Winston Churchill by his Personal Secretary: Recollecti… (2024)

This is why I love reading...how fiction leads me to non-fiction & learning more of history and the people who lived it.

After enjoying the mystery series "Mr Churchill's Secretary" by Susan Elia MacNeal, I found the afterword spoke of a memoir of a real secretary to the Prime Minister from 1941-1945, Elizabeth Nel. Stories of how she first starting working for the great man, taking dictation in the tail of an aircraft flying to various locales, meeting King George IV in a most unusual place, rescuing a celebratory cigar from the fire only to present it to the Churchill Museum at the War Cabinet Rooms 60 years later. These are great stories written by Elizabeth in her neat secretarial style. Modest of her own part, she writes of all the persons supporting the Prime Minister through the war years and the awe, dedication & loyalty they all held for the man.

and of course I'll have to add a visit to the underground Annex & Churchill Museum if I ever get back to London! This is why I love reading.

“Winston Churchill by his personal secretary” Elizabeth Nel is a reprinting (2007) with additional note by author and her family of the 1958 book “Mr. Churchill’s Secretary. Nel tells the story of her working for WSC from 1941 to 1942. She also briefly goes into to her life leading up to being hired by Churchill at Number 10 Downing Street. Her last name at the time was Leyton and she said Mr. Churchill always addressed her as Miss Leyton. She noted that Churchill always used formal address for everyone that worked for him or he met. The author goes into great depth about her work day and what was expected of her. She also indicates some of the misspelling she made and the remarks Churchill responded to her with. She indicated he was an exacting boss but also had sense of humor and cared about his staff. She said he would dictate and she would type and as soon as she typed the last word he would grab the sheet of paper, proof it and sign it. He wanted it correct the first time, of course on some reports or on speeches he would dictate, change and rewrite many times before the final write was done. I noted in passing she wrote about having to type up the guest lists and menus for the weekends at Chequers. I had just read “Dinner with Churchill” by Cita Seltzer who went into detail about these dinner meetings. As the war progressed and the male secretaries left the women took on more and more responsibilities and toward the end of the war she traveled with him to do the dictation the men use to do. After the war ended she married a South African Soldier she met in London, Frans Nel and moved to Port Elizabeth in Cape Province she had two daughters and a son. I was fascinated to read about how Churchill went about writing his speeches and how he paced the room, waving his hands as he dictated the speech. He spends a lot of effort on his speeches, writing and rewriting as well as practicing his delivery. Nel said he was exhausted after the many hours of work on a speech more so than other writings. I read this as an e-book on my iPad via the Kindle app.

First heard of this book while reading a blurb about the making of the movie Darkest Hour. Had to read this one! And I was lucky to get an original 1958 borrowed copy from the library. Wonderfully, why this makes me happy I have no idea.

For me this was a wonderfully personal account of her 5 years with Churchill. Through the war to the end and ousting of his political party. Elizabeth wrote of her work, her feelings and events and of all the personalities candidly and always knowing she was observing history in the making. No syrupy goody goody as in JFK’s secretary or Jackie’s personal secretary.

I made lots of notes as I read. Firstly, I am always amazed at those that can dictate. I have to write and rewrite over and over. Always coming back with new thoughts. Churchill was indeed amazing as we know had an incredible thought process.

He seemed the most approachable of all the leaders, except of course in his most agitated state. He did acknowledge people, no pretensions, always a hello in a candid manner.

Elizabeth was not the personal secretary, she was one of a few, but she did get to accompany the Prime Minister to many important oversees meetings and met all the dignitaries. She went to the US and met the Roosevelts and stayed at Hyde Park. Happily, she was always impressed with all she saw and the US hospitality.

