245 Facts About Winston Churchill

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955.

Winston Churchill was a member of the Liberal Party from 1904 to 1924.

Winston Churchill joined the British Army in 1895 and saw action in British India, the Mahdist War and the Second Boer War, gaining fame as a war correspondent and writing books about his campaigns.

Winston Churchill resigned in November 1915 and joined the Royal Scots Fusiliers on the Western Front for six months.

Out of government during his so-called "wilderness years" in the 1930s, Winston Churchill took the lead in calling for rearmament to counter the threat of militarism in Nazi Germany.

Winston Churchill formed a national government and oversaw British involvement in the Allied war effort against the Axis powers, resulting in victory in 1945.

Winston Churchill was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1953.

Winston Churchill lost the 1950 election but was returned to office in 1951.

In declining health, Winston Churchill resigned in 1955, remaining an MP until 1964.

One of the 20th century's most significant figures, Winston Churchill remains popular in the UK and the rest of the Anglosphere.

Winston Churchill is generally viewed as a victorious wartime leader who played an integral role in defending liberal democracy against the spread of fascism.

Winston Churchill has sometimes been criticised for his imperialism and certain comments on race, in addition to some wartime decisions such as area bombing, but historians nevertheless rank Churchill as one of the greatest British prime ministers.

Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill was born on 30 November 1874 at his family's ancestral home, Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire.

Winston Churchill's mother was Jennie, Lady Randolph Churchill, a daughter of Leonard Jerome, an American businessman.

When she died in 1895, Winston Churchill wrote "she had been my dearest and most intimate friend during the whole of the twenty years I had lived".

Winston Churchill began boarding school at St George's in Ascot, Berkshire, aged 7, but he was not academic and his behaviour was poor.

Winston Churchill's father wanted him to prepare for a military career, so his last three years at Harrow were in the army form.

Winston Churchill was accepted as a cadet in the cavalry, starting in September 1893.

In February 1895, Winston Churchill was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 4th Queen's Own Hussars regiment of the British Army, based at Aldershot.

In India, Winston Churchill began a self-education project, reading widely including Plato, Edward Gibbon, Charles Darwin and Thomas Babington Macaulay.

Winston Churchill had been christened in the Church of England but underwent a virulently anti-Christian phase in his youth, and as an adult was an agnostic.

Interested in parliamentary affairs, Winston Churchill declared himself "a Liberal in all but name", adding he could never endorse the Liberal Party's support for Irish home rule.

Winston Churchill volunteered to join Bindon Blood's Malakand Field Force in its campaign against Mohmand rebels in the Swat Valley of north-west India.

Winston Churchill returned to Bangalore in October 1897 and wrote his first book, The Story of the Malakand Field Force, which received positive reviews.

Winston Churchill wrote his only work of fiction, Savrola, a Ruritanian romance.

In October, Winston Churchill returned to England and began writing The River War about the campaign; it was published in 1899.

Winston Churchill decided to leave the army as he was critical of Kitchener's actions, particularly the unmerciful treatment of enemy wounded and his desecration of Muhammad Ahmad's tomb.

On 2 December 1898, Winston Churchill embarked for India to settle his military business and complete his resignation.

Winston Churchill spent much time playing polo, the only ball sport in which he was ever interested.

Winston Churchill spoke at Conservative meetings and was selected as one of the party's two candidates for the June 1899 Oldham by-election.

Winston Churchill made it to safety in Portuguese East Africa.

In January 1900, Winston Churchill briefly rejoined the army as a lieutenant in the South African Light Horse regiment, joining Redvers Buller's fight to relieve the Siege of Ladysmith and take Pretoria.

Winston Churchill was among the first British troops into both places.

Winston Churchill stood again as a Conservative candidate at Oldham in the October 1900 general election, securing a narrow victory to become a Member of Parliament aged 25.

In February 1901, Winston Churchill took his seat in the House of Commons, where his maiden speech gained widespread coverage.

Winston Churchill associated with a group of Conservatives known as the Hughligans, but was critical of the Conservative government on various issues, especially increases in army funding.

Winston Churchill believed additional military expenditure should go to the navy.

Winston Churchill later wrote that he "drifted steadily to the left".

