Killing with Kindness: The Story of Churchill's Polite Declaration of War

A Day of Infamy, A Diplomat's Absence

December 7th, 1941. The date lives in infamy not just for the United States, but for the entire Allied world. As news of the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, along with simultaneous Japanese attacks on British territories in Malaya and Hong Kong, reached London, the path forward was clear: Britain was now at war with the Empire of Japan. However, there was a procedural hiccup. The man who would normally handle such a grave diplomatic task, Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden, was completely unreachable. He was aboard the cruiser HMS Kent, steaming through the stormy Barents Sea on a critical mission to meet with Stalin in Moscow. In an age before satellite phones, he was utterly incommunicado.

The Prime Minister's Pen

With no time to waste and no Foreign Secretary to delegate to, Prime Minister Winston Churchill took matters into his own hands. Rather than a lengthy, legalistic document, Churchill opted for a short, direct, and strikingly personal letter addressed to the Japanese Ambassador. The note was a masterclass in formal, yet devastatingly clear, diplomatic language. After outlining the unprovoked acts of aggression, Churchill concluded the declaration of war with a closing that would become legendary for its sheer, understated gravity:

I have the honour to be, with high consideration,
Sir,
Your obedient servant,
Winston S. Churchill

It was a declaration of total war signed off with the politeness of a business letter. By contrast, the United States' declaration, delivered the next day, was a more formal resolution of Congress, a legal act of state rather than a personal note from one leader to another's representative. Churchill's approach was a product of a different time and a uniquely British sensibility.

'It Costs Nothing to Be Polite'

The style of the letter was not without its critics. Some felt its ceremonial tone was inappropriate for such a brutal moment in history. Churchill, however, was resolute in his defense of the approach. In his memoirs, he reflected on the decision with a now-famous piece of pragmatic wisdom:

Some people did not like this ceremonial style. But after all when you have to kill a man it costs nothing to be polite.

This single sentence encapsulates a worldview where decorum and duty are not mutually exclusive. For Churchill, maintaining the high formalities of diplomatic tradition, even at the point of breaking them entirely, was a way of asserting civilization in the face of barbarism. It was a demonstration that even in the act of war, Britain would not abandon its principles of conduct. It was a final, formal bow before the duel commenced.

Today, the story of Churchill's letter continues to fascinate, often shared as a quintessential example of the British "stiff upper lip." It represents a moment when the immense, impersonal machinery of global conflict was distilled into the simple, dignified, and deadly polite words of a single man.

Sources

• Wikipedia: British declaration of war on Japan
• International Churchill Society: Churchill Declares War on Japan
• UK Parliament Archives: Parliaments and the outbreak of war, 1939 and 1941