Commentary
Sir Maxwell Aitken, the 1st Baron Beaverbrook, was the most influential Canadian of World War II.
But Aitken, who grew up in Newcastle, New Brunswick, was at Churchill’s right hand in the cockpit of power during the “Finest Hour,” and in charge of aircraft production during the crucial epic Battle of Britain.
Nicknamed “Max” or “the Beaver,” he was one of Churchill’s closest confidants.
After the surrender of France on June 25, 1940, Great Britain and the Empire stood alone against the Third Reich. Faced with the threat of invasion across the English Channel, the island nation by July fell under heavy air attack by the Luftwaffe, the German Air Force.
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It’s a powerful myth that has stuck. Both Churchill himself (a prolific historian), his official biographer Martin Gilbert, and many political leaders tapping into the Churchill legend, have extolled the story. It has the benefit of being true in broad brush strokes. (Its fallacies are a topic for another article.)
His personal finest hour occurred during World War II when, at a key time, he was the prime minister’s daily companion over dinner or for brandy and late-night conversation. Even great men need the cheer of friends—and Churchill was a generous convenor to men who were misfits like himself.
Statue of Lord Beaverbrook in Fredericton, New Brunswick. Salvador Alejandri/Shutterstock
Churchill’s inner circle remained loyal to him in the wilderness years (1929–1939) when he was an MP but held no cabinet post. At that time, even Aitken declared Churchill a “busted flush.”
By 1940, it was too late to prevent Hitler from dominating Europe. He already did.
With Churchill’s romantic view of history, including his own destiny in it, he appreciated Beaverbrook as a buccaneer rather like himself. Both were mischievous pirate-patriots in the mould of Sir Walter Raleigh and Sir Francis Drake, adventurers in Churchill’s dramatic bestselling epic “History of the English-Speaking Peoples.”
There has been much debate around whether Aitken was really the wizard of aircraft production that the Churchill myth (and the Beaverbrook myth) claimed. Aitken’s “personal force and genius,” Churchill wrote, “swept aside many obstacles,” firing and sidelining bureaucrats to get his way.
Taylor counted Aitken “among the immortal few who won the Battle of Britain,” who, “at the moment of unparalleled danger … made survival and victory possible.” Sir Hugh Dowding, in charge of Fighter Command, praised the Beaverbrook effect as “magical.”
Freeman quickly understood Aitken’s manic methods and overriding goal to produce five key aircraft—the Wellington, Whitley, and Blenheim bombers and the Hurricane and Spitfire fighters—at the expense of other models, spares production, and maintenance.
Before 1940, production and spare parts were failing, and many changes attributed to Beaverbrook were actually suggested by Freeman. Freeman himself admired Beaverbrook’s decisive approach in ordering damaged aircraft to be cannibalized for working parts rather than repaired, and in promptly expropriating materials held up by bottlenecks.
Aitken brought private sector energy by hiring dynamic individuals like Patrick Hennessy from Ford UK, Trevor Westbrook from Vickers, and G.C. Usher from International Combustion to push through military bureaucracy. Beaverbrook, who did not take a salary, even paid his staff from his newspapers’ payroll.
When informed that experienced engineers on Ludwig Loewy’s team were German Jews interned as enemy aliens, causing delays, Beaverbrook personally intervened to release them and put them to work in his department.
Beaverbrook’s loyalty, along with other misfits like Brendan Bracken, was crucial to Churchill during the challenging first 14 months of his premiership. Churchill considered Beaverbrook his “tonic,” a source of inspiration and support in their shared mission for Britain’s world empire of liberty.
Churchill referred to Beaverbrook as his “foul weather friend,” someone who kept him buoyant during difficult times. Together, they understood the importance of Britain’s message and glory in leading the fight against Nazism.
The Battle of Britain marked a significant step towards victory over Nazism five years later. Can you please write this again?
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