box
when a stone came through the broken window and hurtled between us.

Winston turned to me and said

"Thompson, you'd better get that to Archie
you may need both your hands free soon."

We all exchanged grins and Sir Archibald asked

"If Thompson is going to need both hands,
what about us?"

Despite Walter's slightly boy zone paper desription,
it must have been a terrifying moment.

almost every window in the train had been smashed
and glass was everywhere.

a screaming mob was trying to burst in
through the broken windows

that it seemed that at any moment,
they would have to start fighting them off.

Then at last the train picked up speed and pulled away

leaving the Egyptians running after it,
still making despairing attemps to jump aboard.

Soon the immediate danger seemed to have passed

Lawrence came back, he never spoke much

"It will be alright, there's nothing left to smash."

About five miles from Cairo the train ground to an unexpected halt and everyone tensed.
Walter must have feared the worst.

But it was only two British senior officers who boarded,

and warned Churchill that another large
and hostile crowd was waiting at Cairo station.

So the party transferred to cars
while the train steamed on into the station as a decoy.

The ruse worked
and they got to their hotel without any more problems.

There, General Sir Edmund Allenby
who was now High Commissioner to Egypt
greeted Churchill.

While he was doing this,
Russel Pasha singled out Walter again.

He took me aside from the others and said :

"Churchill is in grave danger,"

"Never on any account let him out of your sight
whilst he's in this part of the world."

"Trust nobody, black or white

guard him as you would your own life
even in the sanctuary of his bedchamber."

I replied "that is what I'm here for
and I shall do my utmost to see that no harm comes to him.

As part of his precautions, Walter instructed the doorman at the hotel

that he must be told at once
if Churchill left the building without him.

So when he was told shortly afterwards that his boss had left the hotel alone and on foot,
he was horrified.

Walter set off to locate Britain's colonial secretary
as he roamed the hostile streets of Cairo

dreading what he might find.

Appalled to hear that his boss was now wandering alone
through the streets of Cairo

Walter raced downstairs,
But Winston Churchill was nowhere to seen

He had disappeared into the hot and dusty streets
with their teeming crowds of beggars, street vendors and passers-by.

For Walter it must have been a heart-stopping moment

to realize that the man he was meant to be keeping safe
was now exposed and vulnerable.

The doorman reckoned that Churchill was on his way
to see Field Marshal Allenby

So Walter got directions to his residence
and dashed there.

He was mightily relieved to meet Churchill
just coming out of the house

but did not let this show when Winston smiled
and greeted him as if he hadn't a care in the world.

I said "I understood that you were not going out sir"

"if I am to carry out my duties of guarding you,
both to your satisfaction and my own,"

"I must be informed when you are due to leave the hotel."

"I've a big responsibility
and you could make my task very much easier."

My tone then was definitely Scotland Yard doing it's job.

His attitude then really gave me
the first indication of his true character.

It was to be my first experience of anything
approaching intimacy with him

"I will do all i can to help you, Thompson." he replied.
Were beginning to understand each other.

His last sentence carried with it a smile of

such genuine appreciation, that I almost apologize
for having addressed him in tones which,

however respectful were definitely at its most official.

Throughout the trip, Walter could never lower his guard

while Churchill was in the hotel
where the conference was being held,

he did at least have the backup of the Egyptian Police

But once they were out in the open,
the danger was everywhere.

This was made only to clear a couple of days later,

when Allenby took Churchill to pay a courtesy visit
to the Egyptian King Fuad, at the Abdeen Palace.

As they got near the palace, their cars were
surrounded by a crowd of students and agitators,
shouting slogans and hurling abuse.

Allenby and Churchill's car
just managed to get through the gates

Suddenly the mob overflowed and launched itself

the howling and gesticulating massive brown faced maniac
straight for the gates.

Stones began to fly and real trouble
seemed imminent

the sentries that had enough, they vanished
into the courtyard like greased lightning.

The student then swarmed round our car,
some jumping on the running board

the RAF sergeant said "don't show your gun mr. Thompson,
use yout fist."

