It’s late May of 1940, and in France, resistance to the invading German forces is falling apart. Consequently, newly appointed prime minister Winston Churchill is en route to a meeting with his war cabinet to discuss possible terms of peace with Hitler and Mussolini. He studies the Londoners on the rain-wet sidewalks, and on an impulse abandons both his car and driver to take the Tube to Westminster. Following some humorous moments in the subway car—“What are you all staring at?” Churchill asks. “Have you never seen a prime minister ride the Underground before?” Churchill puts this question to the passengers: “If the worst came to pass, and the enemy were to appear on those streets above, what would you do?”
The answers come immediately. “Fight.” “Fight the fascists.” “Fight them with anything we can lay our hands on.” “Broom handles, if we must.” “Street by street.” “They’ll never take Piccadilly.”
