Norman Shelley - Churchill Impersonation

Churchill Impersonation

A recurring rumour holds that some of Winston Churchill's most famous speeches to Parliament during World War II were subsequently recorded for radio broadcast (the House of Commons not being at the time set up for location recording) not by Churchill, but by Shelley impersonating Churchill. The rumour has been promoted by David Irving to support his unflattering view of Churchill; it is difficult to prove or disprove Irving's claims. Analysis of voice patterns in 20 of Churchill's recorded speeches show that three made in May and June 1940 do not match those provably by him, although Churchill might have recorded them after his voice had changed. Whether Shelley is the speaker and, if so, whether they were broadcast as allegedly by Churchill is unproven. Shelley did record a performance of Churchill's "We shall fight on the beaches" speech, one of the three non-matching speeches, but that was several years after it was originally made, and there is no record of its having been broadcast as genuine Churchill (or, indeed, at all). He would, however, claim that he did once voice Churchill for an introduction to a wartime propaganda film for distribution overseas with Churchill’s permission. The Prime Minister could not find time for the necessary visit to the studio.

(Churchill did re-record most of his speeches at Chartwell in 1949. The EMI Engineer responsible has told the BECTU History Project that he used one of the then new BTR tape recorders and Churchill usually did this in bed and so they have a more relaxed air than the original broadcast. These are often what are heard when played today.)