Sir Winston Churchill(full name: Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill) born November 30, 1874. His birthplace was Blenheim Palace, the family estate of the Dukes of Marlborough.
Read a short biography of the greatest Briton in history in this article. The title of “greatest Briton in history” was awarded to Winston Churchill by the BBC after conducting a survey in 2002.
Parents
Winston's father- Lord Randolph Henry Churchill. He was the third son of the seventh Duke of Marlborough. Churchill Sr. was a politician and served as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Mother– Lady Randolph Churchill is the daughter of a wealthy businessman from America.
From childhood, Winston Churchill grew up in an atmosphere of luxury and nobility. At the same time, he did not receive special care from his parents. His character was typical of a Briton - arrogant, proud, ironic. The most striking trait is stubbornness.
Studies
Churchill's stubbornness greatly influenced his life. When he studied, he chose only those subjects that he liked. The rest were simply ignored. Favorite items that stood out were: literature and English.
Winston had big gaps in subjects such as botany, chemistry and mathematics. When he failed the entrance exams to the Royal College twice, he resigned himself and took up his unloved subjects in order to go to study and become a military man. The third time he succeeded.
Military career
Winston Churchill graduated from the Royal College in 1895 and was one of the best among graduates. He received the rank of junior lieutenant.
According to the distribution, he was enrolled in 4th Royal Hussars. He received his first baptism by fire in Cuba, although he served there as a war correspondent. It was in Cuba that two habits were instilled in him that accompanied him throughout his entire life: relaxing after lunch and smoking a cigar.
In 1899, Churchill travels to South Africa. At that time the Anglo-Boer War was going on there. During one of the battles the enemy captured many prisoners, Churchill was among them. However, stubbornness and an incredible desire to live in freedom forced Winston to find a way to escape from captivity and get to his home completely exhausted.
Beginning of a political career
The escape from captivity made Winston Churchill a national hero in his homeland and opened up a new path for him - the career of a politician. He was offered to become candidate for parliament.
In 1900 He was elected from the Conservative Party to Parliament. However, he subsequently switched sides to the liberals and joined the government.
Beginning since 1908, he held various government positions: Minister of Commerce, Transport, Aviation, Minister of Navy and Minister of War. He was one of the supporters of intervention against the Soviet Union and dreamed “strangle Bolshevism in its cradle”.
Winston Churchill during World War II
Churchill was among the first to predict the possibility of dire consequences from Hitler's regime. At that time, the Prime Minister of England was Chamberlain, who believed that the outbreak of war in Europe would not affect Great Britain in any way.
However, already on the 3rd day after the start of the war - September 3, 1939– Great Britain officially joined the anti-Hitler coalition.
During this period, Winston Churchill headed the government, becoming Prime Minister, and called on everyone for the war to the bitter end! He was determined, called on the British to wage an active war against Nazi Germany, and supported the Soviet people in this fight.
Winston Churchill was a participant in three important conferences of the 20th century: Tehran - in 1943; Potsdam and Yalta - in 1945, on which the fate of Germany was decided after the defeat in World War II, as well as the fate of all of Europe and the rest of the world.
End of political career
After the end of the war, Winston Churchill is defeated in the elections. However, a few years later he appears again on the political platform and calls on the public and authorities to fight communism.
During the Cold War - in 1951 - he becomes prime minister for the last time United Kingdom, and in 1955 completely ends his political career.
After completing his career as a politician and statesman, Winston Churchill began painting and writing books. Throughout his life he wrote about 500 paintings! And in 1953 he became Nobel laureate on literature.
Winston Churchill died of a stroke at the age of 90 - January 24, 1965. A state funeral was held in his honor - a great honor for a person in England who does not bear the royal surname. Churchill's grave is in the churchyard of St Martin's Church, Blaydon.
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill (1874-1965)
Winston Churchill is one of the most prominent public figures of the 20th century, who became famous in the political and military fields.
His strength was courage and individualism, and his characteristic habit of smoking cigars became an integral part of his image.
“Seeing the path forward is one thing, walking along it is quite another.” .
Childhood
Biographies of Churchill mention that he did not do particularly well in primary school. Young Winston did not particularly respect traditions, and did not consider it necessary to study well. In addition, like any child, he wanted to receive the love and attention of his family, and his parents had their own interests - his father had a career, and his mother led a social life.