This was really right down my street
and the sergeantand and i hit out one on each side of the car.

It was an ugly position, but we apparently used our fists
to such good avail, that suddenly the main body drew off

as a number of officials came out of the palace
and spoke to those remaining.

We were then informed that the mob
was going to our hotel to catch us when we returned

Winston came out and by taking a shortcut
we got back before the demonstrators.

Churchill soon plunged into chairing the conference,
call to decide the government of the British
controll part of middle east

Walter was able to relax lightly.

knowing that his man
was in closely guarded place.

But at intervals, Churchill was able to get away,
to relax on painting trips to the Pyramids.

For Walter these excursions were anything but relaxing

every moment, that Winston was out in the open,
his life was in danger.

The one occasion Winston came near
to being really harmed

was during a longer outing to the tombs at Saqqara,
about 17 miles southwest of Cairo

and in this case the wounds were self-inflicted.

To Walter's horror, as they prepared to set off

it was revealed that the guests of honor were to be
mounted on camels supplied by the Egyptian Camel Corps

and accompanied by a cavalcade of Arab sheiks
and other dignitaries on horseback.

For both Winston and Walter,
it was their first encounter with the ship of the desert,

and neither proved a natural rider.

Suddenly I saw Winston, who had seemed to be enjoying himself
fall sideways to the ground

there was immediate confusion, like a cavalry charge,
the Arabs reined their horses in

swung them on their haunches and launched themselves
upon his prone figure,

dismounting they surrounded him as he sat up
clamoring as I thought in menacing tones.

Actually, i discover afterwards,

they were imploring the great man to mount
on one of their steeds and not hazard himself again upon a ship of the desert.

However, they did not know their man
as I was coming to know him.

Churchill is never dismayed by any mishap, however large

it seems to spur him on to even greater endeavors.

he meant to finish the ride by the same means as he started it

and said " I started on a camel
I want to finish on a camel."

As Mr. Churchill remounted the kneeling camel,
now placidly chewing the cud,

i heard Colonel Lawrence shaking with laughter
explain the cause of the tumble.

"Your animal knew he was going
to have the honor of carrying you, Winston.

So he blew himself out as a demonstration
of his pride on this occation.

then because of your riding style, he decided his rider

could not have been the great man nor of whom he had heard,
but merely a very common person who should be got rid
of as speedily as possible.

So he just let out the air, the saddle girth loosened

off you came, pride went before the fall.

The visit ended without any other disasters, but Walter
suffered appalling saddle sores and stiffness for days afterwards.

The Cairo conference ended with, what most people
at the time considered, considerable success.

Kingdoms would be established in Transjordan and
Mesopotamia, which would now be known as Iraq

this would remain for the time being under
British supervision on behalf of
the League of Nations.

Once the monarchies were safely established, the countries would become fully independent.

Arabia would also remain under British control
until a single government could be established
over the feuding tribes.

so too did the League of Nation's mandate of Palestine

where tension between Arabs and Jews,
continued to grow ominously.

The second stage of Churchill's trip was to Palestine

Russel Pasha gave Winston a chilling warning.

He told me we were moving into a climate of
unclassifiable fanaticism

and that Churchill's life was going to be attempted
sometime during the train trip from Cairo.

Walter realized that Palestine
would be even more dangerous than Egypt.

With the warning of Russel Pasha
ringing in his ears

Walter was on edge as the train carrying his boss's party
continued on a slow, hot and dusty journey
across the Sinai to Palestine.

But nothing could stop Churchill halting the train
next morning in the middle of the desert

and demanding and getting
a bath in the hot water from the engine.

Our next stop was Gaza,
where we were to talk with a number of Arab leaders.

Outside the crowds must have numbered about 2.000

and as an address of welcome was being presented
to mr. Churchill, the rumble of voices gained in volume.

The time came for us to leave but when we reached the door
the crowd stood stockstill with apparently no intention of allowing us to return.

Winston waited a moment, then turned to Colonel Lawrence

"what is this? A demonstration for or against?"

