The Winslow Boy Page #3

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Yes.

- Dickie?

- Yes, Father.

Is the boy very ill?

Answer me, someone!

If he's ill I must be with him.

No, father. He's not ill.

Will someone please tell

me what has happened?

He brought this letter for you, Arthur.

Read it.

Arthur, not in front of...

Read it.

Dear Sir...

I am commanded by my Lords

Commissioners of the Admiralty...

to inform you that they have received a communication from the

Commanding Officer of the Royal Naval College at Osborne...

reporting the theft of a

five shilling postal order.

Investigation of the circumstances of the

case leaves no other conclusion possible...

that the postal order was taken by...

your son, Cadet Ronald Arthur Winslow.

My lords deeply regret that they must therefore

request you to withdraw your son from the College.

It is signed by someone...

I can't quite read his name...

Violet, will you ask Master

Ronnie to come down here, please.

Perhaps the rest of you would go in to

luncheon. Grace, would you take them in?

- Arthur, don't you think...

- Dickie?

- Will you please decant that

bottle of claret? - Yes, Father.

Arthur?

Please don't...

Please don't...

What mustn't I do?

Please don't forget he's only a child.

Give me that letter, please.

Come in.

Come in and shut the door.

Come over here.

Why aren't you in your uniform?

It got wet.

How did it get wet?

It was out in the garden, in the rain.

Why?

I was hiding.

From me?

Don't you remember you promised me that, if you ever got

into trouble of any sort you would come to me first?

Yes, Father.

Why didn't you come to me now? Why did

you have to go and hide in the garden?

I don't know.

Are you so frightened of me?

It says in this letter that

you stole a postal order.

Now, I don't want to say a word until

you've heard what I've got to say.

If you did it, you must tell me.

I shan't be angry with you, Ronnie...

...provided you tell me the truth.

But if you tell me a lie...

I shall know it...

because a lie between you

and me cannot be hidden.

I shall know it Ronnie...

...so remember that before you speak.

Did you steal this postal order?

No, father. I didn't.

Did you stole this postal order?

No, father. I didn't.

Go on back to bed.

In future, I trust that a son of mine will at least

show enough sense to come in out of the rain.

Yes, Father.

- Will you carve, dear, dear?

- Of course.

Forgive me for keeping you waiting.

- I'm Captain Flower.

- How do you do?

Won't you sit down?

Thank you.

I'm sorry you've given yourself the

trouble of coming down here at all.

As I told you on the telephone...

I'm afraid there is so very

little I can do to help you.

- There is so very little I want

to do, sir. - Anything, of course.

Take my boy back.

That, I'm afraid, is quite impossible.

The discipline here is very strict,

stricter than at a civilian school.

Of course, I can well understand

that you as the boy's father...

might think that stealing of five

shillings a very trifling of fence.

No sir, I do not.

- I beg your pardon?

- I consider it a very serious offense.

Anybody guilty of it should

be expelled forthwith.

I see. You believe you boy to be innocent?

No, sir.

I know my boy to be innocent.

Mr. Winslow...

I assure you the evidence is irrefutable.

All the same, I intend to refute it.

What is the evidence?

That I am not empowered

to tell you, I'm afraid.

Who is your superior officer?

I am directly responsible to the Lords

Commissioners of the Admiralty.

I see.

To any Lord in particular or

to all of their Lordships?

Well, that I can easily

find out for myself.

Goodbye, sir.

Thank you for your courtesy.

- Good night, sir.

- Good night, Violet.

- Hello, dear.

- Hello.

So, what's happened?

Nothing much.

What are you going to do?

In the words of our Prime Minister:

"Wait and see."

It think it's extremely droll, don't you?

Oh very. I remember Nelly

Farren and Fred Leslie.

That was before my time.

- Can I get you anything, darling? - No,

but you can help me with this, please.

- Good heavens, here's Desmond.

- Who?

Desmond Curry, the family solicitor.

Darling, be nice to him, won't you.

Why? Am I usually rude to your friends?

No, but he's been, sort of fond of

me for years. It's a family joke.

Hello, Desmond. This is the last place

in the world I'd expect to find you.

As a matter of fact it's our annual celebration

of our cricket club. I am the treasurer.

I don't think you've met John Watherstone.

- No. But I've heard a lot about you.

- How do you do?

I see from the Times I've got

to congratulate you both.

Thank you so much.

Of course it was expected,

but it was a shock to see it in cold print.

I hope you both will be very happy.

Thank you, Desmond.

- Are you any relation of the D.W.H. Curry who

used to play for Middlesex? - I am D.W.H Curry.

You are? You used to be a

schoolboy hero of mine.

Was I indeed.

D.W.H. Curry in person.

- I'd never have thought it.

- Very few people would now, I'm afraid.

Oh! Here's mother. Desmond, we'll

see you in the next interval.

- Of course.

- Good.

Hello, Desmond.

Do you know Colonel Watherstone?

- Mr. Curry.

- How do you do, sir?

Ah Desmond, just the man I want.

- I need your advice.

- Is it about those shares?

No, something more important.

I want to draft a letter to the Admiralty.

- Are you conversant, sir, with the facts of this case?

- Perfectly, I was briefed not half an hour ago.

What do you want us to do

about your son, Mr. Winslow?

Give him a fair trial.

A civil trial or a court martial?

Either, provided he is given the

opportunity to defend himself.

A Court Martial is out of the

question, on account of his age.

Then make it a civil trial.

Mr. Curry has assures me there's

a legal procedure by which...

There is no legal procedure by which a

servant of the King can sue the King.

- On the contrary, sir.

- I am not talking solicitors' shop, sir.

I'm talking facts.

Come, Mr. Winslow.

Be reasonable.

But don't you see?

If we allow your boy to sue us...

we should create a precedent.

A very dangerous precedent.

Dangerous to whom, sir?

To us, to the Navy, to the country.

No, sir. The service has its own laws

and we must abide by them.

And by no others.

I'm sorry, Mr. Winslow.

But we cannot allow you a civil trial.

Have you ever studied Magna Carta, sir?

Not very closely, I'm afraid. Have you?

Closely enough to know there's

a clause that states...

that no subject of the King may

be condemned without a trial.

My son, I presume, is a subject

of the King. Certainly

He has been sentenced without trial.

From the purely civilian

point of view, yes.

Well, from a purely civil point of

view, I am going to fight you sir!

And I'm going to win.

Good afternoon, sir.

Good afternoon, Mr. Winslow.

- I'm looking for Mr. Hamilton.

Yes, sir.

My name is Winslow. I have an appointment

with my member of parliament, Mr. Hamilton.

Yes, sir.

Mr. Hamilton is standing over there, sir.

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