Winston Churchill is perhaps the most iconic British Prime Ministers. When you think about British Prime Ministers, Winston Churchill comes to mind. He stands out and is unmistakable.
There are several things which make Winston Churchill an iconic Prime Minister, the voice, his fight them on the beaches speech, alongside being Prime Minister during World War 2 and his eccentric manner (cabinet meetings in the bath), Winston Churchill stands out. Churchill was really the first media Prime Minister, he is animated by media. Whereas, former leaders, including monarchs, aren't animated to us in the same way. We can only know of them through written texts and sometimes through portraits. It wasn't until the 1950s, when Winston Churchill became PM for the second time. It is during that time, that most people began to have televisions. Before the early 1950s, most people didn't have televisions, which means that most people like PMs and monarchs, were not animated to the general public, or accessible to the general public in the way they are today. Media today is far more instant and available today, than it was back in the 1950s. However, given TV and radio, we know more about Winston Churchill, than other leaders in our past. Let's look at five facts about Winston Churchill. #5 Winston The Artist For anyone that has watched the Netflix series 'The Crown', they will realize that Winston was an artist, as well as PM. Winston was a talented artist, you can see his painting on the National Trust Collections website. He didn't start painting until he was in his 40s. However, if he felt in his lifetime that he missed out on painting, then, he shouldn't have. He created an impressive 500 paintings, over 48 years. Which is an amazing achievement on top of leading Britain through World War 2, then half of the 1950s, and writing. #4 Winston The Writer If you think that that's impressive, on top of that, Churchill was also a writer. He wrote numerous things on both fiction and non-fiction during his lifetime. His first non-fiction book was called The Story of The ManklandField Force, which was published in 1898. It is 298 pages long. He didn't only write non-fiction books, Churchill also wrote fiction books. His first fiction book was called Savrola, and was published in 1900. It is 345 pages long. On top of this, Churchill was also a historian, writing non-fiction history works. #3 Twice Prime Minister Winston Churchill became Prime Minister twice. Not in the way that he won one term and then won another term. He won one term on the 10th of May 1940 and then was voted out in 1945. Then, he was voted back in again on the 26th of October 1951 and finally voted out on the 6th of April 1955. #2 Served Under Six Monarchs Winston Churchill served under an impressive 6 monarchs during his political career. Today, the vast majority of Britons have only ever known one monarch - Queen Elizabeth II. Monarchs haven't always lasted that long and the monarchy hasn't always been that stable. Here is a list of the six monarchs Winston Churchill served under: Queen Victoria, Edward VII, George V, Edward VIII, George VI and our current queen, Queen Elizabeth II.
#1 Dogs And Cats
He got dogs and cats spot on. Churchill said that 'Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us.' Which is a pretty spot on assessment of cats and dogs. It's not that he didn't like cats - he did. He had a rescue cat and can be seen clapping this cat...
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Winston Churchill is the iconic image of a British Prime Minister and on the 4th of June 1940, this iconic British Prime Minister gave one of, if not thee most iconic speech in the history of the United Kingdom. The We shall fight them on the beaches speech, which was given to Parliament on the 4th of June 1940. And broadcast around the United Kingdom. The speech was given to the House of Commons, at Parliament in Westminster. This speech was given several months after World War II had broken out. World War II started the previous year, in September 1939. The aim of the speech was to show strength and determination to win the war. The speech is Churchill's finest hour. Here is the last few paragraphs of Churchill's speech: ''Turning once again, and this time more generally, to the question of invasion, I would observe that there has never been a period in all these long centuries of which we boast when an absolute guarantee against invasion, still less against serious raids, could have been given to our people. In the days of Napoleon the same wind which would have carried his transports across the Channel might have driven away the blockading fleet. There was always the chance, and it is that chance which has excited and befooled the imaginations of many Continental tyrants. Many are the tales that are told. We are assured that novel methods will be adopted, and when we see the originality of malice, the ingenuity of aggression, which our enemy displays, we may certainly prepare ourselves for every kind of novel stratagem and every kind of brutal and treacherous maneuver. I think that no idea is so outlandish that it should not be considered and viewed with a searching, but at the same time, I hope, with a steady eye. We must never forget the solid assurances of sea power and those which belong to air power if it can be locally exercised. I have, myself, full confidence that if all do their duty, if nothing is neglected, and if the best arrangements are made, as they are being made, we shall prove ourselves once again able to defend our Island home, to ride out the storm of war, and to outlive the menace of tyranny, if necessary for years, if necessary alone. At any rate, that is what we are going to try to do. That is the resolve of His Majesty’s Government-every man of them. That is the will of Parliament and the nation. The British Empire and the French Republic, linked together in their cause and in their need, will defend to the death their native soil, aiding each other like good comrades to the utmost of their strength. Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous States have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, 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, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God’s good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.'' To see the speech in full, go here.
The Dardanelles Campaign was a disaster for the allies. But, it was a success for the Ottomans. Churchill believed that his campaign would undermine the Germans - by attempting to knock the Ottomans out of the First World War. Shortly before World War One had broke out, the Ottoman Empire and the German Empire formed an alliance, on the 2nd of August, 1914. This alliance was known as the Ottoman-German Alliance. The alliance helped the Ottomans and the Germans in equal measure. It helped the Germans through giving them a means to undermine the British. While the Ottomans had support of what was a failing Empire. As a result, when war did come around, Churchill viewed the attack on the Ottomans through the Dardanelles Campaign, as a way to weaken Germany, by dismantling the Ottomans. It wasn't a successful venture for Churchill. The Ottomans came out successful in the campaign, which lasted from the 19th of February 1915, until March 18th, 1915. It was a significant victory for the Ottoman Empire by the time the campaign ended. Even though there were many lives lost. However, it was a crushing blow for Winston Churchill. And a miscalculation of the strength of his opponent(s). The British Cabinet favored continuing the campaign at time, in spite of the crushing defeat. However, they finally shelved any future plans to go on with the campaign on the 7th of December, 1915. Just a few weeks after Winston Churchill's resignation. |
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