Winston Churchill was born 30 November, 1874 in Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, England. These photos of Blenheim are from my 2008 visit:
Winston Churchill Notable Events:
1895: Enters the British Army and serves in Cuba, India, Sudan, and South Africa
1900: Elected as a Conservative MP in Oldham.
1904: Joins the Liberals. It was a calculated decision to switch party allegiance. He had issues with political alignment, personal dissatisfaction with key Conservative leaders, and considered the possibility of future ambition and opportunity. There was a favourable political tide, too, that chimed with Churchill. The gamble paid off, as he would go on to serve as a high profile minister in Liberal Cabinets over the next decade.
1910: Appointed Home Secretary during the Liberal government of H.H. Asquith between 1910-1911. During his time Churchill sought to improve conditions in prisons, reduce solitary confinement, and enhance education opportunities for prisoners. He drew some criticism for at times using the military to respond to labour protests and miners' strikes. But, he believed it necessary to prevent violence and disorder. In 1911 Churchill directly involved himself in coordinating security forces during the famous Sidney Street armed standoff in London's East End, bolstering his "action-man" reputation. He focused heavily on domestic security issues and strengthened overall coordination between London police and British troops. And we must not forget that Churchill oversaw the founding of the British domestic intelligence agency MI5 during his tenure at the Home Office.
In 1915 Churchill resigned from government and served in the WWI trenches in France. In 1916, when Churchill was over 40 years old, he decided he wanted to lead from the frontlines. So he joined the 2nd Battalion, Grenadier Guards as a lieutenant colonel. He often went out into "No Man's Land" on night patrols to watch the German lines, despite it being incredibly dangerous. It showed his courage and eagerness to inspire the men.
In May 1916 during the Battle of Verdun, he and his men came under shelling for over 2 hours, close enough to hear German voices from the opposing trench. He ended up with mud caked in his hair and whiskers when the shelling stopped!
Churchill had no illusions about the horrors of trench warfare. He wrote about seeing an exposed corpse slowly sinking into the mud and having to sleep near where a soldier had died. He called war "a crime against mankind" at this time.
1924: Rejoins Conservative Party.
Inter-War Year Quotes
During the inter-war years 1918-1939, Winston Churchill was very prolific. One has only to look at some of his most memorable and quotable quotes from that period to begin to grasp how involved he was in state affairs during this period:
"The era of procrastination, of half-measures, of soothing and baffling expedients, of delays is coming to its close. In its place we are entering a period of consequences." (1936) - urging military buildup.
"Dictators ride to and fro on tigers from which they dare not dismount. And the tigers are getting hungry." (1937) - on the rise of global totalitarian regimes.
"The story of the human race is war." (1938)
"I have always said that if Great Britain were defeated in war I hoped we should find a Hitler to lead us back to our rightful position among the nations." (1938) - on Churchill's initial openness to Hitler
"You were given the choice between war and dishonour. You chose dishonour and you will have war." (1938) - attacking the appeasement policy towards Hitler
"If we open a quarrel between the past and the present, we shall find that we have lost the future." (1938) - warning against persisting WWI grievances
"England has been offered a choice between war and shame. She has chosen shame, and will get war." (1938) - on the Munich Agreement with Hitler
"Democratic nations must arm themselves in order to avoid being dominated by dictatorships." (1938)
World War II Quotes
Some of Winston Churchill's best known quotations come from the period 1939-1945 during World War II:
“If Hitler invaded hell I would make at least a favourable reference to the devil in the House of Commons." (1941)
"I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat." (1940)
"We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender." (1940)
"Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves, that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, This was their finest hour." (1940)
"Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few." (1940) - referring to the RAF fighter pilots in the Battle of Britain
"An iron curtain has descended across the Continent." (1946) - His famous speech coined the term 'Iron Curtain' to describe Soviet domination of Eastern Europe.
"I have not become the King’s First Minister in order to preside over the liquidation of the British Empire." (1942)
"We are masters of the unsaid words, but slaves of those we let slip out." (1942) - reflecting on the power and responsibility of wartime leadership rhetoric.
1941: Signs Atlantic Charter with FDR, strengthening Anglo-American cooperation
1945: Loses election as Prime Minister shortly after Allied victory in Europe
1951: Elected Prime Minister again and serves another term
1953: Knighted by Queen Elizabeth II
1955: Resigns as Prime Minister due to failing health
Death: January 24, 1965 at the age of 90 in London, England. At the time of Churchill's state funeral, I remember that Mum and Dad had a TV placed in their shop so customers wouldn't miss anything while they were shopping. For the funeral procession, they loaded his coffin onto a boat and sailed it down the River Thames. Over 350 million people around the world tuned in to watch parts of the ceremony broadcast on TV. It really goes to show how beloved Churchill was globally for his wartime leadership, that so many would mourn his loss.
He apparently picked out the specific spot for his burial ahead of time - this little church cemetery at St Martin's Church in Bladon near Churchill's Blenheim ancestral home. Though he had lived this huge life on the world stage, in the end Churchill wanted to return quietly to his family roots in the English countryside. For such a towering historic figure, that final resting place seems so humble and down-to-earth. It's a reminder of his humanity, perhaps? Underneath it all, he was just a man who loved his country.
Recommended Reading
Churchill was quite a writer, himself. Based on popular reader ratings and reviews, these are often considered Winston Churchill's top 3 books:
The Second World War (6 volumes) Buy on Amazon
Published from 1948 to 1953, this epic 6-volume memoir details Churchill's experiences leading Britain through World War II - it's considered a definitive and deeply personal account of the war. The set is highly acclaimed for Churchill's perspective as both a statesman, military leader and gifted historian.
A History of the English-Speaking Peoples (4 volumes) Buy on Amazon
A sweeping 4-volume history starting with Roman Britain through the early 20th century - it reveals the depth of Churchill's passion for British history. Originally conceived in the 1930s, it was finally completed and published 1956-58 while Churchill was in his 80s. An influential popular history.
My Early Life: A Roving Commission Buy on Amazon
Published 1930 - Churchill's colourful, engaging and amusing memoir of his early adventures & exploits as a cavalry officer in India/Sudan, the Boer War, capture & prison escape, and entering politics. Provides great insight into his remarkable story and personality. Often cited as a uniquely written autobiography.
Other Highly Regarded Works:
The World Crisis (6 vols.) - WWI history
Marlborough: His Life and Times - his ancestor
Painting as a Pastime - essay collection
The Story of the Malakand Field Force - early memoirs
But those top 3 encapsulate the breadth of Churchill's talents - war leadership, history writing and self-reflection. His impact as an author matches his political career.
My Relationship to Sir Winston Churchill
It came to my attention that there was a family connection to Sir Winston Churchill through Family Search. Winston was my 12th cousin once removed. These details were taken from that website on 29/12/2023.
How many people sharing 12th cousin status might be living today ... ?
It's very hard to say how many people might share the same relationship, but here are some ballpark guesses:
Typical estimates are that everyone on Earth is at least a 50th cousin to anyone else. 12th cousins are well within this radius. There may be hundreds of thousands to a few million 12th cousins for most people based on general population statistics over centuries. But potentially more if your families tended to stay within small communities. The "once removed" adds even more possible connections.
Overall, while a very rough guess, it's reasonable to estimate you may have at least hundreds of thousands of 12th cousins once removed living today. Possibly into the couple million range depending on your family histories. But it's impossible to put an exact statistic on connections at that level.
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