Winston is 7 years old It is possible that bad grades and not exemplary behavior were also a way to attract attention. Young Churchill was clearly not a fool.
From childhood, the boy’s individualism and perseverance manifested itself - he studied only those subjects that were interesting to him - he was mainly interested in military history. He defined his attitude towards learning as follows:
“I’m always happy to learn, but I don’t always enjoy being taught.”
Like his father, he strived to be worthy of his ancestors. And despite the skepticism of his father, who believed that with low academic performance nothing good would come of his son, it turned out differently.
Inspired by the history of his ancestor, the Duke of Marlborough, recognized as a great English commander, Winston also dreamed of a military career.
But I didn't just dream. He played polo well, stood in the saddle, was an excellent fencer - he was the best in school. His childhood collection included one and a half thousand tin soldiers. And this is also a manifestation of ambition. He had an excellent memory - he could easily memorize large chunks of text, which later helped him make a brilliant parliamentary career.
Time of war
Whether Churchill had a premonition of future events or whether it was fate, his career included two world wars, plus constant conflicts in the colonies of Great Britain. The empire gradually collapsed. And although at the moment when he left the Royal Military School at Sandhurst with the rank of junior lieutenant, his country was not at war, Churchill did not become sad or wait for a happy occasion, but found a suitable conflict in Cuba, where Spain fought against the rebels.
Using family connections, he organized a trip to the Caribbean and agreed with the English newspaper Daily Graphic that he would report from there. The first journalistic experience was successful, some articles were reprinted in The New York Times, the English publisher paid a good fee, and the Spanish government even awarded Winston a Red Cross medal.
At 34, Churchill became Minister of Trade, and at 35 -
Minister of the Interior
Cuban passion
The Cuban voyage forever connected Churchill with his inseparable love - Cuban cigars. Favorite brands include Romeo y Julieta, Camacho and the now defunct La aroma de Cuba. It is said that he smoked 10 to 20 cigars a day. And despite the fact that he suffered from serious pneumonia as a child, his habit did not have too much of an impact on his health. Churchill gave up smoking only after he turned 70 years old.
Smoking cigars, which became a habit for him, was carried out by Churchill in a special way. He collected guillotines for cutting cigars, but rarely used them, preferring to pierce the cigar with special wooden sticks, which were delivered from Canada. While at home, he often lit a cigar from a candle. And the special ashtray that Winston constantly carried with him was his inseparable talisman.
Churchill plunged headlong into any activity and lived to the fullest. He said:
“My tastes are extremely simple. I am easily satisfied with the best!”
The best Scotch whiskey, the best French skates, thanks to his acquaintance with Stalin, the Armenian fifty-degree cognac “Dvin” also appeared on his personal “wine list”. A box of Armenian goods was regularly sent to him from the USSR on Stalin’s personal orders, regardless of the political situation.
From captivity to parliament
Churchill found the shortest path to success in politics during his voyage to Cuba.
War and journalism, when skillfully combined, not only brought fame, but also a good income. After Cuba, he participates in several more military colonial campaigns, and in South Africa he is captured, from where he manages to escape. He returned to his homeland as a hero. The writer's talent completed the job. And Churchill easily wins the parliamentary elections - at the age of 26, becoming the youngest member of the House of Commons.
In parliament, he spent hours perfecting each of his speeches. A speech defect that had persisted from childhood—he could not pronounce the letter “C”—required special effort and training from him. Like the famous ancient Greek orator Demosthenes, who as a child could not pronounce the letter “R”.
Churchill first wrote a speech and then memorized it, since his excellent memory allowed him to do this. And these efforts paid off handsomely. Over time, he honed his oratory to perfection, as well as his other talents. He also did not learn to write well right away.
Churchill's individuality and straightforwardness were immediately evident in politics. Having received a seat in parliament from the Conservative Party, he does not deny himself the pleasure of criticizing the cabinet formed by his own party.
And after four years of parliamentary activity, he transferred to the party to the liberals, who by that time enjoyed great political influence and were actively pushing through reforms. He quickly wins a ministerial portfolio from the liberals.
Neither tradition nor ethics prevented Churchill from changing his orientation again 20 years later and returning to the Conservatives. He changed the party in accordance with the logic of the moment. What allowed one to satisfy one’s ambitions was ethical.
He himself said this: “Whoever is not a socialist at twenty years old has no heart, and he who is still a socialist at forty has no mind.” History agreed with this logic.