Winston Churchill privately considered "the gradual creation by an evolutionary process of a Democratic or Progressive wing to the Conservative Party", or alternately a "Central Party" to unite the Conservatives and Liberals.

Winston Churchill sensed that the animosity of party members would prevent him gaining a Cabinet position under a Conservative government.

In May 1904, Winston Churchill opposed the government's proposed Aliens Bill, designed to curb Jewish immigration.

Winston Churchill stated that the bill would "appeal to insular prejudice against foreigners, to racial prejudice against Jews, and to labour prejudice against competition" and expressed himself in favour of "the old tolerant and generous practice of free entry and asylum to which this country has so long adhered and from which it has so greatly gained".

The first biography of Winston Churchill himself, written by the Liberal MacCallum Scott, was published around this time.

Winston Churchill worked beneath the Secretary of State for the Colonies, Victor Bruce, 9th Earl of Elgin, and took Edward Marsh as his secretary; Marsh remained his secretary for 25 years.

Winston Churchill announced a gradual phasing out of the use of Chinese indentured labourers in South Africa; he and the government decided a sudden ban would cause too much upset and might damage the colony's economy.

Winston Churchill expressed concerns about the relations between European settlers and the black African population; after the Zulu launched their Bambatha Rebellion in Natal, Churchill complained about the "disgusting butchery of the natives" by Europeans.

Winston Churchill appointed Churchill as President of the Board of Trade.

Aged 33, Winston Churchill was the youngest Cabinet member since 1866.

Winston Churchill proposed marriage to Clementine Hozier; they were married on 12 September 1908 at St Margaret's, Westminster and honeymooned in Baveno, Venice, and Veveri Castle in Moravia.

Winston Churchill afterwards established a Standing Court of Arbitration to deal with industrial disputes, establishing a reputation as a conciliator.

Winston Churchill worked with Lloyd George to champion social reform.

Winston Churchill promoted what he called a "network of State intervention and regulation" akin to that in Germany.

Winston Churchill promoted the idea of an unemployment insurance scheme, which would be part-funded by the state.

The government called the January 1910 general election, which resulted in a Liberal victory; Winston Churchill retained his seat at Dundee.

Winston Churchill proposed abolition of the House of Lords in a cabinet memo, suggesting it be succeeded by a unicameral system, or smaller second chamber that lacked an in-built advantage for the Conservatives.

Winston Churchill continued to campaign against the House of Lords and assisted passage of the Parliament Act 1911 which reduced and restricted its powers.

In February 1910, Winston Churchill was promoted to Home Secretary, giving him control over the police and prison services; he implemented a prison reform programme.

The rules on solitary confinement were relaxed, and Winston Churchill proposed abolition of automatic imprisonment of those who failed to pay fines.

Winston Churchill reduced 21 of the 43 death sentences passed while he was Home Secretary.

Winston Churchill supported giving women the vote, but would only back a bill to that effect if it had majority support from the electorate.

Winston Churchill's proposed solution was a referendum, but this found no favour with Asquith and women's suffrage remained unresolved until 1918.

Many suffragettes believed Winston Churchill was a committed opponent, and targeted his meetings for protest.

In November 1910, Winston Churchill had to deal with the Tonypandy riots, in which coal miners in the Rhondda Valley violently protested against working conditions.

Winston Churchill, learning that the troops were already travelling, allowed them to go as far as Swindon and Cardiff, but blocked their deployment; he was concerned their use lead to bloodshed.

Privately, Winston Churchill regarded the mine owners and striking miners as "very unreasonable".

In January 1911, Winston Churchill became involved in the Siege of Sidney Street; three Latvian burglars had killed police officers and hidden in a house in the East End of London, surrounded by police.

Winston Churchill stood with the police though he did not direct their operation.

In March 1911, Winston Churchill introduced the second reading of the Coal Mines Bill; when implemented, it imposed stricter safety standards.

Winston Churchill formulated the Shops Bill to improve working conditions of shop workers; it faced opposition from shop owners and only passed in a much emasculated form.

Winston Churchill created a naval war staff and, over the next two and a half years, focused on naval preparation, visiting naval stations and dockyards, seeking to improve morale, and scrutinising German naval developments.

