Elizabeth Shakespear Nel (née Layton; 14 June 1917 – 30 October 2007) was a personal secretary to

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

from 1941 to 1945, during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Biography

Elizabeth Layton was born on 14 June 1917 in

Bury St Edmunds Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as ''Bury,'' is a cathedral as well as market town and civil parish in the West Suffolk District, West Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St. Edmunds an ...

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

. Her father, a veteran of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, suffered from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

. He was advised because of his health to

emigrate Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

to either

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. The family moved to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and settled in

Vernon, British Columbia Vernon is a city in the Okanagan region of the British Columbia Interior, Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. It is northeast of Vancouver. Named after Forbes George Vernon, a former Member of the Legislative Assembly, MLA of British ...

. She attended a secretarial college in London, before working at an

employment bureau An employment agency is an organization which matches employers to employees. In developed countries, there are multiple private businesses which act as employment agencies and a publicly funded employment agency. Public employment agencies One ...

. In the summer of 1939, she returned to Canada on holiday. After training in

air raid precautions Air Raid Precautions (ARP) refers to a number of organisations and guidelines in the United Kingdom dedicated to the protection of civilians from the danger of air raids. Government consideration for air raid precautions increased in the 1920s a ...

, she returned to London, where she obtained work with the

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

. It was from here she was sent to

Downing Street Downing Street is a gated street in City of Westminster, Westminster in London that houses the official residences and offices of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. In a cul-de-sac situated off Whiteh ...

. In late May 1941 at around 22:30, she first met Winston Churchill. She sat at a silent

typewriter A typewriter is a Machine, mechanical or electromechanical machine for typing characters. Typically, a typewriter has an array of Button (control), keys, and each one causes a different single character to be produced on paper by striking an i ...

where she immediately fell foul of the

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

by making a mistake. He liked his speeches typed in double-spaced lines as he dictated, but she used single spacing. She was ordered from the room as Churchill berated her, using the words "fool", "mug", and "idiot". She accompanied Churchill as he travelled abroad in the war years. Layton met President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

while in

Washington D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, with Churchill at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

. Another trip saw her as part of the British delegation to the

Yalta Conference The Yalta Conference (), held 4–11 February 1945, was the World War II meeting of the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union to discuss the postwar reorganization of Germany and Europe. The three sta ...

in the

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

. Churchill proposed a toast to "Miss Layton" at a banquet during the conference. She was the only woman present. Her last work in wartime was to take dictation of Churchill's

VE-Day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of German Instrument of Surrender, Germany's unconditional surrender of Wehrmacht, its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945; it marked the official su ...

speech. She and Churchill wept in his room after his defeat in the 1945 general election. After the loss, Layton told the Churchills of her plans to marry Frans Nel. He was a South African soldier who had been released from a prisoner-of-war camp following his capture at

Tobruk Tobruk ( ; ; ) is a port city on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near the border with Egypt. It is the capital of the Butnan District (formerly Tobruk District) and has a population of 120,000 (2011 est.)."Tobruk" (history), ''Encyclop� ...

. Churchill and his wife

Clementine A clementine (''Citrus × clementina'') is a tangor, a citrus fruit hybrid between a willowleaf mandarin orange ( ''C.'' × ''deliciosa'') and a sweet orange (''C. × sinensis''), named in honor of Clément Rodier, a French missionary who f ...

, upon hearing the news, advised them to have four children, reciting together, "One for Mother, one for Father, one for Accidents and one for Increase." In 1946, her first child was born. In 1958, she released a memoir titled ''Mr. Churchill's Secretary''. Churchill initially objected to the publication, sending a telegram. However, his views softened and he removed his objection when the matter was broached again. After the war, she emigrated with her husband to the

Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa (; , ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day South Africa, Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the British Cape Colony, Cape, Colony of Natal, Natal, Tra ...

. In later years, she was invited back to London on several occasions, including in 1990 for the 50th anniversary of Churchill becoming prime minister. She also returned in 2005 to join

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

for the opening of the Churchill museum in the underground

Cabinet War Rooms The Churchill War Rooms is a museum in London and one of the five branches of the Imperial War Museum. The museum comprises the ''Cabinet War Rooms'', a historic underground complex that housed a British government command centre throughout the ...

, beneath what is now the Treasury on

Horse Guards Road Horse Guards Road (or just Horse Guards) is a road in the City of Westminster, London. Located in post code SW1A 2HQ, it runs south from The Mall down to Birdcage Walk and Great George Street, roughly parallel with Whitehall and Parliament S ...

Family

She had two siblings: a brother Michael and sister Alison. Her brother served as a pilot in the Second World War. After the war, she married South African soldier Frans Nel and settled in

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha ( , ), formerly named Port Elizabeth, and colloquially referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipal ...

. They had a son and two daughters. Her husband died in 2000.

Film depiction

Nel is portrayed in the 2017 British film '' Darkest Hour'' by

Lily James Lily Chloe Ninette Thomson (born 5 April 1989), known professionally as Lily James, is an English actress. She studied acting at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London and began her career in the British television series '' Just Wi ...

. She is portrayed as starting to work as Churchill's secretary on 10 May 1940 during the

Battle of France The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembour ...

. In reality, she did not become his secretary until a year later in May 1941. The movie also says her brother died during the retreat to

Dunkirk Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...

, another fictional detail.

References

External links

Obituary
''

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact (newspaper), compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until ...

'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nel, Elizabeth 1917 births 2007 deaths People from Bury St Edmunds People from Gqeberha British women memoirists 20th-century British memoirists Winston Churchill staff Secretaries

Biography

Family

Film depiction

See also

References

External links