Churchill at his easel. 1948 France Dark streaks
What makes a great person great is not only victories, but also failures. And Churchill had quite a few of them. But he also managed to benefit from failures.
When he was overtaken by the “black dogs,” as he himself called depression, Churchill found a remedy that each time revealed a new, unique facet of his personality. Thanks to these dark streaks, dozens of books came from his pen. And in 1953 he received the Nobel Prize for Literature.
After the tragic failure of the Dardanelles operation in 1915, which was initiated by Churchill, he was forced to resign as First Lord of the Admiralty. To escape from his worries, at the age of 40 he became interested in painting. And over the following years he managed to paint about 500 canvases. Critics recognized that his work was undoubtedly talented. And if he had chosen this path in his youth, who knows, perhaps he would have left a mark on history as a talented painter.
Forced to while away the time at his home on the Chartwell estate, Churchill was engaged in landscape design, construction, and often cooked himself. Apparently, he was attracted to the life of a landowner. He raised geese, cows and pigs. Black swans and exotic fish swam in the pond.
In 1949, when Winston was already 75, he became interested in breeding racehorses. And he also succeeded. Over a fifteen-year career as a horse breeder, his horses will win over seventy victories at a variety of tournaments in Ireland, Austria, France, the USA and Great Britain.
He watched his favorite film “Lady Hamilton” dozens of times, simply because he liked this film the most.
We know a significant amount of information about Churchill from records, books, and the biography of Churchill himself. He even controlled his own memory and sought to create his own history. But what he created became not only his story...
“Courage is the first of human qualities, for it makes all the others possible.”
Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, 1874-1965 (eng. Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill), born November 30, 1874, was a British statesman and politician, Prime Minister of Great Britain in 1940-1945 and 1951-1955; military man, journalist, writer, honorary member of the British Academy (1952), Nobel Prize laureate in literature (1953).
English statesman, speaker and writer, Prime Minister of Great Britain in 1940-1945 and 1951-1955, one of the members of the “Big Three”, largely thanks to whom the modern world is what it is.
Churchill's father is Lord Randolph Spencer-Churchill and Lady Randolph Churchill, née Jennie Jerome ( Jennie Jerome).
Winston Churchill went down in British history as the most prominent English politician of the 20th century, who was in power during the reign of six monarchs - starting with Queen Victoria and ending with her great-great-granddaughter Elizabeth II. He managed to take part in the battles in Sudan, and was present during the testing of the atomic bomb, which became the main threat of the post-war world. With his invariable bowler hat and cane, Churchill was an excellent diplomat, artist and even a gardener in his garden at Chartwell. His paintings were periodically exhibited at the Royal Academy, and in 1958 there was a personal exhibition of the work of Sir Winston Churchill. Churchill was wonderful, one of the best orators of his time.
Blenheim Palace
It was he who coined the term “Iron Curtain,” which became a capacious description of the post-war political situation. Churchill was one of the wittiest men of his time. Lady Astor once told him: “If I had to marry you, I would give you poison,” to which Churchill replied: “If I were your husband, I would take this poison.” Winston Churchill's military career began shortly after graduating with honors from Sandhurst. In March 1895 he was commissioned into the Fourth (Her Majesty's) Hussars as a lieutenant, assigned to Hampshire.
After serving in Cuba, Churchill was transferred to India, from where he arrived in Egypt in 1898, where he participated in the famous cavalry action in Omdurman, not only as a military man, but also as a journalist.
In 1897, as a war correspondent for the London Daily Telegraph, Churchill joined General Blood's expedition to the Strait of Malakand. In the same status, Churchill took part in the initial stage of the Boer War in South Africa.
There, on November 15, 1899, Churchill was captured by Louis Botha, the future first prime minister of the Union of South Africa and a close friend of Churchill.
After his release from captivity, Churchill spent some time in the United States, where he gave lectures, and with the money he received, he began his own political career in his homeland. The start in 1898 was unsuccessful. Only two years later he became a Conservative Member of Parliament for Lancashire. However, the next three years in politics revealed significant contradictions between Churchill and the policies of the Tories, led by Joseph Chamberlain.
Therefore, in 1904, Churchill took part in the elections to the House of Commons from the Liberal Party.
After the victory of the Liberals, Churchill began to receive offers to participate in the Cabinet. At first he was offered to head the ministry dealing with colonial affairs, then to become the Queen's Privy Advisor.