Most amusing were the little anecdotes. She had to do little things…stop any noises outside the office, remove people that might have an annoying cough and my favorite…taking a candle out of the room to blow out. Just so, “the waxy smell did not bother him”. She found that amusing.
She also told of her downtime…she managed to have a life and site see on occasion. And she also admitted there were times of grumbling and less than perfect work. Have to love honesty!
She recounted a time she and a small staff and a group of VIPs’ had to take shelter during a bombing raid. The quarters were small, she and the non-vips got to listen to the VIP’s joke around and laugh. She was so in awe she forgot the “seriousness of what was happening outside”. He was always unfazed by the bombing and could work right thru it all.

You would think that working along side someone so closely both might open up and make small talk. She mentioned that there were times, the PM would make comments about the countryside during a drive, or some type of casual observation. As much as she wanted to converse, she felt she shouldn’t make idle chit chat.

All his staff were briefed on his special names for things or people. Klop meant stapler, give me the moon, meant a moon phase chart, and quite a few names for people. Woe to the person that got it wrong! Not to mention figuring out what he said while he dictated. If he had the cigar in his mouth or started mumbling it did make things challenging!

Her overseas trips took her to many places. Her Russian trip was of particular interest having read Stalin’s Daughter and Twenty Letters to a Friend. She was also aware of the poverty and fear the Russian people were forced to endure. She described full buffets of food for every meal and very comfortable surroundings for the PM and his staff.

Her description of Stalin at one point gave me a chuckle, “he reminded me of a rather wicked-looking stuffed doll.”

She was with Churchill (Yalta visit) the last time he saw FDR. She noted FDR did not look well. And recalled the moment she heard that FDR died, and was summoned by Churchill to take down his condolence message.

At the VE Day May 8th speech, she recalled how wonderful the crowds were. What I thought was amazing, she included the sentence with the iconic phrase “iron curtain” in this book. Remember this book was the old 1958 copy. He was referencing the Soviets, “How are we to work together, if an iron curtain is to be drawn down between us, and only occasionally raised to allow a face, and not a very pleasant face at that, to peer through at us?”

She was very disappointed that his party was voted out of office, she couldn’t imagine him, “not leading the peace. I agree with her it seemed cruel and devasting.

She was invited to stay on working with him and she might have, had she not met someone. As if all was destined…her time with the PM ended with his full-time service to his country. I had to google what happened to her after this.

Life With Winston

I first heard of Elizabeth Layton from the movie "Darkest Hour," in which a character of that name served as Churchill's personal secretary. Afterward, I was surprised to learn that not only was she a real person (not a fictional composite character for the movie) but that she had written a book of her four and a half years as one of Churchill's personal secretaries during WWII. Mrs Nel has written not a history, nor a diary, but a personal record of her time with Churchill, a behind-the-scenes recollection. If you are looking for more information about the big events of the time, you will be disappointed (D-Day gets a "we all know what happened"), as this is not that kind of book. I found the depictions of life with Churchill (and the other Great Men of the time) very interesting.

This is a dull book. Admittedly, I don't know what I was expecting when I picked up a book written by Churchill's secretary - perhaps I thought I was being clever and getting a truly inside look - but this really is just a memoir of a secretary. There are no secrets of the war to be found here. There are no great insights into the extraordinary figure who led us during one of the darkest times of history, other than some little quirks and affectations that have been widely reported elsewhere.

The book is largely an account of the trials of Churchill's secretarial staff, and is about as thrilling as that sounds. Nel chiefly writes about the conditions she and her colleagues worked under during the war, for a very exacting boss. The war, in fact, is barely a backdrop. Some mention is made of the blitz and the constant threat of bombs. Large sections of the war are skipped entirely (VJ day is literally summarised largely as: "and then two atom bombs fell and the war was over"). Instead the reader is treated to a large number of anecdotes about misspellings in Churchill's speech notes, dashing out on errands, working until the early hours to get statements prepared, and so on.

It's nicely written, in fairness, and is a largely inoffensive book, but the whole work could be a mere footnote in a much worthier book about the war and the man himself. I cannot recommend this to any but the most ardent fans of Winston Churchill who absolutely have to know every single detail.

