CORRESPONDENCErnLetter From Englandrnby Derek TurnerrnA Valediction for Enoch PowellrnEnoch Powell is dead, and it is as if a hillrnhas suddenly vanished from the horizon.rnBritish life, conservative life, politicalrnphilosophy, economic philosophy, classicism,rnBiblical studies, and learningrngenerally are all the poorer for the deathrnof this English original. Powell was arnman of many contradictions —classicistrnand romantic, patriot and imperialist,rnpolitician and moral arbiter, Englishmanrnand Briton, gentleman and populist,rnsoldier and philosopher, publicrnspender and monetarist, man of impulsernand man of reflection, introvert andrnweeper-in-public—who vet representedrnunchanging truths and steadiness of purposernto his devoted followers. “Enigmatic”rnwas the polite word used by those onrnthe left who hated his views but couldrnnot bring themselves to hate the man,rnbut it is a quite useful signification for allrnthat.rnJ. Enoch Powell was born in Birminghamrnon June 16, 1912, during a thunderstormrn—a suitably Wagnerian beginningrnto an heroical life. The son of twornschoolteachers, he could read by the agernof three and was soon nicknamed “thernProfessor.” As a boy he was always reserved,rnto the point of seeming distantrnand withdrawn. He was called “scowlyrnPowelly” by his colleagues, although laterrnin life he insisted that he had been justrnlike a normal boy at least some of therntime. “I hesitate to recollect the depredationsrncommitted [by himself, when arnschoolboy] against the rolling stock ofrnthe West Midlands Railway,” he told arndisbelieving television interviewer inrn1995.rnShowing an early interest in the classics,rnhe won a scholarship to Trinity College,rnCambridge, where he was a F’cllowrnbetween 1934 and 1938. Wliile there herncame under the influeirce of A.E. Housman.rnPowell always loved Housman’srnhaunting A Shropshire Lad, and his ownrnverse was derivative. During the 1930’s,rnhe traveled much on the continent, andrnbecame incrcasiirgly disturbed by therntrends in Italy and Germany. His oldrnlove of Nietzsche and the militant atheismrnwhich it had inspired evaporated, althoughrnhe retained his love of Wagner.rnPowell could see that Hitler was bent onrnwar; worse, he thought that the Nazisrnwould win. “I could hear this drummingrncoming right through the earth,” he laterrnrecalled. He was alwavs chagrined b’rnnot becoming a professor at the age ofrn24, as Nietzsche had done, but he onlyrnmissed the record b)- one year, becomingrna professor of Greek at the Universitv ofrnSydney in 1938.rnAs soon as war broke out, Powell enlistedrnas a private, and spent some of thernhappiest times of his life in the ranks.rnBut his intelligence and linguistic abilitiesrnbrought him to the attention ofrnthe Intelligence Corps, who speedilyrnsnatched him and promoted him. Hernhad a dynamic niilitar’ career, althoughrnhe never saw any direct action. He coordinatedrnattacks on Rommel’s supplyrnlines, helping to ensure British victoryrnat El Alamein. He soon rose to be thernyoungest brigadier in the army (at 31)rnand the only brigadier who had everrnrisen from private. Powell would give hisrncomrades impromptu lectures on Greekrnand Roman history and culture as theyrndrove through the desert, but he was notrnalwavs good at practical things. A wellknownrnPovcll anecdote is about the tinrnof sausages that he could not open, andrnwhich cut his finger: “Oh tiie malice —rnthe cursed, diabolical malice of inanimaternobjects! . . . If they want to bernbloody-minded, I’ll show them, by God Irnwill,” kicking the tin into a bush. Powell’srndriving was also deservedly infamous,rnalthough he always retained hisrnsang froid. Once, after driving into arnditch by mistake, he broke the silence afterrnthe crash by laughing: “Ha, ha, ha!rnNever been upset in a gig?” (a referencernto an incident in a R.S. Surtees stor.). Inrn1943, he was awarded the Member ofrnthe British Empire and was posted to India,rnwhich he was visiting for the firstrntime. He was captivated by India and instantlyrnbusied himself learning Hindirnand Urdu. (During a street protest afterrnhis famed “Rivers of Blood” speech inrn1968, he addressed some of the multiracialrnrent-a-mob in fluent llrdu, whichrnthey found somewhat disconcerting.)rnHe also conceived the idea of being thernViceroy of India, and this ambition wasrnwhat fired his decision to enter politics.rnIn 1945, he voted Labour, but hernjoined the Conservative Research Departmentrnin Febrnar)’ 1946 after demobilization.rnHe spent several frustratingrnyears being rejected for 19 parliamentaryrnseats before being adopted in the Toryrnmarginal of WoKerhampton SouthrnWest in 1950, winrung by 691 votes.rnDuring this time, his views were slowlyrnchanging. In 1947, after the announcementrnof Indian independence, hernwalked tiirough London all night tryingrnto come to terms with what had occurred,rnbut after arriving in the Commons,rnhe soon began to change his emphasis,rnfrom imperialist to patriot. Inrn1995, he remembered how “I fell headrnover heels under the spell of the Housernof Commons. I .said this is what I want.rnThe onlv thing worth having is to be arnmember of this place and remain arnmember of this place — it was the incarnationrnof a nation to me.”rnHe was to be MP for WolverhamptonrnSouth West until 1974. Although tippedrnfor rapid promotion, his political careerrnstarted slowly. His first post was ParliamentaryrnSecretary’, Ministr)’ of Housingrnand Local Government, from 1955-57,rnduring which time he helped removernrent controls. His decent record here ledrnto his promotion to Financial Secretaryrnto the Treasinv from 1957-58. He resignedrnfrom tins position over Macmillan’srnrefusal to embrace monetarism.rnMargaret Thatcher later freely admittedrnher indebtedness to him. From thernbackbenches, he continued to raise arnprincipled voice which won wide respectrnacross party lines. In 1959, he famouslyrncriticized the conditions at a concentrationrncamp in Kenya, where suspected insurgentsrnwere being abominably treated.rnHe helped save tiie Macmillan governmentrnduring the 1963 Profumo scandalrnby publicly declaring his confidence inrnMacmillan, so widely recognized wasrnPowell’s moral probit}-.rnPowell became Minister of Health inrn1960, and his three-year reign there wasrnmarked by reform and, ironically in thernlight of his 1958 resignation, plenty ofrnpublic spending. While Health Minister,rnhe also went along with the existingrn36/CHRONICLESrnrnrn