This is a sound recording of Winston Churchill’s first speech to the nation as Prime Minister of Great Britain. The address was broadcast from London, and in it Churchill said: “Behind us, behind the armies and fleets of Britain and France, gather a group of shattered states and bludgeoned races … upon all of whom the long night of barbarism will descend, unbroken even by a star of hope, unless we conquer, as conquer we must, as conquer we shall.” Elmer Davis of Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) analyzed the speech following the broadcast.
You can also listen to this in our main National Archives online catalog.