When Henry Asquith became prime minister in 1908, Churchill chaired the Council on Domestic Trade and Home Affairs. In these posts, Churchill implemented programs such as old-age pensions, health insurance and employment.
In 1911, Winston Churchill became First Lord of the Admiralty, leading the British Navy in World War I. In principle, this did not require enormous strategic talents from Churchill, since the well-armed fleet, which had switched from coal to liquid fuel, did not meet a worthy opponent in German ships.
Churchill's main achievement in those years was the creation of the British Royal Air Force. However, after the unsuccessful RAF operation in the Dardanelles, Churchill was subjected to severe criticism and resigned in 1916. He went to the front with the rank of lieutenant general, commanding the 6th Regiment of the Royal Fusiliers. However, Prime Minister Lloyd George soon recalled him from the front, appointing him head of the Ministry of Military Reserves of the country.
At the end of World War I, Churchill, as Secretary of State for Military Affairs, carried out a number of reforms in 1918-21. Dealing with the issue of British colonies in 1921-22, he was directly involved in the creation of some Arab states and in resolving the issue of creating a Jewish state in the Middle East (within the framework of the mandate granted by the League of Nations to Britain to govern Palestine). Over the years, Churchill's political leanings became strongly anti-socialist, yet he supported the pro-Labor platform of the Liberal Party. His proposal to use troops against the Bolsheviks in the Soviet Union led to a cooling of relations with Lloyd George, who appointed Robert Horn as Lord Treasurer, bypassing Churchill. However, in 1923, Churchill returned to the fold of the Conservative Party, after which his immediate appointment to this post followed.
In the 1930s, Winston Churchill was out of politics, but in September 1939, with the outbreak of World War II, under pressure from public opinion, he was again appointed First Lord of the Admiralty. Chamberlain's resignation in May 1940 as Prime Minister of Great Britain brought Churchill to this position. In his first speech as prime minister in the House of Commons, which took place immediately after France’s surrender to Nazi Germany, Churchill made it clear that Great Britain was not going to compromise: “You ask, what is our goal? My answer is simple - Victory - victory at any cost, victory over terror, victory, no matter how long and difficult it may be.” For Churchill there was not even the possibility of negotiations with Hitler.
Until the United States entered the war, Churchill intended to fight alone. The basis of his strategy was the bombing of Germany and the concentration of forces in the Mediterranean and the Middle East. Both of these positions were supported by the United States after the Japanese bombing of their military base at Pearl Harbor.
Churchill needed American help - both economic and military. The Lend-Lease program greatly supported Britain, but total American control of the British economy deprived Britain of any economic independence during the war. Nevertheless, Churchill relied on close cooperation, on the US alliance, “the closest in history.” This cooperation was confirmed by the Atlantic Charter in August 1941. Later, the USSR joined this alliance, completing the creation of the Big Three. At the end of the war, the close relations of the allied countries in the anti-Hitler coalition came to naught. Moreover, it was Churchill who coined the term “Iron Curtain”.
After the surrender of Germany, England began to prepare for elections. Passed in July 1945. Labor won and Churchill resigned. For six years he was the leader of the opposition, urging European leaders not to succumb to Soviet influence.
In 1951, Churchill returned to 10 Downing Street, the official residence of the British Prime Minister. In this status, he pursued a policy of supporting NATO and the European Union. Churchill did not forget about the social sphere, passing through parliament such laws as the nationalization of railways, the Bank of England, etc.
In 1953, Winston Churchill received a knighthood and the Nobel Prize for Literature, and ten years later he became an honorary US citizen.
In 1955, Churchill retired from big politics, living in peace for ten years. On January 24, 1965, the greatest man of the century passed away. Winston Churchill was buried in his home county of Oxfordshire.
Death
Churchill died on January 24, 1965. By order of the queen, he was given a high state farewell in the Cathedral of St. Pavel. In accordance with the wishes of the politician, he was buried in the cemetery in Blaydon, near Blenheim Palace. The funeral ceremony took place according to a script written in advance by Churchill himself.
