Churchill Victorious

The end of the war has arrived and it would be churlish not to celebrate VE Day with Winston Churchill himself. With Churchill Victorious, we reach the final story in The Churchill Years Volume 2 and Winston is out on the London streets on the night of the 8th May, 1945.

There’s an alien hiding out in the ruin-riddled streets with a mysterious bounty he needs to deliver, a couple who are struggling to celebrate because their son has been unjustly arrested and one William Churchyard, an unassuming bank manager caught up in events.

It’s fairly obvious early on that the bounty the alien, Visguard, has aboard his ship is the Doctor but the story is no less fun for knowing this. Churchill’s plucky Blitz spirit shines through the events and he is ably assisted by Diane and Sidney Wheeler. What makes these characters interesting is that they show a different side to the end of the war. Their son is in prison having been arrested for looting. Convinced he is innocent, they play along with Churchill’s ruse of being William Churchyard, despite immediately recognising him, with the hope that by gaining favour with him, they will secure a possible release for their son.

A couple not excited by the VE Day celebrations and jubilation echoes the fact that, for many, VE Day would have been a bittersweet time. Many souls had been lost and the war in Japan was still being fought with many families having relatives still in that part of the world. VE Day only marked the end of part of the war and people’s troubles would still be there the next day – the Wheelers reflect this.

I’ve enjoyed the Churchill Years stories for the way they have pitched Churchill against various aliens. His stoic, no-nonsense attitude and wartime spirit work well against various alien foes and it’s fitting that, in this last story from the second box set, he effectively takes on the role of the Doctor (right down to taking on a fairly unconvincing pseudonym). Ian McNeice really seems to revel in this role and the opportunity it gives him.

Churchil Victorious is a simple story but has a real sense of time and place and was quite enjoyable. Although this was the last story of Volume 2, there is one more Churchill Years story from Volume 1 set during his retirement and also another Main Range adventure for the Prime Minister set in 1945. There’s life in the old dog yet.