Another notable case was that of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Churchill claimed, perhaps not directly discussing himself, that "a slight and not unpleasing stammer or impediment has been of some assistance in securing the attention of the audience..." However, those who knew Churchill and [http://www.utstat.utoronto.ca/sharp/Churchill.htm commented on his stutter believed that it was or had been a significant problem for him. His secretary Phyllis Moir commented that "Winston Churchill was born and grew up with a stutter" in her 1941 book "I was Winston Churchill's Private Secretary". She also noted about one incident, "'It’s s-s-simply s-s-splendid,' he stuttered—as he always did when excited." Louis J. Alber, who helped to arrange a lecture tour of the United States, wrote in Volume 55 of "The American Mercury" (1942) that "Churchill struggled to express his feelings but his stutter caught him in the throat and his face turned purple" and that "born with a stutter and a lisp, both caused in large measure by a defect in his palate, Churchill was at first seriously hampered in his public speaking. It is characteristic of the man’s perseverance that, despite his staggering handicap, he made himself one of the greatest orators of our time."