"I think they only want to look at you." Lawrence replied.

but how long are they going to keep us here,
for the longer we wait the more I so deteriorate.

it was then that I had my first experience
of the great prestige enjoyed by Lawrence of Arabia
amongst of his people of the desert.

Mounted Police had been trying to move
the Arabs from the door

but they just seized the horse's bridles
and pushed them horse and ride backwards.

As the horsemen were driven back,
so the crowd surged onto us

but Lawrence held up his hand. I watched those
dark mysterious faces with fascinated interest.

Lawrence spoke only a few words

Those Eastern countenances bore a universal look
of devotion as his voice cried out his message.

Then he stepped back and as if the Red Sea
had once more parted to allow the passage
of the fleeing Israelites

so an isle appeared by magic through the crowd.

As the Arabs moved back to form the Isle,

they walked backwards bowing as they went.
But immediately Winston move forward
they just stood and looked.

Lawrence followed, which appeared
to be a sign of devotion

for many of the crowd threw themselves,
down on their faces, with arms outstretched towards him

As Winston's soreness he turned to me
"they worship him" he said.

As we moved onward toward our train
the crowd closed him behind us

and escorted by guard apparently in its entirety
we finally reached the train.

The whole which Lawrence had over the Arabs
was again shown as the party journeyed on
from Gaza to Jerusalem.

Some little distance from Jerusalem our train
slowed up and stopped.

I could hear a murmuring away towards the engine.

and looking out, i spied a number of Arabs
who were apparently blocking the line with their bodies

the murmur grew to a roar as part of the crowd came
marching down the side of the train towards
our compartment

Winston with a cigar in his mouth sat in his seat,
imperturbable as ever

while Lawrence walked over and opened the window.

As his face appeared,
so absolute silence fell just as it had at Gaza.

At length he spoke.
Again, I had the sensation that those Brown Hawk
faced men outside were worshipping him.

The crowd broke into a great shout
and Lawrence slipped back to Winston, telling him
that the Arabs wanted to see him.

Winston rose and went to the window,
Lawrence standing just behind him

Suddenly two Arabs, more colorfully clad
than their fellows, edged to the front of the crowd

and presented Mr. Churchill with a scroll.

I understood that it was a petition,
dealing with the problem of Jewish influence in Palestine.

Winston accepted it gravely and as he placed it
in his pocket, the crowd roared its approval.

suddenly they began dancing around like children
cheering mad

and as the train gathered speed again
they continued to dance alongside cheering and
waving us farewell.

That was our last stop before reaching Jerusalem.

Lawrence's intervention had again defused
a potentially ugly incident

and Walter was mightily relieved
when they finally steamed into Jerusalem station.

The party was to stay at the British High Commissioner's residence

and Walter was amused to discover
who had been its previous owner.

When we reached it, I found it to be a very modern looking building

far superior to anything that we had passed
on our way after leaving the station.

Situated on the Mount of Olives, it was built for Kaiser Wilhelm

and was intended to be his eastern palace.

The German eagle was still to be seen
carved over the main gateway.

The house was then being used as
Sir Herbert Samuel's official residence

and thus a British High Commissioner
was living in the structure intended by the all-highest

to be the dwelling from which he would have
directed the affairs of his eastern empire.

on an eminence in the grounds,
was a small finely carved stone structure

with a special chair, facing a panoramic view of a vast landscape

it was the Kaiser's seat.

Here but for the grace of God and the old contemptible
and their successors, British and Allied,

Wilhelm had intended to sit for hours,
contemplating the vastness of his new domains.

Walter enjoyed sitting in the kaiser's seat
and admiring the view

bu he may have been exaggerating slightly,
the empire-building intentions of the all-highest.

The German government had certainly seen
the Ottoman Empire as an excellent way to embarrass
the British in the Middle East

and the Kaiser had worked hard
and successfully to persuade the Sultan
to enter the first world war on Germany's side

but it is unlikely that he ever envisaged
a wholesale takeover of the region.