Winston Churchill invited Germany to engage in a mutual de-escalation, but this was refused.

Winston Churchill pushed for higher pay and greater recreational facilities for naval staff, more submarines, and a renewed focus on the Royal Naval Air Service, encouraging them to experiment with how aircraft could be used for military purposes.

Winston Churchill coined the term "seaplane" and ordered 100 to be constructed.

Winston Churchill supported it and urged Ulster Unionists to accept it as he opposed the Partition of Ireland.

Winston Churchill sent submarines to the Baltic Sea to assist the Russian Navy and sent the Marine Brigade to Ostend, forcing a reallocation of German troops.

Winston Churchill maintained that his actions had prolonged resistance and enabled the Allies to secure Calais and Dunkirk.

Winston Churchill set the development of the tank on the right track and financed its creation with Admiralty funds.

Winston Churchill was interested in the Middle Eastern theatre, and wanted to relieve pressure on the Russians in the Caucasus by staging attacks against Turkey in the Dardanelles.

Winston Churchill hoped that the British could even seize Constantinople.

Winston Churchill pleaded his case with Asquith and Conservative leader Bonar Law but had to accept demotion.

On 25 November 1915, Winston Churchill resigned from the government, although he remained an MP.

Winston Churchill decided to return to active service with the Army and was attached to the 2nd Grenadier Guards, on the Western Front.

Winston Churchill narrowly escaped death when, during a visit by his cousin the Duke of Marlborough, a large piece of shrapnel fell between them.

Winston Churchill did not request a new command, instead securing permission to leave active service.

Back in the House of Commons, Winston Churchill spoke out on war issues, calling for conscription to be extended to the Irish, greater recognition of soldiers' bravery, and for the introduction of steel helmets.

Winston Churchill was frustrated at being out of office, but was repeatedly blamed for the Gallipoli disaster by the pro-Conservative press.

Winston Churchill argued his case before the Dardanelles Commission, whose report placed no blame on him personally for the campaign's failure.

In October 1916, Asquith resigned as prime minister and was succeeded by Lloyd George who, in May 1917, sent Winston Churchill to inspect the French war effort.

Winston Churchill negotiated an end to a strike in munitions factories along the Clyde and increased munitions production.

Winston Churchill ended a second strike, in June 1918, by threatening to conscript strikers into the army.

Winston Churchill was returned as MP for Dundee and, though the Conservatives won a majority, Lloyd George was retained as prime minister.

Winston Churchill was responsible for demobilising the army, though he convinced Lloyd George to keep a million men conscripted for the British Army of the Rhine.

Winston Churchill was one of the few government figures who opposed harsh measures against Germany, and he cautioned against demobilising the German Army, warning they might be needed as a bulwark against Soviet Russia.

Winston Churchill was outspoken against Vladimir Lenin's Communist Party government in Russia.

Winston Churchill initially supported using British troops to assist the anti-Communist White forces in the Russian Civil War, but soon recognised the people's desire to bring them home.

Winston Churchill saw the occupation of Iraq as a drain on Britain and proposed, unsuccessfully, that the government should hand control back to Turkey.

Winston Churchill became Secretary of State for the Colonies in February 1921.

Winston Churchill was haunted by Marigold's death for the rest of his life.

Winston Churchill was involved in negotiations with Sinn Fein leaders and helped draft the Anglo-Irish Treaty.

Winston Churchill was responsible for reducing the cost of occupying the Middle East, and was involved in the installations of Faisal I of Iraq and Abdullah I of Jordan.

Winston Churchill travelled to Mandatory Palestine where, as a supporter of Zionism, he refused an Arab Palestinian petition to prohibit Jewish migration.

Winston Churchill did allow temporary restrictions following the Jaffa riots.

Winston Churchill was elevated as one of 50 members of the Order of the Companions of Honour, as named in Lloyd George's 1922 Dissolution Honours list.

Winston Churchill spent much of the next six months at the Villa Reve d'Or near Cannes, where he devoted himself to painting and writing his memoirs.

Winston Churchill wrote an autobiographical history of the war, The World Crisis.