Awards
Great Britain
Indian medal with bar "Punjab Frontier 1897-98" (10 December 1898)
Royal Sudanese Medal 1896-1898 (27 March 1899)
Royal South African Medal 1899-1902 with "Diamond Hill", "Johannesburg", "Relief of Ladysmith", "Orange Free State", "Tugela Heights", "Cape Colony" bars (15 July 1901)
Star 1914-1915 (October 10, 1919)
British War Medal 1914-1918 (13 October 1919)
Victory Medal (4 June 1920)
Order of the Knights of Honor (October 19, 1922, dedicated June 16, 1923)
Territorial Insignia (King George V, 31 October 1924)
King George V Silver Jubilee Medal (1935)
King George VI Coronation Medal (1937)
Italian Star (2 August 1945)
Star 1939-1945 (October 9, 1945)
African Star (October 9, 1945)
French and German Star (9 October 1945)
Defense Medal 1939-1945 (9 October 1945)
Order of Merit (January 1, 1946, dedicated January 8, 1946)
War Medal 1939-1945 (December 11, 1946)
Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal (1953)
Knight of the Order of the Garter (24 April 1953, dedicated 14 June 1954)
Foreign
Order of Military Merit, 1st class with red ribbon (Spain, 6 December 1895, approved 25 January 1896)
Sudanese Khedive Medal with “Khartoum” bar (Egypt, 1899)
Medal of the Cuban Campaign 1895-1898 (Spain, 1914)
Army Distinguished Service Medal (USA, May 10, 1919, awarded July 16, 1919)
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold I (Belgium, 15 November 1945)
Military Cross 1939-1945 with palm branch (Belgium, 15 November 1945)
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Netherlands Lion (Netherlands, May 1946)
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Oak Crown (Luxembourg, 14 July 1946)
War Medal 1940-1945 (Luxembourg, 14 July 1946)
Military Medal (France, 8 May 1947)
Military Cross 1939-1945 with palm branch (France, 8 May 1947)
Knight Grand Cross on the Chain of the Order of St. Olaf (Norway, 11 May 1948)
Medal of Freedom (Denmark, 10 September 1946)
Knight of the Order of the Elephant (Denmark, 9 October 1950)
Companion of the Order of Liberation (France, 18 June 1958)
Order of the Star of Nepal, 1st class (Nepal, June 29, 1961)
large ribbon of the Order of Said Muhammad bin Ali el Senussi (Libya, April 14, 1962)
honorary citizen of the United States of America (1963, decision of the US Congress)
Congressional Gold Medal (1969, USA).
Churchill Winston (1874-1965)
English statesman, speaker and writer, Prime Minister of Great Britain. Born at Blenheim Palace, the family estate of the aristocratic Marlborough family, located near Woodstock (Oxfordshire), in the family of Lord Randolph Churchill.
Winston Churchill received his first official education at one of the oldest male private schools in England, Harrow School, where he was sent at the age of 12. In 1893 he entered Sandhurst Royal Military College. In October 1896 went to serve in Bangalore (South India), as part of the vanguard detachment of the Malakand Field Army, he took part in suppressing the Pashtun uprising in North-West India. In 1898, Winston Churchill's first book, “The History of the Malakand Armed Forces,” was published, bringing the author success and a substantial fee. As a war correspondent for the Morning Post newspaper, he sought a transfer to Egypt to a British military unit formed to suppress the rebellion in Sudan, which he later described in the two-volume River War.
In 1899, Churchill decided to leave military service and stand as a candidate for parliament. Speaking for the Conservative Party, he lost his first election and, as a war correspondent for the Morning Post newspaper, headed to South Africa, where the Boer War began in October 1899. Ibid November 15, 1899 Churchill was captured by Louis Botha, the future first prime minister of the Union of South Africa and a close friend of Churchill. After his release from captivity, Churchill spent some time in the United States, where he lectured, and with the money he received he began his own political career in his homeland.
In 1900 he became a Conservative Member of Parliament for Lancashire. In the spring of 1908, while participating in an election campaign in the Scottish city of Dundee, he met Clementine Hozier, the daughter of a retired army officer and granddaughter of Countess Earley. On September 12 of the same year they got married. Churchill called his family life “cloudless and happy.” The Churchills had five children: a son, Randolph, and four daughters, Diana, Sarah, Marigold and Mary.
In 1911, Churchill became First Lord of the Admiralty, leading the British Navy in the First World War. His main achievement in those years was the creation of the Royal British Air Force. In January 1919, Winston Churchill was appointed Minister of War and Minister of Aviation; in 1921 - Minister for Colonial Affairs. In the 20-30s he worked in the government and parliament in various positions, and was engaged in painting.