Throughout their stay in Jerusalem,

Walter continued to be fascinated
by the effect that Lawrence had on the local population.

It was very colorful to see Lawrence dressed in his Arab clothing

what more remakeble was the reaction of the arabs

for whenever he appeared in the narrow streets of Jerusalem,

Arabs would come rushing down the streets
and in some cases prostrate themselves at his feet.

I did notice that he hesitated a moment
when this happened and appeared to speak
to those at his feet.

Walter was also increasingly fascinated by Churchill

My training at Scotland Yard part of which
was the study of faces

gave me much room for thought
in studying Winston.

During his visits to the holy places in Jerusalem

particularly to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
and later to Bethlehem

i noticed how visibly moved he was,
in each case he just stood not saying a word,

and left in a similar manner.

throughout the visit, both during his trips
to the famous sites and during his private talks

Winston had to tread a delicate line
between the two opposed factions.

While telling the Arabs that
the British government is the greatest Muslim state
in the world

and it is well disposed to the Arabs,
have cherishes their friendship,

he also confirm that the British government
would like to see some sort of Jewish National Home
in Palestine.

This he symbolized by planting a tree
at the new Jewish University on Mount Scopus.

As we now know, Churchill would not be
the last politician to find the problems of the Middle East
almost impossible to solve.

They still resonate today.

Nevertheless as Walter later discovered

Winston had shown considerable statesmanship during his visit.

Later Lawrence wrote his book, Seven Pillars of Wisdom
and sent Winston a copy

I was privileged to see
the inscription inside which read

"Winston Churchill who made a happy ending to this show,

"and 11 years after we set our hands to
making an honest settlement

"all our work still stands."

"I ought to have given you two copies of this work."

There were no more alarming incidents as the party
travelled back from Jerusalem
to Alexandria.

but Walter's relief must have been considerable

as they went aboard the liner
which was to take them back across the Mediterranean.

Once again it was a leisurely journey
with stops at Sicily and Naples for sightseeing and relaxation.

Churchill got back to London on the 12th of April,
after an absence of more than six weeks.

On his return, both his public and personal lives
soon faced fresh crises.

The Irish situation was fast getting out of control

and for the next 18 months, Walter was
constantly on his guard against further Irish threats
to kill Churchill.

But it was in his personal life,
that Winston suffered his greatest tragedy

one which Walter was powerless to prevent.

During may, within weeks of his return

Winston's mother, Lady Randolph Churchill tripped
while coming downstairs in very high heels.

Her leg was so badly broken,
that it had to be amputated. Then gangrene set in.

One night I heard Winston coming down the stairs
in considerable haste

and as I reached the door of my room,
he was tucking his nightshirt into his trousers
and I could see tears in his eyes

"Come along Thompson! We're going over to Lady Randolph.
I'm afraid she's dying."

He left the house without putting any more clothes on
and ran all the way to his mother's house
about two hundred yards away.

On the way he was telling me rather disjointingly,
that his mother, following the loss of her leg

had bled profusely during the night
and was not expected to survive.

I immediately said that if I was the same blood group,
I would willingly give my blood.

He turned to me and put his arm around my shoulder
and said : "Thompson I shall never forget this,
even if it is too late."

Doctors arrived and although my blood group happened to be the same as Lady Randolph,

It was too late.

Churchill was as good as his words
and never did forget Walter's selfless offer.

The incident although tragic, played a major part
in building the trust and friendship
between the two men.

By the end of his first year as Churchill's bodyguard

Walter had not only only kept him safe
through several moments when his life
had been in grave danger

but the two men had forged bonds
of mutual respect and friendship which were to last
for the rest of their lives.

Over the next 10 years, their relationship
was to go through many changes

as Winston's career reached new heights
and then seemed to have collapsed.

Walter had to move back to other duties

But when Winston's determined opposition to
Indian self-rule brought new threats of assassination,

It was to Walter, that he again turned for protection.

The next time Winston's life was threatened,
it was to be from a direction neither man

could have anticipated.

Tekkichan^^