Winston Churchill had hoped they would be defeated by a Conservative-Liberal coalition.

Winston Churchill strongly opposed the MacDonald government's decision to loan money to Soviet Russia and feared the signing of an Anglo-Soviet Treaty.

In March 1924, alienated by Liberal support for Labour, Winston Churchill stood as an independent anti-socialist candidate in the Westminster Abbey by-election but was defeated.

Winston Churchill said that Liberals must back the Conservatives to stop Labour and ensure "the successful defeat of socialism".

Winston Churchill stood at Epping, but described himself as a "Constitutionalist".

Winston Churchill called for the introduction of a legally binding minimum wage.

Out of office, Winston Churchill was prone to depression but addressed this by writing.

Winston Churchill began work on Marlborough: His Life and Times, a biography of his ancestor John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough.

Winston Churchill had developed a reputation for being a heavy drinker, although Jenkins believes that was often exaggerated.

In October 1930, after his return from a trip to North America, Winston Churchill published his autobiography, My Early Life, which sold well and was translated into multiple languages.

In January 1931, Winston Churchill resigned from the Conservative Shadow Cabinet because Baldwin supported the government's decision to grant Dominion Status to India.

Winston Churchill believed that enhanced home rule status would hasten calls for full independence.

Winston Churchill was particularly opposed to Mohandas Gandhi, whom he considered "a seditious Middle Temple lawyer, now posing as a fakir".

Winston Churchill's views enraged Labour and Liberal opinion, though he was supported by many grassroot Conservatives.

Winston Churchill nearly doubled his majority in Epping, but was not given a ministerial position.

Winston Churchill embarked on a lecture tour of North America, hoping to recoup financial losses sustained in the Wall Street crash.

Winston Churchill returned to America in late January 1932 and completed most of his lectures before arriving home on 18 March.

Armed with data provided clandestinely by senior civil servants, Desmond Morton and Ralph Wigram, Winston Churchill was able to speak with authority about what was happening in Germany, especially the development of the Luftwaffe.

Winston Churchill spoke of his concerns in a radio broadcast in November 1934, having denounced the intolerance and militarism of Nazism in the House of Commons.

Winston Churchill admired the exiled king of Spain Alfonso XIII and feared Communism was making inroads during the Spanish Civil War.

Winston Churchill referred to Franco's army as the "anti-red movement", but later became critical of Franco as too close to Mussolini and Hitler.

Baldwin then led the Conservatives to victory in the 1935 general election; Winston Churchill retained his seat, but was again left out of the government.

Winston Churchill supported Edward and clashed with Baldwin on the issue.

At first, Winston Churchill welcomed Chamberlain's appointment but, in February 1938, matters came to a head after Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden resigned over Chamberlain's appeasement of Mussolini, a policy which Chamberlain was extending towards Hitler.

In 1938, Winston Churchill warned the government against appeasement and called for collective action to deter German aggression.

Winston Churchill began calling for a mutual defence pact among European states threatened by German expansionism, arguing this was the only way to halt Hitler.

Winston Churchill visited Chamberlain and urged him to tell Germany that Britain would declare war if the Germans invaded Czechoslovak territory; Chamberlain was unwilling to do this.

Winston Churchill was a highest-profile minister during the so-called "Phoney War".

Winston Churchill was ebullient after the Battle of the River Plate on 13 December 1939 and welcomed home the crews, congratulating them on "a brilliant sea fight".

Winston Churchill was concerned about German naval activity in the Baltic and wanted to send a naval force, but this was changed to a plan, codenamed Operation Wilfred, to mine Norwegian waters and stop iron ore shipments from Narvik to Germany.

Winston Churchill was called upon to wind up the debate, which placed him in the difficult position of having to defend the government without damaging his prestige.

Halifax admitted he could not govern effectively as a member of the House of Lords, so Chamberlain advised the King to send for Winston Churchill, who became prime minister.

Winston Churchill later wrote of a profound sense of relief, as he now had authority over the whole scene.

Winston Churchill believed his life so far had been "a preparation for this hour and for this trial".

Winston Churchill began his premiership by forming a war cabinet: Chamberlain as Lord President of the Council, Labour leader Clement Attlee as Lord Privy Seal, Halifax as Foreign Secretary and Labour's Arthur Greenwood as a minister without portfolio.