Two days after the outbreak of the Second World War, on September 3, 1939, Prime Minister Chamberlain returned Winston Churchill to the post he had held during the First World War - Secretary of the Navy. Churchill's appointment to this post was greeted with delight by all British people. On May 11, 1940, after the resignation of the Chamberlain government, 65-year-old Winston Churchill became Prime Minister of Great Britain for the first time. In July 1941, his government signed an agreement with the USSR on joint actions against Nazi Germany. In August 1941, Churchill and US President Franklin Roosevelt met and the Atlantic Charter was signed. Later, the USSR joined this alliance, completing the creation of the Big Three. At the end of the war, the close relations of the allied countries in the anti-Hitler coalition came to naught. Moreover, it was Churchill who coined the term “Iron Curtain”.
The Labor Party won the parliamentary elections in July 1945, and Churchill's government resigned. In 1951 The Conservatives return to power and 77-year-old Winston Churchill is reappointed as Prime Minister. In April 1953, he received the Order of the Garter from the hands of Queen Elizabeth of England - Britain's highest award - and was awarded a knighthood, becoming Sir Winston Churchill. That same year, Winston Churchill was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, awarded "for excellence in history and biography and for excellence in oratory."
In April 1955, 80-year-old Churchill retired and devoted a lot of time to painting and literary creativity: his four-volume History of the English-Speaking Peoples was published.
Winston Churchill
(Born 1874 – died 1965)
Prime Minister of Great Britain 1940–1945, 1951–1955 One of the initiators of the Cold War. Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1953. Recipient of one of the most prestigious awards in Great Britain - the Golden Star of Chesney, the French Order of Liberation. Honorary American Citizen.
The man who won two world wars, the founder of European integration, politician, military leader and historian, journalist, writer and inventor - this was Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill, the third son of the seventh Duke of Marlborough, the talented politician Lord Randolph Churchill.
The mother of the future politician Jenny Jerome was the daughter of a major entrepreneur from New York and was known as one of the most beautiful and brilliant social women in Great Britain. In Churchill’s own words, “she was a princess, a fairy. She sparkled and radiated light like a star.”
Winston's parents devoted a lot of time to social pleasures. They passionately loved horse riding and never missed a single ball. The boy was born at seven months old during one of these balls on November 30, 1874, in the changing room.
By all indications, Winnie—that’s what his parents called his son—could not count on a brilliant career. He studied poorly in all aristocratic schools, not wanting to study ancient languages, mathematics and philosophy. His favorite pastime was playing with toy soldiers, with whom he played out entire battles. The British always won them.
In 1887, the future hero entered a privileged educational institution in Harrow. This was a violation of family traditions. After all, all the Churchills studied at Eton. Here he was faced with constant reproaches from teachers for phenomenal negligence, tardiness and loss of books.
A year later, knowing about his son’s passion for soldiers, his father decided to send him to the famous military school at Sandhurst. In his opinion, Winston was not capable of anything else. But just before admission, the young tomboy managed to fall from a tree and receive a severe concussion. He lay unconscious for three days, then motionless for three months, and finally recovered only a year later. On the third try, young Churchill still entered the school.
Years passed. In 1894, the young man first fell in love with the famous actress Mabel Love. He was looking for a serious relationship and wanted to get married. She wrote him affectionate letters, but that was all. Three years later, already in India, Churchill Jr. fell head over heels in love with the daughter of a high-ranking official, Pamela Plowden. However, the girl rejected him and got married. Despite his mad love, Winston soon consoled himself and bestowed his attention on the American actress Ethel Barrymore. However, despite her sympathy for the young man, she did not dare to marry him. The heiress of a wealthy shipowner, Muriel Wilson, did the same.
In 1895, Winston suffered great grief. His father and nanny died. He became the head of one of the Churchill branches and immediately faced serious problems. The parents squandered their entire fortune. At the same time, the mother continued to spend money thoughtlessly, reproaching her son for wastefulness.
That same year, the future prime minister graduated 20th in academic performance among 130 students and was appointed to the 4th Hussars, one of the most brilliant in the British army. He passionately wanted to take part in hostilities. Therefore, when the war began in Cuba, Winston, through his father’s influential friends, secured a business trip to the island. He was tasked with checking the ammunition of the Spanish troops fighting in Cuba. In addition, he had to send articles to the London Daily Graphic newspaper. From this trip, Winston developed a passion for cigars, which many years later would become an integral part of the image of the famous politician. Here, in Cuba, he received his baptism of fire. The bullet slightly grazed his head and killed the horse standing nearby.
