about Churchill
Person of the 20th Century.
Born a child of the Victorian aristocracy when the British Empire was at the peak of its power and influence, Winston S. Churchill made the greatest contribution to the survival of the western democracies and the liberties we so often take for granted today.
As a young officer he wrote his first books while serving Queen Victoria in India and in Africa. He entered the Cabinet while King Edward V11 was on the throne and commanded the Royal Navy for both King George V and then King George V1 when the two great wars of the twentieth century erupted. In between, he was a personal friend of King Edward V111.
When he resigned as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom he received the signal honour of a visit by Queen Elizabeth 2nd to 10 Downing Street. He was a leading reformer before the First World War: he foresaw the consequences of the Versailles Treaty: he was instrumental in the independence of Ireland, Israel and Jordan; and he warned of the dangers of Nazi Germany and the Iron Curtain of Soviet Russia long before those warnings were popular.
He wrote over 50 books, an uncounted number of popular articles and he painted with such talent that his work was displayed by the Royal Academy when it was submitted under an assumed name. He received the Nobel Prize for Literature for his immortal speeches and his written works.
Winston's timeline
1874 Born 30 November
1895-1900 Soldier/Journalist (National hero after escaping from the Boers in South Africa)
1900 Elected to the British House of Commons as a Conservative 1904 Joins the Liberal Party
1908 President of the Board of Trade
1910 Home Secretary
1911 1st Lord of the Admiralty
1915-1918 Army Officer in WWI, Minister of Munitions, Minister of War
1924 Rejoins the Conservatives and is Chancellor of the Exchequer
1931 Resigns from the Conservative shadow cabinet over its India policy
1931/9 Wilderness Years when he warned of Hitler & need to re-arm
1939 WWII - 1st Lord of the Admiralty
1940 Appointed Prime Minister 10 May
1945 VE Day 8 May; Loses General Election
1951 Prime Minister again
1955 Resigns as Prime Minister
1964 Resigns from House of Commons
1965 Dies 24 January.
Churchill in Canada
When Winston Churchill first arrived in Canada, a visit which coincided with the advent of the twentieth century it was the senior dominion in a far-flung Empire. His final visit, more than a half-century later, was to an independent and friendly ally in a unique political concept, the Commonwealth of Nations.
World Leader
In May 1940, when Winston Churchill became British Prime Minister, the lamps of freedom were going out across Europe. Having warned a heedless world of the gathering storm, he was destined to play a leading role in re-kindling those lamps, and rallying the free world to resist its totalitarian foes.