Winston Churchill drafted outside experts into government to fulfil vital functions, especially on the Home Front.

Winston Churchill's resolve was to fight on, even if France capitulated, but his position remained precarious until Chamberlain resolved to support him.

Winston Churchill had the full support of the two Labour members but knew he could not survive as prime minister if both Chamberlain and Halifax were against him.

Winston Churchill succeeded as an orator despite being handicapped from childhood with a speech impediment.

Winston Churchill had a lateral lisp and was unable to pronounce the letter s, verbalising it with a slur.

Winston Churchill worked on his pronunciation by repeating phrases designed to cure his problem with the sibilant "s".

Winston Churchill was ultimately successful, turning the impediment into an asset, as when he called Hitler a "Nar-zee", rather than a Nazi.

Winston Churchill made it plain to the nation that a long road lay ahead and that victory was the final goal:.

Winston Churchill himself referred to "a miracle of deliverance" in his "we shall fight on the beaches" speech to the Commons that afternoon.

Hitler sent the Afrika Korps to Tripoli under Erwin Rommel, who arrived not long after Winston Churchill had halted Compass so he could reassign forces to Greece where the Balkans campaign was entering a critical phase.

In other initiatives through June and July 1940, Winston Churchill ordered the formation of the Special Operations Executive and Commandos.

Hugh Dalton, the Minister of Economic Warfare, took political responsibility for the SOE and recorded that Winston Churchill told him: "And now go and set Europe ablaze".

On 20 August 1940, at the height of the Battle of Britain, Winston Churchill addressed the Commons to outline the situation.

Winston Churchill was confident Great Britain could hold its own, given the increase in output, but was realistic about its chances of winning the war without American intervention.

Winston Churchill persuaded Congress that repayment for this costly service would take the form of defending the US.

Winston Churchill had tried to warn Joseph Stalin via the ambassador to Moscow, Stafford Cripps, but Stalin did not trust Churchill.

The night before the attack, already intending to address the nation, Winston Churchill alluded to his hitherto anti-communist views by saying to Colville: "If Hitler invaded Hell, I would at least make a favourable reference to the Devil".

In December 1941, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was followed by their invasion of Malaya and, on the 8th, Winston Churchill declared war on Japan.

Winston Churchill went to Washington to meet Roosevelt for the Arcadia Conference.

Winston Churchill insisted he did not need bed rest and journeyed to Ottawa by train, where he gave a speech to the Canadian Parliament that included the "some chicken, some neck" line in which he recalled French predictions in 1940 that "Britain alone would have her neck wrung like a chicken".

At a press conference in Washington, Winston Churchill had to play down his increasing doubts about the security of Singapore, given Japanese advances.

Winston Churchill already had grave concerns about the quality of British troops after the defeats in Norway, France, Greece and Crete.

Winston Churchill's government was criticised for refusing to approve more imports, a policy it ascribed to an acute shortage of shipping.

In February 1944, as preparation for Operation Overlord placed greater demands on Allied shipping, Winston Churchill cabled Wavell saying: "I will certainly help you all I can, but you must not ask the impossible".

Molotov sought a Second Front in Europe; Winston Churchill confirmed preparations were in progress and made no promises on a date.

Winston Churchill was with Roosevelt when the news reached him, and was shocked by the surrender of 35,000 troops which was, apart from Singapore, "the heaviest blow" he received in the war.

Winston Churchill was accompanied by Roosevelt's special envoy Averell Harriman.

Winston Churchill ordered church bells to be rung throughout Great Britain for the first time since 1940.

In January 1943, Winston Churchill met Roosevelt at the Casablanca Conference.

From Morocco, Winston Churchill went to Cairo, Adana, Cyprus, Cairo again and Algiers.

Winston Churchill addressed the Commons on the 11th and became seriously ill with pneumonia the following day, necessitating more than a month of convalescence: he moved to Chequers.

Roosevelt and Stalin co-operated in persuading Winston Churchill to commit to opening of second front in western Europe and it was agreed Germany would be divided after the war, but no decisions were made about how.