Returning from the island, Winston was assigned to India. However, upon landing in Bombay, he dislocated his shoulder and had limited use of his right arm for the rest of his life. This did not, however, stop the young man from being passionate about polo and even winning victories in competitions between regiments.
Churchill returned to India in 1897 as a correspondent for the Daily Telegraph and the Indian newspaper Pioneer to cover the war against the Pathan and Afridi tribes of Afghanistan who were resisting the British invasion. He described this campaign in the book “The Malakand Field Army” and received some fame.
In the same year, Churchill’s first political speech took place, as he aspired to become a member of parliament. The Conservative Party needed good speakers, and one of the relatives suggested that Winston try his hand at a Conservative meeting in Bath. The speech was well received, and the Morning Post reported on the “arrival of a new figure on the political scene.”
However, military adventures attracted Winston much more. In 1898 he went to Sudan to take part in the campaign against the Islamic army of the Mahdi. In September, at the head of a detachment of lancers, he fought with 12 dervishes and put them to flight. Five fell by his hand. He later described this attack in the book “River War”, the circulation of which sold out instantly. In the same year, as a correspondent for the Morning Post, Churchill went to South Africa, where there was a war between the British and the Boers. He was eager to take part in battles and even obtained a volunteer certificate. His luggage included 18 bottles of old whiskey and the same amount of Saint-Emilion wine.
Two weeks later, Winston was captured and miraculously escaped, hiding among bales of wool and provisions that were heading to East Africa. Two days later he safely left Boer territory and ended up in Mozambique. The young correspondent returned to England as a hero.
In 1900, Churchill was first elected to parliament from the Conservative Party in Oldheim and after that he did not leave the political arena for several decades. In December 1905, he became Colonial Secretary in the government of the Liberal Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman. After the elections in January 1906, he took the post of Deputy Minister of Colonies, and in April of the same year he joined the personal council of Edward VII.
In 1908, Winston was appointed to the post of Secretary of Commerce, where he acted extremely energetically. Under him, a law was passed that eased the working conditions of those involved in hard work in trade. It is known that at this time he was concerned about the problems of unemployment and achieved the adoption of laws on the creation of a labor exchange. Stories portraying Churchill as an enemy of the working class tend to be based on rumor and exaggeration. For example, he was accused of sending troops into a small mining town in Wales on November 10, 1910, with orders to open fire on strikers who were looting shops. In fact, Churchill recalled the soldiers brought in by local authorities and called in police from London, who dispersed the crowd without firing a shot.
In 1908, Winston finally managed to find a worthy wife. His chosen one was the daughter of his mother’s closest friend, Clementine Hozier. On August 15, 1908, the young people got married. The marriage turned out to be happy. They lived together for 3 years. An intelligent, beautiful, educated woman was able to tame the unbridled and self-centered character of her husband. When giving advice to young girls, she liked to repeat: “Never force your husband to agree with you. You will achieve more if you calmly stick to your beliefs.” As a result, Winston often consulted with his wife about his political moves. However, he was an exemplary family man and did not cheat on his wife. Politics always interested Churchill more than women. Clementine had nothing to complain about except her husband’s addiction to Armenian cognac. They had three daughters and a son, with whom the prime minister loved to tinker. He also loved household chores: he built a brick fence and a small cottage, made a heated swimming pool, raised fish in a pond, and was fond of pig farming.
In October 1911, Churchill received an appointment to the post he had long dreamed of. He became First Lord of the Admiralty, i.e. Minister of the Navy. In this role, he sought to modernize the army through the creation of an air force operating at sea and on land.
In 1917, when the Bolsheviks came to power in Russia, Churchill became one of the most ardent haters of their regime. Regarding Lenin’s return to Russia through Germany, he said that “the brave Russian heart was defeated with the help of German money.” And when in March 1919 Lloyd George's government decided to withdraw British troops from Russia, he protested. Winston did not want to give in to “Lenin and his gang” and supported the White Guards with manic persistence.
