Here is the audio clip of
Churchill's Blood, Toil, Tears, and Sweat speech. See below
for the transcript.
It follows the full text transcript of
Winston Churchill's Blood, Toil, Tears, and
Sweat speech, delivered before the House of Commons, London,
UK - May 13, 1940.
Mr. Speaker,
On Friday evening last I received His Majesty's
commission to form a new administration. It is
the evident wish and will of Parliament and the
nation that this should be conceived on the
broadest possible basis and that it should
include all parties, both those who supported
the late government and also the parties of the
opposition.
I have completed the most important
part of this task. A war Cabinet has been formed
of five members, representing with the liberal
opposition the unity of the nation.
The three party leaders have agreed to serve
either in the War Cabinet or in high executive
office. The three Fighting Services have been
filled. It was necessary that this should be
done in one single day, on account of the
extreme urgency and rigor of events.
A number
of other key positions were filled
yesterday, and I am submitting a further list to
His Majesty tonight. I hope to complete the
appointment of the principal ministers during
tomorrow. The appointment of the other
ministers usually takes a little longer, but I
trust that, when Parliament meets again, this
part of my task will be completed, and that the
administration will be complete in all respects.
Sirs, I considered it in the public interest to
suggest that the House should be summoned to
meet today. Mr. Speaker agreed, and took the
necessary steps, in accordance with the powers
conferred upon him by the resolution of the
House. At the end of the proceedings today, the
adjournment of the House will be proposed until
Tuesday, the 21st of May, with of course provision
for earlier meeting if need be. The business to
be considered during that week will be notified
to members at the earliest opportunity. I now
invite the House, by the resolution which stands in
my name, to record its approval of the steps
taken and to declare its confidence in the new
Government.
Sirs, to form an administration of this scale and
complexity is a serious undertaking in itself,
but it must be remembered that we are in the
preliminary stage of one of the greatest battles
in history, that we are in action at many other
points in Norway and in Holland, that we have to
be prepared in the Mediterranean, that the air
battle is continuous and that many preparations have to be made here at home.
In this crisis I hope I may be pardoned if I do
not address the House at any length today.
I
hope that any of my friends and colleagues, or
former colleagues, who are affected by the
political reconstruction, will make all allowances for any lack of ceremony with
which it has been necessary to act.
I would say
to the House, as I said to those who have joined
this government,
"I have nothing to offer but
blood, toil, tears and sweat."
We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous
kind. We have before us many, many long months
of struggle and of suffering.
You ask, what is
our policy? I can say: It is to wage war, by
sea, land and air, with all our might and with
all the strength that God can give us; to wage
war against a monstrous tyranny, never surpassed
in the dark and lamentable catalogue of human
crime. That is our policy.
You ask, what is our
aim? I can answer in one word: Victory. Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all
terror, victory however long and hard the road
may be. For without victory, there is no
survival. Let that be realized; no survival for
the British Empire, no survival for all that the
British Empire has stood for, no survival for
the urge and impulse of the ages, that mankind
will move forward towards its goal.
But I take
up my task with buoyancy and hope. I feel sure
that our cause will not be suffered to fail
among men. At this time I feel entitled to claim
the aid of all, and I say,
"Come then, let us go
forward together with our united strength."