Winston Churchill became seriously ill with atrial fibrillation and was forced to remain in Tunis, until after Christmas while specialists were drafted in to ensure recovery.

Since 12 January 1943, when he set off for Casablanca, Winston Churchill had been abroad or seriously ill for 203 of the 371 days.

Winston Churchill was not keen on Overlord as he feared an Anglo-American army in France might not be a match for the fighting efficiency of the Wehrmacht.

Winston Churchill preferred peripheral operations, including a plan called Operation Jupiter for an invasion of Norway.

Winston Churchill was especially taken by the Mulberry harbours, but was keen to make the most of Allied airpower which by 1944, had become overwhelming.

Winston Churchill never lost his apprehension about the invasion, and underwent mood fluctuation as D-Day approached.

Winston Churchill's attitude was demonstrated in a radio broadcast on 26 March 1944.

Winston Churchill was obliged to devote most of it to reform and showed a distinct lack of interest.

Colville said Winston Churchill had broadcast "indifferently" and Harold Nicolson said that, to many people, Winston Churchill came across the air as "a worn and petulant old man".

Winston Churchill was determined to be actively involved in the Normandy invasion and hoped to cross the Channel on D-Day or at least D-Day+1.

Winston Churchill's desire caused unnecessary consternation at SHAEF, until he was effectively vetoed by the King.

Winston Churchill met Roosevelt at the Second Quebec Conference in September 1944.

Eden opposed it and was able to persuade Winston Churchill to disown it.

Winston Churchill suggested a scale of predominance throughout the whole region so as not to, as he put it, "get at cross-purposes in small ways".

Winston Churchill wrote down some suggested percentages of influence per country and gave it to Stalin who ticked it.

Jenkins maintains that Winston Churchill did as well as possible in difficult circumstances, not least the fact that Roosevelt was seriously ill and could not provide Winston Churchill with meaningful support.

Jenkins asks if Winston Churchill was moved more by foreboding than by regret, but admits it is easy to criticise with the hindsight of victory.

Winston Churchill adds that the area bombing campaign was no more reprehensible than President Truman's use of the second atomic bomb on Nagasaki six months later.

Winston Churchill went to Buckingham Palace where he appeared on the balcony with the Royal Family before a huge crowd of celebrating citizens.

Winston Churchill asked Bevin to come forward and share the applause.

Bevin said: "No, Winston Churchill, this is your day", and proceeded to conduct the people in the singing of "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow".

In May 1945, Winston Churchill commissioned the Chiefs of Staff Committee to provide its thoughts on a possible military campaign against the USSR, code-named Operation Unthinkable.

Winston Churchill mishandled the election campaign by resorting to party politics and trying to denigrate Labour.

Winston Churchill was unopposed by the major parties in Woodford, but his majority over a sole independent candidate was much less than expected.

Winston Churchill anticipated defeat by Labour and Mary later described the lunch as "an occasion of Stygian gloom".

Winston Churchill continued to lead the Conservative Party and served as Leader of the Opposition.

Winston Churchill's view was that, though the Soviet Union did not want war with the western Allies, its entrenched position in Eastern Europe had made it impossible for the three great powers to provide the world with a "triangular leadership".

Winston Churchill's desire was much closer collaboration between Britain and America.

Winston Churchill was an early proponent of pan-Europeanism, having called for a "United States of Europe" in a 1930 article.

Winston Churchill supported the creations of the Council of Europe in 1949 and the European Coal and Steel Community in 1951, but his support was always with the firm proviso that Britain must not actually join any federal grouping.

Winston Churchill was always opposed on this by Ulster Unionists.

Winston Churchill achieved the target and, in 1954, was promoted to Minister of Defence.

Winston Churchill was nearly 77 when he took office and not in good health following minor strokes.

Winston Churchill was knighted as Sir Winston on 24 April 1953.

Winston Churchill retired in April 1955 and was succeeded by Eden.

Winston Churchill feared a global conflagration and firmly believed the only way to preserve peace and freedom was friendship and co-operation between Britain and America.

Winston Churchill made four official transatlantic visits from January 1952 to July 1954.

