Winston Churchill
On the 30th of November 1874, Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill was born at his family's ancestral home, Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire. His father, Lord Randolph Churchill, had been elected member of parliament for Woodstock just months earlier. His mother, Jennie Jerome, was the daughter of an American businessman named Leonard Jerome. The boy grew up with a brother named Jack and spent much of the 1880s under the care of a nanny named Elizabeth Everest. When she died in 1895, Churchill wrote that she had been his dearest friend during twenty years of his life.
Churchill began boarding school at St George's in Ascot, Berkshire, when he was seven years old. He struggled academically and displayed poor behavior throughout those early years. In 1884, he transferred to Brunswick School in Hove where his grades improved significantly. At age thirteen, he passed the entrance exam for Harrow School in April 1888. His father wanted him to prepare for a military career so his final three years were spent in the army form.
After two unsuccessful attempts to enter the Royal Military College at Sandhurst, Churchill succeeded in September 1893. He joined as a cadet in the cavalry regiment known as the 4th Queen's Own Hussars. By February 1895, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant based at Aldershot. Eager to witness actual combat, he used his mother's influence to secure a posting to a war zone.
In May 1904, Churchill crossed the floor to sit as a member of the Liberal Party after opposing the government's proposed Aliens Bill. This legislation aimed to curb Jewish immigration and he stated it would appeal to racial prejudice against foreigners. Two months earlier, the Oldham Conservative Association had informed him they would not support his candidacy due to his criticism of protectionist policies.
As a Liberal, Churchill attacked government policy and gained a reputation as a radical under the influences of John Morley and David Lloyd George. In December 1905, Prime Minister Henry Campbell-Bannerman called a general election which the Liberals won in a massive landslide. Churchill won the Manchester North West seat and published a biography of his father that received an advance payment of £8,000.
Churchill became Under-Secretary of State for the Colonial Office where he worked beneath Victor Bruce, 9th Earl of Elgin. He helped draft a constitution for the Transvaal and oversaw the formation of a government in the Orange River Colony. He announced a gradual phasing out of Chinese indentured laborers in South Africa because a sudden ban might damage the colony's economy.
Out of office during the so-called wilderness years in the 1930s, Churchill took the lead in calling for rearmament to counter the threat of militarism in Nazi Germany. After Hitler came to power in January 1933, Churchill was quick to recognize the menace of such a regime. He expressed alarm that the British government had reduced air force spending and warned that Germany would soon overtake Britain in production.
Armed with data provided clandestinely by senior civil servants Desmond Morton and Ralph Wigram, Churchill spoke with authority about developments in Germany. He delivered a radio broadcast in November 1934 denouncing the intolerance and militarism of Nazism in the House of Commons. While Churchill regarded Mussolini's regime as a bulwark against communist revolution, he opposed the Italian invasion of Ethiopia despite describing the country as primitive and uncivilized.
In February 1938, matters came to a head after Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden resigned over Chamberlain's appeasement of Mussolini. Churchill warned the government against this policy and called for collective action to deter German aggression. Following the Anschluss, he spoke in the House of Commons arguing for a mutual defense pact among European states threatened by expansion.
On the 10th of May 1940, German forces invaded Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands as a prelude to their assault on France. Since the division vote, Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain had been trying to form a coalition but Labour declared they would not serve under his leadership. The only two candidates were Churchill and Lord Halifax, the Foreign Secretary. Halifax admitted he could not govern effectively as a member of the House of Lords so Chamberlain advised the King to send for Churchill.
At the end of May, with the British Expeditionary Force retreating to Dunkirk, Halifax proposed exploring a peace settlement using Mussolini as an intermediary. Churchill's resolve was to fight on even if France capitulated. He succeeded as an orator despite being handicapped from childhood with a speech impediment known as a lateral lisp.
A combination of factors including curtailment of essential rice imports from Burma and poor administration led to the Bengal famine of 1943. An estimated 2.1 to 3.8 million people died during this disaster. From December 1942, food shortages had prompted senior officials to ask London for grain imports although colonial authorities failed to recognize the seriousness of the situation.
Churchill's government was criticized for refusing to approve more imports initially due to an acute shortage
of shipping. When the British realized the full extent of the famine in September 1943, Churchill ordered transportation of 130,000 tons of grain. The cabinet agreed to send 200,000 tons by the end of the year. During the last quarter of 1943, 100,000 tons of rice and 176,000 tons of wheat were imported compared to averages of 55,000 and 54,000 tons respectively earlier in the year.
In October 1944, Wavell complained to Churchill that vital problems of India were being treated with neglect even sometimes with hostility and contempt. Grain shipment requests continued to be turned down throughout 1944 as preparation for Operation Overlord placed greater demands on Allied shipping.
After the Conservatives' defeat in the 1945 general election, Churchill became Leader of the Opposition. Amid the developing Cold War with the Soviet Union, he publicly warned of an iron curtain of Soviet influence in Europe. He promoted European unity while his second term was preoccupied with foreign affairs especially Anglo-American relations and preservation of what remained of the British Empire.
Churchill wrote several books recounting his experience during the war including Marlborough: His Life
and Times which sold well between 1933 and 1938. In 1953, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for his historical writings and speeches. He lost the 1950 election but was returned to office in 1951.
His second term focused heavily on housebuilding programs domestically and foreign affairs internationally. In declining health, Churchill resigned in 1955 remaining an MP until 1964. Upon his death on the 24th of January 1965, he was given a state funeral at St Paul's Cathedral. One of the 20th century's most significant figures, Churchill remains popular in the UK as a victorious wartime leader.
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Common questions
When and where was Winston Churchill born?
Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill was born on the 30th of November 1874 at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire. His father Lord Randolph Churchill had been elected member of parliament for Woodstock just months earlier.
What military regiment did Winston Churchill join after passing the Royal Military College entrance exam?
Churchill joined as a cadet in the cavalry regiment known as the 4th Queen's Own Hussars in September 1893. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant based at Aldershot by February 1895.
Why did Winston Churchill cross the floor to sit with the Liberal Party in May 1904?
Churchill crossed the floor to oppose the government's proposed Aliens Bill which aimed to curb Jewish immigration. He stated that this legislation would appeal to racial prejudice against foreigners.
How many tons of grain did Winston Churchill order to be transported during the Bengal famine of 1943?
Churchill ordered the transportation of 130,000 tons of grain when the British realized the full extent of the famine in September 1943. The cabinet agreed to send 200,000 tons by the end of the year.
When and where did Winston Churchill die and what funeral did he receive?
Winston Churchill died on the 24th of January 1965 after remaining an MP until 1964. He was given a state funeral at St Paul's Cathedral upon his death.