Churchill's finest hour came in the 40s. This was preceded by a number of important political events. The House of Commons passed a vote of no confidence in the cabinet of Neville Chamberlain, who signed the Munich Pact in 1938, which allowed Germany to annex Czechoslovakia. The short-sighted prime minister believed that this would ensure peace for Great Britain. However, a year later, when Poland was occupied and World War II began, it became clear what to expect from Hitler. Britain was at that time the only country really opposing the power of the Reich, and on September 3, 1939, declared war on Germany. Churchill was reappointed First Lord of the Admiralty.
In this post, he quickly gained popularity among his fellow citizens thanks to several successful military operations at sea, in particular a well-organized attack on the German ship Altmark, hiding in the Norwegian fjords. On board there were about three hundred English prisoners, who were safely released.
After the failure of the military operation in Norway, the cabinet of ministers headed by Chamberlain was forced to finally resign. King George VI understood that Churchill was better than anyone else capable of leading the country in a moment of terrible danger. He summoned him to Buckingham Palace and appointed him prime minister on May 10, 1940.
In his first speech in his new post, Churchill said: “I have nothing to offer you except blood, sweat and tears. You ask: what is our goal? I will answer in one word - victory! Victory at any cost, victory no matter what, victory no matter how long and difficult the path to it may be. Without her we cannot survive... without her there will be no British Empire and all that it represents. If we do not win, we will have to say goodbye to our way of life... I have now been given the right to demand help from all of you, and I tell you: come, everyone, and together we will go to victory.”
Soon bombs began to fall on English cities, turning them into piles of smoking ruins. No wonder Dover, where the raids began, was called “Hellish Mess.” But the Royal Air Force, once visionarily created by Churchill, managed to protect the skies of their country and won the Battle of Britain. Hitler turned his attention to the East.
On June 22, 1941, Germany attacked the USSR. Churchill hated communism, but in the fight against Nazism he was ready to take anyone as an ally. He made a statement that London is ready to provide Moscow with technical and economic assistance. He was afraid of the defeat of the Russians.
During the war, Churchill's relationship with the USSR government became quite close. He appreciated Stalin; on many issues their points of view coincided. For example, back in May 1941, Churchill stated the need to fragment Germany. On this the English Prime Minister completely agreed with Stalin. They implemented the general idea five years after the victory over fascism.
Many facts indicate that Churchill began to think about the arrangement of the post-war world long before the end of the war. He understood that as a result of victory, the USSR would get rid of two strong enemies - Germany and Japan, and would become the greatest land power and a mortal enemy for the free world. Therefore, without weakening a dangerous ally militarily, he sought to prepare the ground in order to reduce the political chances of the USSR after the war to influence the course of events. The opening of a second front and the desire of the Western allies to seize as much territory as possible in Europe were subordinated to this goal.
The culmination of this policy was Churchill's speech in February 1946 at Fulton University on the occasion of the presentation of an honorary doctorate to him. In the presence of President Truman, he spoke about the need to strengthen the Anglo-American alliance and uttered the famous phrase that became a call for the beginning of the Cold War: “From Stettin in the Baltic, to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has fallen across the whole world ... I got to know our Russian friends well and allies in war and deeply believe that they respect only strength, and there is nothing that inspires them less respect than weakness, especially military weakness.”
Immediately after the war, in July 1945, Labor won the elections, and Churchill said goodbye to the position of prime minister. The famous politician fulfilled his historical mission. On January 1, 1946, the king presented him with the honorary Order of Merit, which only two had been awarded before him. He accepted it with gratitude, but refused the Order of the Garter, believing that he had no right to it, since voters preferred Labor.
True, in 1951, the Tory leader once again led his party to victory and again received the post of prime minister, promising the country “peace and greatness.” But in 1955 he was forced to resign. In 1953, after a stroke, the entire left side of his body was lost. After only four months, the prime minister was back in action, having completely restored the vital functions of the body, but his strength was no longer the same.
For some time Churchill still visited parliament. Then, when it became difficult for him to endure the damp climate of his homeland, he moved abroad. The Greek millionaire Onassis put at his disposal a villa on the French Riviera and his yacht.
His mind was still sharp and ironic. When asked by journalists how he managed to live for so long, the patriarch of European politics said: “I never stood when I could have been sitting, and I never sat when I could have been lying down.”
But the years took their toll. On January 16, 1965, while in his London apartment, Churchill fell into unconsciousness and died on January 24. Immediately after his death, The Times newspaper called Sir Winston "the greatest Englishman of our time."
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