An Incredible Life Journey by an Incredible Woman who worked for Mr. Churchill

This is a story of how one girl grew up to become an amazing, hard working, and devoted women who was determined and loyal to her employer - Mr. Winston Churchill. Elizabeth doesn't take no for an answer nor was she scared of anything and her sweet and polite way won the heart of Churchill and others that were around her. She was able to explain a little bit on how Mr. Churchill acted in a professional setting like when giving his famous speeches and the speech after winning the war, to how he acted in a private setting like in bed at home working and dictating in his rob, and to working all sorts of late night hours overseas in Marrakesh and Russia. You get a picture of how kind and sweet deep down that man was, and how passionate he was in anything he did and the determination to win the war for the British people. He sure cared alot of his country, wife and children, his staff and for Elizabeth. I wasn't too fond in the way her old ways of writing was, very old fashioned and sometimes hard to understand but I had to remind myself this book was first written in the late 1940s -1950s, with the recent addition of the add ons at the end. She also describes Arab people as unclean looking and dirty people, which I thought could have been omitted. I had a bad taste in my mouth after that part but I assume it was the first time for her to see such people in person and television was not around. In all it was an entertaining book as her career was to die for, all the places she visited on her work trips with Mr. Churchill and the relationship she created with his staff were all iconic people. I'm glad Elizabeth was able to live a happy and fulfilling life, up to the age of 90!! An extraordinary strong women working shoulder to shoulder with a smart, strong hero and leader. Thank you for this book and the insight to the war, Mr. Churchill and Elizabeth's life.

Elizabeth Nel (at that time Layton) started work as Winston Churchill’s secretary in May of 1941. She was only 24 when she joined up, and was obviously in awe of the Prime Minister and the office he held.

The book is overly fawning on Churchill – and she seems to have admired everyone she encountered. Considering the book was written when she was older, there was not much in the way of retrospective evaluation of those years. This book is an autobiography, not a biography of Churchill.

It is filled with descriptions of buildings that she spent time in – like 10 Downing Street, Chequers (the country home of the Prime Minister) and the like. Overall, it comes across as superficial and mundane. Hardly any thoughts or impressions on the very significant historical figures she encountered during the war years. The book became slightly more interesting during her travels with Churchill.

Of Note:
She spent her formative years in the interior of British Columbia in Canada – a far cry from the streets of London. She was born in England in Bury St. Edmunds and was seven when her family moved to Canada.
She was a typist, and all had to be typed by those old-fashioned type-writers we only see in movies now. Everything was typed up – memoranda (and Churchill made several a day), speeches, meeting notes, interview notes…

A very interesting book! I couldn't put it down and that very rarely happens with any of the books that I've read. The author's vocabulary and prose are impressive and make this book worth reading. She relates what her duties included during the time that she worked as a secretary for Winston Churchill during World War 2 which could go from the important such as being present in meetings where secrets are discussed and as mundane as finding a shop where she could have Mr. Churchill's fountain pen repaired by someone who wouldn't use the opportunity to gain some notoriety. One of my favorite parts of the book is when she attended a meeting in which Churchill, Stalin and others were there and when toasts were made Mr. Churchill proposed a toast to her since she was the only woman in attendance and with that a Russian General grabbed flowers out of a vase and deposited them unceremoniously in her lap dripping and all.

If you're at all interested in Winston Churchill and what went on behind the scenes then I doubt this book will disappoint.

I read this book after watching the movie "The Darkest Hours". I become interested in Elizabeth Nel, Winston Churchill's personal secretary during WW II. Having read this book, I found it is an incredible journey and a personal book of Elizabeth Nel. She described how she found the job as Prime Minister's personal secretary, how Churchill's reaction when he met her in the first time, how Elizabeth managed her out-of-normal hour duties, how she became an important part of assisting Churchill during difficult days, how she met many British high rank military/official leaders and how she met many other nation leaders such Theodore Roosevelt, Marshal Stalin, Chiang Kai Sheik, General De Gaulle and so on. At the end of the book, there is appendix of Elizabeth Nel's Obituary by David Twiston and also appendix of Elizabeth Nel's children which gave this book more interesting to read.

