H.G. Wells and Winston Churchill first met in 1901. Churchill was a deep admirer of Well's fiction, and he eagerly pursued a friendship. The two enjoyed a spirited exchange of letters that went on for decades - although it seemed to have taken a hit in the Twenties when the two disagreed on the nascent USSR - but their friendship was not seriously shaken. In this 1940 article, Wells stepped up to tell American readers how fortunate Britons are to have such a man of discernment standing at the helm:
"I will confess I have never felt so disposed to stand by a man through thick and thin as I do now in regard to him. And I think that, in writing that, I write for a very great number of my fellow countrymen who have hitherto felt frustrated and fragmentary amidst the rush of events."
