Following a visit to Chartwell, the Kent home of Winston Churchill, I decided to listen to a series of podcasts on the life of Churchill. They both happened to be about his early life. The podcasts are all on BBC Sounds:
The Rest is History 1: Young Churchill: Born to Lead
The Rest is History 2: Young Churchill: Soldier of Empire
The Rest is History 3: Young Churchill: Prisoner and Fugitive
The podcasts were very interesting. They made reference to Churchill's own book that he wrote in 1930, My Early Life.
Like a a very thoughtful partner, my better half looked out for it and actually found it in a charity shop.
I'm currently in the process of reading it. I have to say that so far it's an easy read and he's quite self-deprecating. The narrative flows like a "ripping yarn".
But one thing that I came across was this passage about when Churchill was still a school boy. He was writing about his collection of nearly 1,500 soldiers. The account continues:
"... my father himself paid a formal visit of inspection. All the troops were arranged in the correct formation of attack... At the end he asked me if I would like to go into the army. I thought it would be splendid to command an Army, so I said 'Yes' at once."
With his future now determined by this conversation, Churchill then went on to comment that, "the toy soldiers turned the current of my life."
Now, I love my hobby. However, I can't say that it "turned the current of my life" in as dramatic or life defining way as Churchill's. What it did do was provide good friends, a positive community of like minded people and a life engaged in the joy of history, gaming and problem solving. That's not too shabby!
So, have the toy soldiers turned the current of YOUR life? If so, how?