Winston Churchill enjoyed a good relationship with Truman, but difficulties arose over the planned European Defence Community, by which Truman hoped to reduce America's military presence in West Germany.

Winston Churchill wanted US military support of British interests in Egypt and the Middle East, but while Truman expected British military involvement in Korea, he viewed any US commitment to the Middle East as maintaining British imperialism.

Winston Churchill believed Britain's position as a world power depended on the empire's continued existence.

Winston Churchill had been obliged to recognise Colonel Nasser's revolutionary government of Egypt, which took power in 1952.

Winston Churchill's government maintained the military response to the crisis and adopted a similar strategy for the Mau Mau Uprising in British Kenya.

Winston Churchill was uneasy about the election of Eisenhower as Truman's successor.

Winston Churchill believed Eisenhower did not fully comprehend the danger posed by the H-bomb and he greatly distrusted Eisenhower's Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles.

Winston Churchill remained an MP until he stood down at the 1964 general election.

Winston Churchill spent most of his retirement at Chartwell or at his London home in Hyde Park Gate, and became a habitue of high society at La Pausa on the French Riviera.

In June 1962, aged 87, Winston Churchill had a fall in Monte Carlo and broke his hip.

Winston Churchill was flown home to a London hospital where he remained for 3 weeks.

Montague Browne wrote that he never heard Winston Churchill refer to depression and certainly did not suffer from it.

Winston Churchill suffered his final stroke on 10 January 1965 and died on 24 January, in his home at 28 Hyde Park Gate, London.

Winston Churchill's coffin lay in state at Westminster Hall for three days.

Winston Churchill was the first of only eight people to be granted honorary citizenship of the United States.

Winston Churchill's output included a novel, two biographies, memoirs, histories, and press articles.

In recognition of his "mastery of historical and biographical description" and oratorial output, Winston Churchill received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1953.

Winston Churchill used either "Winston S Churchill" or "Winston Spencer Churchill" as his pen name to avoid confusion with the American novelist Winston Churchill, whom he had a friendly correspondence with.

Winston Churchill became an accomplished amateur artist beginning after his resignation from the Admiralty in 1915.

Winston Churchill was an amateur bricklayer, constructing buildings and garden walls at Chartwell.

Winston Churchill joined the Amalgamated Union of Building Trade Workers, but was expelled after he rejoined the Conservative Party.

Winston Churchill was known for his love of animals and always had several pets, mainly cats but dogs, pigs, lambs, bantams, goats and fox cubs among others.

Jenkins concludes his biography of Winston Churchill by comparing him favourably with William Gladstone and summarising:.

Winston Churchill's self-belief manifested in his "affinity with war" of which, according to Sebastian Haffner, he exhibited "a profound and innate understanding".

Winston Churchill considered himself a military genius, but that made him vulnerable to failure and Paul Addison says the Gallipoli disaster was "the greatest blow his self-image was ever to sustain".

Jenkins points out, that although Winston Churchill was exhilarated by war, he was never indifferent to the suffering it causes.

Winston Churchill was nearly always opposed to socialism because of its propensity for state planning and his belief in free markets.

Paradoxically, Winston Churchill was supportive of trade unionism, which he saw as the "antithesis of socialism".

Jenkins, himself a senior Labour minister, remarked that Winston Churchill had "a substantial record as a social reformer" for his work in his ministerial career.

Winston Churchill was a staunch imperialist and monarchist, and consistently exhibited a "romanticised view" of the British Empire and reigning monarch, especially during his last term as premier.

Winston Churchill has been described as a "liberal imperialist" who saw British imperialism as a form of altruism that benefited its subject peoples.

Winston Churchill advocated against black or indigenous self-rule in Africa, Australia, the Caribbean, the Americas and India, believing the British Empire maintained the welfare of those who lived in the colonies.

Addison makes the point that Winston Churchill opposed anti-Semitism and argues he would never have tried "to stoke up racial animosity against immigrants, or to persecute minorities".

Winston Churchill made disparaging remarks about non-white ethnicities throughout his life.

Philip Murphy says that, following the independence of India in 1947, Winston Churchill adopted a pragmatic stance towards empire, although he continued to use imperial rhetoric.

Winston Churchill was aware of the strain his career placed on their marriage.