A personal insight into Winston Churchill during the war years, written by someone who was with him 24/7. Filled with historical characters and events. It's evident that the author had love for him, and through his human faults, that Churchill was certainly the right man in the right place for a world on the brink. Her recollections were sharp and well thought out, and it's evident that she has nary a harsh word to say about her boss. Suffice to say ,he was a great man , with idiosyncrasies. Don't be dismayed by the size of the book. the type is small and it's pages jammed packed with nuggets!

This is the wonderful, honest and funny account of one of Churchill's wartime personal secretaries.

Elizabeth Nel truly has the gift of telling her story in an unadorned and natural, yet well formed way. The anecdotes are hilarious and she really breathes life into the years at Downing Street and HIM (as she calls Mr. Churchill when quoting from her diary).

Absolutely loved this!!!

Elizabeth had bravery, a sense of humor, a sense of loyalty, and more.
About 5 years working for the demanding Churchill. She got to meet many important people during the war. A lot of names, offices, etc, but good to learn some history.
p.s. had to go watch the movie The Darkest Hour after reading this.

A fascinating personal insight into the way an incredibly capable women thought at the time of WW2.

It was an interesting insight into this very important man. I learned things that I never expected.

I love stories that take place during WWII. I find the history fascinating and, while, this book is meticulously researched and well written, it was boring. I struggled to read more than a few chapters at a time, often falling asleep. The first half was the worst part to get through, but the second half was better (stuff actually happened...gasp). What made this book one that I decided to finish was the secondary characters in particular David, Chuck, John, Sarah, and good ole Winnie Churchill. The story itself and the setting came alive for me, but I agree with what other people have said in their reviews--too much emphasis on how smart Maggie was and how she could be starting her masters at MIT, but is instead stuck with a typist job for Winston Churchill and blah blah blah (I would definitely read the other books if the heroine was not Maggie...Chuck would be a fabulous heroine). I do not think that I will read the next books because I have looked at the reviews for them and it appears that a love triangle might be on Maggie's horizon (after just finishing the Selection series, I do NOT want any part in that) and, while I appreciate the rich WWII backdrop, the turtle-pacing and a possible love triangle make continuing on seem like a long shot. If you want a book with a WWII female spy that is 10x better than this one...try Code Name Verity!

Stumbling upon this book was one of the happiest accidents along my recent literary travels. Listed on the library's website under its original title, Mr. Churchill's Secretary, it shares a title with one of my recent favorite reads, a mystery written by Susan Elia MacNeal. Hoping to share the book with my mom, I ordered a copy...only to find that it was, instead, a volume of memoirs published in 1958 by one of Winston Churchill's actual secretaries, Elizabeth Layton Nel. At first disappointed by the mistake, I was still intrigued enough to open the book and start reading...only to be pulled into Mrs. Nel's story quickly and thoroughly. Her accounts of the war and her experiences with that great man are inspiring and touching, highlighting his enormous strength of character as well as his humanity. The tension of the war, the heartache and uncertainty of its darkest days and the thrilling moments at its end are all captured here in her recollections. Most poignant, perhaps, are the final chapters recounting the loss of office and its opportunity to guide the country through peace as well as war experienced by Churchill. It was here that I felt most deeply for him and admired his fortitude in the face of what must have seemed like the desertion of an entire nation. In total, Mrs. Nel does very well in showing why this man "inspired feelings of real devotion in his staff..." and the admiration of an entire world.

If you enjoy the personal memoirs of people who lived through the big events of World War II, you will love this work. It was originally published in the early 50s so the memories are very fresh and the language is engaging. Read it!

Great memoir about World War II and her experience working for Winston Churchill. I would how some of his habits would go over to day, for example he dictated to his staff at 10 am in bed, wearing his dressing robe.

Book one in the WW2 spy series. Thoroughly enjoyed this.